COMMONWEALTH: NEW SYG BRINGS NEW ENERGY, SCOPE FOR LINKAGES WITH COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 LONDON 002304



SIPDIS

NOFORN



DEPT FOR G - JOAQUIN FERRAO

DEPT ALSO FOR DRL/MLGA - LAURA JORDAN

DEPT ALSO FOR IO



E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2018

TAGS: PREL, KDEM, PGOV, PHUM, FJ, RW, UK

SUBJECT: COMMONWEALTH: NEW SYG BRINGS NEW ENERGY, SCOPE FOR

LINKAGES WITH COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES



REF: LONDON DAILY REPORT - 8/21/08



Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Leslie Tsou, reasons 1.4 (b/d

).



1. (C/NF) Summary. New Commonwealth Secretary General

Kamalesh Sharma wants the Commonwealth to be an "organization

of ideas" that has clear value-added for its members,

Political Affairs Director Matthew Neuhaus said in an

overview of Commonwealth Secretariat priorities. Sharma also

wants to re-brand the Commonwealth's image, with a focus on

the younger generation and technology partnerships. Neuhaus

anticipates Sharma will keep the organization's priorities on

"economic and social rights with a deeply political

background" and will ramp up engagement on reforming the

IFIs, promoting climate change, negotiating world trade

deals, and building democracies. On the margins of UNGA, the

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group will consider full

suspension of Fiji from the Commonwealth, Neuhaus said. The

Commonwealth is intrigued by the Community of Democracies

(CD),as the two organizations have shared values, and would

like to explore ways in which the Commonwealth and CD could

work together. Post sees scope for engagement on this issue,

where linkages based on shared values have the potential to

stimulate initiatives of mutual interest. End summary.



Creation of Commonwealth Policy Positions

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2. (C/NF) Commonwealth Secretariat Political Affairs Director

Matthew Neuhaus characterized the Commonwealth to us

September 9 as "a proper multilateral organization," whose

foreign policy is a "composite of the member states."

Neuhaus said the two primary vehicles for creating

Commonwealth policy positions, especially on foreign policy,

are the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

(CHOGM) and the twice-yearly Commonwealth Ministerial Action

Group (CMAG). CMAG, established in 1995 and comprising eight

Commonwealth members, is charged with determining punitive

measures against member states who are seriously and

consistently violating the Millbook Principles, which lay out

the Commonwealth's political values and membership criteria.

According to Neuhaus, CMAG is where more timely and



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continuous foreign policy issues are dealt with, and

negotiations are generally arduous because the Commonwealth

operates exclusively by consensus. The next CMAG meeting on

the margins of UNGA will discuss full suspension of Fiji,

which was previously suspended from participation at the

Councils of Commonwealth. Contacts at the Australian Embassy

said the consensus building process in CMAG is generally

based on regional partners within the Commonwealth pushing

for consistency. For example, African countries will push

for Commonwealth action that is consistent with the treatment

Zimbabwe received before it finally withdrew, and Asian

countries will want punitive actions modeled after the

treatment of Pakistan when it was suspended.



The New Secretary General

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3. (C/NF) Neuhaus described newly elected Secretary General

Kamalesh Sharma, who began his tenure in April 2008, as "very

politically active and very intellectual," who wants the

Commonwealth to be an "organization of ideas." Sharma, an

Indian by birth, also wants to re-brand the Commonwealth to

engage with the younger generation, move from historic to

more modern relationships between countries, and ensure that

the Commonwealth is seen as value-added. Sharma also wants

to integrate technology more firmly into the Commonwealth's

operations in order to make it a platform for technological

partnerships and ideas. Following on the former Secretary

General's focus on globalization, governance, and growth,

Neuhaus anticipates that Sharma will keep the organization's

priorities on "economic and social rights with a deeply

political background." The Secretariat plans to be involved

in reforming the IFIs, promoting climate change, negotiating

world trade deals, and building democracies.



4. (C/NF) Sharma is also very sensitive to the UK's attempts

to use the Commonwealth as a vehicle of Great Britain's

foreign policy, according to Neuhaus. Neuhaus says the

Secretariat will help build momentum on UK foreign policy

priorities that "resonate with the membership, like reform of

the Bretton Woods institutions, climate change, and

democratization." He noted, however, it has always been

necessary for the Secretariat to strike a balance between



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what the UK and other developed countries are seeking through

the Commonwealth and what the developing countries support.



The Commonwealth's Future

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5. (C/NF) In five to ten years, Neuhaus said he sees the

Commonwealth as remaining the same as it is now. The

Commonwealth, he said, welcomes new members, including

Rwanda's recent bid for membership, and would like to see

Arab states join as well (reftel). He mentioned Yemen has

expressed interest in membership.



U.S.-Commonwealth - Community of Democracies

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6. (C/NF) Neuhaus said the Commonwealth is intrigued by the

Community of Democracies (CD),as the two organizations have

shared values. He said the Secretariat would like to explore

ways in which the Commonwealth and CD could work together.



Comment

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7. (C/NF) London-based diplomats from Commonwealth member

states describe Neuhaus, former Australian Ambassador to

Nigeria and UN-based diplomat, as a sophisticated and savvy

political operator. He is certainly one of the driving

forces behind making the Commonwealth more politically

active. While the former Secretary General was more focused

on development, Neuhaus' political messages may find a more

receptive audience in Sharma, who seems keen to make the

Commonwealth more relevant to world politics. We see scope

for engagement with the Commonwealth on the Community of

Democracies, where linkages based on shared values have the

potential to stimulate initiatives of mutual interest.







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