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
--------------

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
--------------

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
--------------

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
--------------

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
--------------

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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