Topic A: Promotion of Primary Education

Topic B: Democracy and the Rule of Law

Commonwealth of Nations

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EXECUTIVE LETTER

Dear delegates,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to MUNUC 30! This year’s conference promises to be bigger and better

than ever. My name is Andrew Longwell and I along with everyone else on the dais could not be more excited

for conference. This is my third year participating in MUNUC and my first year as a committee chair. I have

previously been an Info Primary for DISEC and the moderator for ESCAP.

I am originally from Canada, which might seem far but I imagine many of you will travel from further for

conference. I am a firm believer in the educational mission of MUNUC and am eager to work with you all

outside of a classroom. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to learn and take risks without being graded.

In my own classrooms, I am an English major, and I am particularly interested in the way philosophy and

literature interacts. I also study French, German and Arabic. Beyond MUNUC I am a member of APO, a

service group on campus. I spend a lot of time tutoring kids, making blankets for the homeless, and generally

trying to help people.

The road to conference is a long one. Just as all of you have been preparing for this weekend, so have we. I

have been fortunate to work with a wonderful executive committee. They have given me invaluable advice

for the background guide and prepared me (this needs better words) to work with you all come conference.

They are wandering around with the red name tags so if you see them say thank you.

More specifically, I am excited to see you all convene for this year’s session of the Commonwealth of Nations.

It is not a UN body, but works closely with the UN as an important international body comprised of nations

that were former territories of the British Empire. That the Commonwealth exists is in itself significant. It

indicates a special willingness to work together to tackle significant global issues, and I hope that you will all

act in that spirit this weekend.

Best of luck in your preparations, and see you in February!

Sincerely,

Andrew Longwell

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Committee History

The modern Commonwealth of Nations was founded in 1949, but its roots can be traced much further back

in history. As early as 1884, British diplomats started referring to the British Empire as a Commonwealth

of Nations.1 Despite the name, it was not an organization of voluntary and equal states, as it is today.

Britain still very much exercised control over the colonial territories. In the twentieth century, the white

majority states of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa joined Britain to lay the foundations

of the Commonwealth.2 Still, these countries had limited independent rule and Britain was the sole leader

of the body as exemplified by the name British Commonwealth of Nations. When India and Pakistan won

independence in 1947 and Sri Lanka the year after, they agreed to join the existing five nations in order to

benefit from their experience in governance.3 These nations were the first to join without white majority

populations. The Commonwealth finally dropped the term “British” from its name in 1949, when India decided

it would become a republic.4 By allowing India to remain in the Commonwealth without being a subject to

the British crown, the modern commonwealth of free and independent nations in voluntary association was

born.

Over the course of the second half of the twentieth century, numerous British colonies won independence,

and almost all of them elected to join the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth went from eight members

to around 50. The two most recent additions, Mozambique and Rwanda, have no ties to the British Empire.

However, not all nations have continuously been part of the Commonwealth. When South Africa decided

to become a republic in the early 1960s, the new government’s application was rejected because of human

rights abuses.5 It was only allowed to rejoin in the 1990s after the end of apartheid rule. Pakistan left in 1972

because of the admission of Bangladesh into the Commonwealth and rejoined in 1989.6 Lastly, two countries

have left in the twenty-first century and not returned: Zimbabwe and the Gambia.

The leadership of the Commonwealth was transferred from a function of the British government to an

independent secretariat in 1965.7 From their base in London, UK, the secretariat and their staff serve all

nations of the Commonwealth. This further helped to decentralize the power of the Commonwealth and

1 “Our history,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-history. 2 Ibid.3 Ibid.4 “Commonwealth,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Commonwealth-association-of-states. 5 “Withdrawals and Suspension,” Commonwealth Network, http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/

commonwealth-membership/withdrawals-and-suspension/. 6 Ibid.7 “Our history,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-history.

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increase the functional equality of all nations. The Commonwealth Foundation was also founded alongside

the secretariat as the charitable arm of the Commonwealth. This organization supports arts, culture, and

civil society in all member nations.8 A third crucial part of the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Fund for

Technical Cooperation, was established in 1971.9 This body is the primary method for exchanging skills and

best practices between member nations. This form of cooperation is the pride and joy of the Commonwealth

and has helped the Commonwealth lead the world in areas such as the advancement of women, environmental

protection, and participation of young people in civil society and development.10

The Commonwealth of the twenty-first century works in five major areas: democracy, economic development,

governance, social development, and youth. With its own resources, and with partner organizations like the

UN, it works with member governments to better the lives of all Commonwealth citizens.

8 “History of the Commonwealth,” Commonwealth Network, http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/history/. 9 “Our history,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-history.10 “History of the Commonwealth,” Commonwealth Network, http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/history/.

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TOPIC A: PROMOTION OF PRIMARY EDUCATION

Statement of the Problem

On a global scale, the world has made significant progress since the turn of the millennium. This is the

result of hard work by governments and non-governmental organisations as a response to the Millennium

Development Goal of universal primary education, or 100% enrollment by 2015. The world has unfortunately

not yet reached that goal, although primary education rates have risen from 80% to 90% in the last 17 years.11

This, however, is only a reason to focus on what has worked so far, and use that knowledge to double global

efforts. The Commonwealth of Nations is in a unique position to make progress on this issue because of

their shared language and traditions, as well as their great history of sharing expertise. The Commonwealth

of Nations is renowned for exchanging best practices and technical assistance to its member nations. This

committee can take advantage of that as they work to resolve this issue.

Inequality in Education Gains

In 2015, 22 million children of primary school age living in Commonwealth countries were not enrolled

in school.12 This means that 22 million people do not have the important foundations they need to start

their lives; their future prospects and the quality of their lives may be diminished as a result. This figure

of 22 million is not, however, evenly distributed among the member nations of the Commonwealth. Many

countries, such as Canada, and Australia have essentially 100% enrollment rates.13 However, these countries

have issues with enrollment and quality of education in indigenous populations, as will be discussed later.

Others, such as India, had around 95% of primary school aged children enrolled in school; however, in a

nation as large as India, that translates to over 6 million children not in school14. The countries with the

lowest enrollment rates globally are those in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an average enrollment rate of 79%.15

11 Howard White, “Educating the world: how to get pupils in developing countries to learn,” The Guardian, September 26, 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/sep/26/educating-world-children-developing-countries.

12 “Quality Education for Equitable Development: Performance, Paths, and Productivity,” The Commonwealth of Nations, June 26, 2015, https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/19CCEM-ReportFinal.pdf.

13 “Children out of school (% of primary school age),” The World Bank, 2017, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.UNER.ZS?locations=IN-BD-PK-ZM-PG-KE.

14 “Out-of-school children of primary school age, both sexes (number),” The World Bank, 2017, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.UNER?locations=IN-PK-KE.

15 “Children out of school (% of primary school age),” The World Bank, 2017, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.UNER.ZS?locations=IN-BD-PK-ZM-PG-KE.

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However, Commonwealth countries in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique have

significantly higher enrollment rates than the average for that region.

The Commonwealth country with the lowest enrollment rate is Pakistan with a 76% for primary school

children. This is in part due to the prevalence of situations of conflict in Pakistan that can seriously limit a

child’s ability to attend school, even when there are schools to go to. Some countries have made large strides

in education since the turn of the century. Enrollment rates in India have increased from 80% in 2000 to 92%

in 2013 and in Mozambique enrollment rates rose 35% since the turn of the millennium.16 Other countries

have seen their enrollment rates fluctuate over the last few year: Antigua and Barbuda saw its highest rate

of enrolment in 2007 at 92% but steadily dropped year after year to 84% in 2014 before rising again in

2015.17 This is all to say that despite widespread progress, there is no one clear global picture on education

rates in the last few years.

Barriers to Education

There are a significant number of barriers and challenges that prevent children from going to school. These

can be related to a lack of adequate facilities, high costs, situations of conflict, and other factors. In some

countries such as Sierra Leone, there are no schools for students to attend, or if there are, the buildings are

in very bad condition.18 There were reports from Malawi a few years ago of teachers working with classes of

70 students and sometimes having to teach outside in whatever shade they could find, in an attempt to make

do and not disrupt the children’s learning.19 In some countries school buildings are often only one room,

and they might not have running water or bathrooms.20 A 2013 report from Mozambique showed that only

68% of schools had water and 50% had sanitation facilities.21 These factors have a devastating impact on

children’s learning. Other problems related to poor health also persist. Children will go thirsty throughout

the day, which can decrease cognition and brain functions, which limits their learning.22 Classrooms can be

overcrowded, again distracting the children and taking away from their learning.

16 “School enrollment, primary (% net),” The World Bank, 2017, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.NENR?locations=IN-MZ-PK. 17 Ibid.18 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/

content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/. 19 Michael Fleshman, “Abolishing fees boosts African schooling,” Africa Renewal, January 2010, http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/

january-2010/abolishing-fees-boosts-african-schooling. 20 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/

content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.21 “SDG 4 Workshop Presentations,” Global Education Monitoring Report, http://gem-report-2017.unesco.org/en/

sdg-4-workshop-presentations/. 22 Anisha I. Patel, “Encouraging Consumption of Water in School and Child Care Settings: Access, Challenges, and Strategies for

Improvement,” American Journal of Public Health, August 2011; 101(8): 1370–1379, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3134515/.

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There can also be a financial barrier to attending school for some children. Tuition costs still exist in some

countries, for example, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, and Zambia, even for public education.23 Even if

there is no tuition, there can still be other costs. Schools can charge fees for uniforms, books, pencils and

other supplies, all of which are mandatory.24 Children are not allowed to go to school unless their families

pay for these things. Families living in poverty can often not afford any of these required materials, meaning

their children cannot attend school.

Education in situations of conflict remains one of the hardest problems the world has to address. Out of all

of the world’s children who were not in school in 2011, about half of those were unable to go because of

conflict25. Some serious conflicts in the modern day Commonwealth include violence in Uganda between

the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army, and terrorist groups In Nigeria and Pakistan. The LRA is a

23 “Is primary education tuition-free and compulsory?” World Policy Analysis Center, 2017, https://www.worldpolicycenter.org/policies/is-primary-education-tuition-free-and-compulsory.

24 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.

25 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.

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militant group led by Joseph Kony, who is accused of kidnapping over 100 000 children to serve as soldiers

or slaves in the last 30 years.26 Nigeria is engaged in a prolonged fight with the terrorist group Boko Haram,

as is Pakistan with remnants of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.27 Under these situations, governments often

cease to function properly and are no longer able to provide services such as education. Parents are afraid

to send their children to school, because getting there can be dangerous. Schools are destroyed, or if they’re

not they are repurposed as shelters. One principal in Sierra Leone recounts that there was no school in his

district for 12 year during and after the civil war there in the 1990s.28 Humanitarian aid can help somewhat,

but education falls much lower on the list of priorities than food, water, shelter, or medicine.29

One additional factor that impacts education access is gender. Globally, a lower percentage of girls complete

school at any age than do boys, and over 100 million girls are illiterate.30 Girls are often kept out of school

due to social norms that do not value education for young women. Many of their mothers never went to

school, so they are not accustomed to sending their daughters to school. Additionally, poverty can be a

serious factor in a girl’s education. If families do not have enough money, they will often choose to send

their sons to school, instead of their daughters.31 However, education for girls has been shown to be a very

powerful force both for girls and for their communities. Girls who have gone to school are more likely to have

better jobs and make more money.32 Plan International, an NGO that advocates for women’s education and

empowerment says, “For every year of education a girl completes, her future income increases by more than

10%.”33 Women who went to school are also much more likely to send their daughters to school, and overall

invest in their communities.34

Two of the hardest barriers to overcome in providing education are distance to school and the exclusion of

students with disabilities. Children in sparsely populated areas often have to walk hours to get to school.35

When they arrive, they are hungry and cannot focus on school. They don’t learn as much as their peers. At the

end of the day, they have to make the walk home again. This barrier is most prominent in rural areas, where

a single school serves a widely distributed population and there aren’t enough resources to build another

26 “Uganda: Conflict and peace,” Peace Insight, https://www.insightonconflict.org/conflicts/uganda/conflict-profile/.27 Ibid.28 Gabrielle Galanek, “Reviving education in the aftermath of Sierra Leone’s civil war,” UNICEF, April 7, 2011, https://www.unicef.org/mdg/

sierraleone_58237.html. 29 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/

content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.30 “Education,” Plan International, https://plan-international.org/because-i-am-a-girl/learn. 31 Ibid.32 Ibid.33 Ibid.34 Ibid.35 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/

content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.

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school. A second item is the exclusion of children with disabilities from much of the global education system.

In 2012 a study found that 32% of children with disabilities were not in school in India.36 The numbers were

26% in Tanzania and Uganda, and as high as 38% in Zambia. These are just a few countries where this is a

serious problem. A Human Rights Watch study in 2015 estimated that there were 500,000 children with

disabilities out of school in South Africa alone.37 There is strong stigma against those with disabilities, both

mental and physical across the world. This can lead to teachers not knowing how to teach students with

disabilities and other more sinister things such as neglect in schools.38

One final item of concern in education and learning is in fact hunger. Chronic hunger or malnutrition

has serious effects on children’s brain development. It can impact energy levels and immune systems.

Malnutrition has more visible and immediate causes like disease and poor diet, but these causes are in turn

effected by poverty and a lack of public health.39 Studies show that about 15% of malnourished children

are not in the correct school year for their age.40 Specific types of malnutrition known as micronutrient

deficiencies are common in school age children. Some common ones are iron deficiency, known as anaemia,

iodine deficiency known as hypothyroidism and vitamin A deficiency. These conditions can have serious

effects such as brain damage, visual impairment, and cognitive deficiencies.41 All of these will seriously harm

children throughout their education and their lives. Investments in combatting malnutrition will contribute

seriously to children’s education.

Quality of Education

One final subject that must be mentioned is the quality of education. Quality education remains incredibly

difficult to describe or define. The challenges revolved around the existence of different political, cultural,

and economic contexts and the different national goals that each country may have.42 Thus, no current global

or Commonwealth standards exist for quality education. Nevertheless, some elements of education are

36 Mark Anderson, “Many disabled children in poorer countries left out of primary education,” The Guardian, August 18, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/18/disabled-children-poorer-countries-out-of-primary-education-south-africa-human-rights-watch-report.

37 “South Africa,” Human Rights Watch, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/africa/south-africa. 38 Mark Anderson, “Many disabled children in poorer countries left out of primary education,” The Guardian, August 18, 2015,

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/18/disabled-children-poorer-countries-out-of-primary-education-south-africa-human-rights-watch-report.

39 Ann Burgess and Louis Danga, “Undernutrition in Adults and Children: causes, consequences and what we can do,” South Sudan Medical Journal, May 2008, http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/2008-05/undernutrition-in-adults-and-children-causes-consequences-and-what-we-can-do.html.

40 “BRIEFLY: Malnutrition prevents children from learning,” World Education Blog, May 29, 2013, https://gemreportunesco.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/briefly-malnutrition-prevents-children-from-learning/.

41 “Micronutrients,” Schools and Health, 2017, http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Pages/MicronutrientDeficiencies.aspx. 42 “Defining Quality in Education,” UNESCO, 2000, https://www.unicef.org/education/files/QualityEducation.PDF, 5.

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agreed upon as being necessary for quality education. They are: healthy safe and protective environments

with adequate facilities, healthy and nourished learners, content that allows for acquisition of basic skills of

literacy and numeracy, child-centered teaching approaches, and outcomes that emphasize participation in

society.43 Again, these are deliberately vague and will take different forms in each country. Many of these

are also clearly linked to the barriers previously discussed. Further refinement of these goals such that they

can be applied in each nation is important for the future of education.

Furthermore, after setting forth the Millennium Development Goal of Universal Primary Education in 2000,

there has been a global focus of getting people into school rather than on quality of that schooling, which

means that quality is often lower than it should be44. Over the next few years, efforts must be made on both

fronts. While the global community continues to work towards Universal Primary Education, UNESCO noted

in 2015 that a shift in emphasis towards quality was necessary.45 This is not an easy task. The UN estimated

that there was a global shortage of 1.6 million teachers in 2015.46 Many teachers also remain undertrained,

especially in areas where they are desperately needed. They are sent to take up teaching posts before they

are ready. 2011 numbers out of Bangladesh noted that there were 70 students for every trained teacher,

but 40 or every teacher showing the large gap in trained teachers.47 This leads to the disastrous result that

the UN noted in 2014: that 125 million children around the world were still completely illiterate after four

years in school.48 Serious efforts must be made to train new teachers and to train them well. On top of that,

the matter of student assessment is crucial. In the past there has been a simple focus on basic skills such

as reading, writing and mathematics. However, there is currently a call, led by a director of UNESCO, Dr.

Aaron Benavort, for increasing the importance of qualitative factors when evaluating student success, such

as organisation, initiative, and cooperation with others. 49

The international community, including the Commonwealth of Nations, has made a lot of progress on access

to primary education since the turn of the millennium. More children are in school than ever before, but

education rates are not uniform across the Commonwealth. Some countries have made large gains and

43 Ibid, 5.44 Howard White, “Educating the world: how to get pupils in developing countries to learn,” The Guardian, September 26, 2013, https://www.

theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/sep/26/educating-world-children-developing-countries.45 “Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges,” UNESCO, 2015, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/

images/0023/002322/232205e.pdf, 189.46 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/

content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.47 “Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges,” UNESCO, 2015, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/

images/0023/002322/232205e.pdf, 198.48 “Ill-qualified teachers, poor access to schools at root of global education crisis – UN report,” UN NewsCentre, January 29, 2014, http://

www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47034#.Wfj-kWhSxPY.49 “Quality Education for Equitable Development: Performance, Paths, and Productivity,” The Commonwealth of Nations, June 26, 2015,

https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/19CCEM-ReportFinal.pdf, 21.

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only have small portions of their population left unserved, but these populations are often the hardest to

reach. Significant barriers, like gender, distance from school, and conflict situations must be overcome.

Many countries lack sufficient infrastructure to give all of their students a quality education, and a few still

charge tuition fees. There are many problems with teacher quality. Lastly, the Commonwealth lacks detailed

standards for quality education and must contend with the large range of cultural and social factors as

delegates tackle this problem.

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History of the Problem

Each Commonwealth nation has its own history of primary education. Their efforts and initiatives vary in

time, in scope and in organisation. However they all contend with similar issues and many comparisons can

easily be made. Several nations face the challenges of educating their native populations. Others deal with

the questions of the language of instruction. Many nations have had to build their education systems almost

from nothing in the latter half of the twentieth century after the end of British colonial rule. They had to

grapple with lack of qualified teachers, the lack of infrastructure and even a lack of motivation to get children

to school. Examining the challenges and successes of particular countries can show the Commonwealth

what issues they must face going forward.

Australia

Public education in Australia began in the 1870s, but even before that, numerous churches provided their

members with basic education.50 The state actually contributed to these churches financially, as it supported

education but hadn’t yet established a school system for children to attend.51 In the years before public

education, the subject of religion was a topic of serious debate. Even though Australians were almost all

Christians, they were from different doctrines and couldn’t agree on what tenets of religion they could teach

that would apply to all the doctrines.52 Thus, public schools came to be defined by three things: they were free,

they were compulsory, and they were secular.53 However none of these things were true in absolute. Several

states in Australia charged fees for their schools as late as the early twentieth century, and absenteeism

without punishment was rampant, especially as children needed to work to help their families.54 The age of

compulsory education was usually thirteen and under. Even the religious question hadn’t been settled as

clergy members often visited schools to provide a common Christian education.

The question of state financial aid to religious schools continues to be an issue in Australia to this day. In the

1960s the federal government began to give aid to support science education in secondary schools to all

50 Craig Campbell, “Free, compulsory and secular Education Acts,” Dehanz, March 1, 2014, http://dehanz.net.au/entries/free-compulsory-secular-education-acts/.

51 Keri Phillips, “The history of education, religion and the state in Australia,” RN, June 24, 2014, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/education-religion-and-the-state-in-australia/5546816.

52 Ibid.53 Craig Campbell, “Free, compulsory and secular Education Acts,” Dehanz, March 1, 2014, http://dehanz.net.au/entries/

free-compulsory-secular-education-acts/.54 Craig Campbell, “Free, compulsory and secular Education Acts,” Dehanz, March 1, 2014, http://dehanz.net.au/entries/

free-compulsory-secular-education-acts/.

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kinds of schools: public, private, religious and non-religious.55 This aid only increased after the Interim School

Commission revealed the poor quality of Australian education across the board. Need based aid was given to

all schools, with a significant portion going to Catholic schools.56 Many people were angered by this decision,

but just as many supported it. They felt that non-government schools, no matter how poor, shouldn’t receive

any government money. Federal and state governments continue to provide funding to public and private

schools, regardless of private school religious affiliation.

The question of compulsory education is particularly important when examining education of Australian

aboriginal people. From the beginning of colonisation of Australia, religious mission schools were created to

educate aboriginal people, who were not then considered citizens of Australia. 57 At the same time that public

education began in Australia at the end of the 19th century, so did the policy of “exclusion on demand.”58 This

meant that any principal could remove aboriginal children from their school. Australians largely considered

aboriginal people to be uncivilised, which led to the policy being used systematically. In 1909 the federal

government passed the Aborigines Protection Act which allowed them to remove children from families and

place them in a separate school system from other children. These children were taught a lower curriculum

that prepared them for labour for white employers. Many aboriginal people fought this policy through

protests, conferences, rallies, petitions, and even a letter to the King of England. Some children were able

to attend non-segregated schools at this time, but they were often segregated into classrooms for only

aboriginal children, or expelled at parents’ request.59

In 1937 the government changed its position on aboriginal people and decided to promote assimilation into

the general population. The responsibility for aboriginal education was transferred to the state Department

of Education, rather than a separate entity for aboriginal people as previously. By the 1940s, the public

struggle for aboriginal rights had started on a national scale. Over twenty years of work were needed before

a federal referendum granted citizenship rights to aboriginals in 1967.60 Only in 1972 were principals finally

prohibited from removing aboriginal students from their schools. Several national education strategies

were developed in the 1980s to coordinate affirmative action efforts to serve the seriously disadvantaged

55 Keri Phillips, “The history of education, religion and the state in Australia,” RN, June 24, 2014, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/education-religion-and-the-state-in-australia/5546816.

56 Ibid.57 Nina Burridge, An Historical Overview of Aboriginal Education Policies in the Australian Context, SensePublishers, Rotterdam, https://

rd.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-6091-888-9_2#citeas, 2.58 Ibid 12.59 Ibid 15.60 Ibid 16.

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aboriginal population. These policies were re-evaluated in the 1990s and again in 2009. Special efforts are

now being made to focus on cultural heritage and values of aboriginal students.61

The challenges outlined here are not unique to Australia. In parts of Canada, governments fund, but do

not run, religious schools, which have slightly different structures than non-religious public schools.62

Fierce debates continue between supporters of a religious education and the values it tries to instill, and a

completely secular system which would match secular society. Disparities in education among racial groups

also exist elsewhere, in other countries with indigenous minorities such as Canada and New Zealand, but

also in South Africa.63 The majority of the population is black African, but they remain the poorest educated

group in the country since the fall of Apartheid in the 1990s. Combatting historic disparities on any scale is

a huge challenge in education in the 21st century.

Ghana

The first European school in Ghana was a

religious school and dates to 1529, but it

wasn’t until the mid-1800s that a sizeable

number of Africans in what would become

Ghana and other neighboring countries

were taught in English. This generation

was the product of the Colonial School

at Cape Coast in nearby Sierra Leone.64

Many more schools were created by

religious missions at this time, but Cape

Coast and Accra, a city in Ghana, held the

only two schools run by the government.

This education in the missions sought to teach the students to be Christian, and forbade local languages,

dancing and music.65 A series of education ordinances in the 1880s sought to regulate and organise the

61 Ibid 20.62 Adrian Morrow, “Catholic school system here to stay, Ontario Premier says,” The Globe and Mail, January 17, 2014, https://beta.

theglobeandmail.com/news/national/catholic-school-system-here-to-stay-ontario-premier-says/article16393219/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&.

63 David Thomas, “Black South Africans still disadvantaged in education, income and employment,” African Business, May 9, 2017, http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/region/southern-africa/black-south-africans-still-disadvantaged-education-income-employment/.

64 Charles A. Martin, “Significant Trends in the Development of Ghanaian Education,” The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter, 1976), pp. 46-60, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2966541.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A0570e94228fad4d8dcf70744bdadceba 46, 48.

65 Ibid, 50.

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missionary schools and create a partnership between the government and the church. The ordinances

established a board of education and tried to ensure that the schools were open to all children no matter

their race or religion.66 This ordinance remained the dominant policy for 40 years with more success than

before. Education was subsidised by the government but enrollment was still incredibly low.

In the 1920s, governor Guggisberg developed a new policy that placed focus on a quality primary education

under the guidance of quality teachers. Education was now offered to boys and girls, but they were taught

separately. Additionally, the government cooperated with and oversaw the religious mission schools so that

they could effectively provide education. The governor’s new plan, however, explicitly stated that education

could neither be compulsory, nor could it be free.67 The governor felt that they didn’t have the resources to

provide education to all children, nor did they feel it was worth it. Only certain schools were able to offer

education beyond the primary level, so not all students who wanted to carry on were able to. In addition,

they had to limit enrollment at all primary schools after 1925 because there were insufficient teachers.68

After obtaining independence in 1961, education was regarded by the first president as crucial to the

development of the country.69 Education would produce a scientifically literate population who could harness

Ghana’s economic potential as well as citizens who could focus on the problems that a newly independent

Ghana faced. To this end Ghana created a system of free and compulsory primary education, a drastic

shift from the policy under colonial rule. Ghana also highlighted the importance of teacher training and

development to provide universal quality education.70 The responsibility for the delivery of education was

given to local authorities. However, the local authorities were often much too small to adequately handle

these responsibilities, and many children went unserved.71 They had to be taught in improvised classrooms

and had poorly trained teachers. After independence, over two thirds of teachers were completely

untrained.72 There was also a shortage of textbooks for students and the government wasn’t able to provide

books to all the students.

66 Ibid, 51.67 Ibid, 52.68 N. J. K. Brukum, “SIR GORDON GUGGISBERG AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHERN GHANA,

1919-1927,” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana New Series, No. 9 (2005), pp. 1-15, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41406721?seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents.

69 Kwame Akyeampong, “Educational Expansion and Access in Ghana: A Review of 50 Years of Challenge and Progress,” Centre for International Education, http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf_documents/50%20Years%20of%20Educational_Progress_%20in_Ghana.pdf, 1.

70 Ibid, 2.71 Charles A. Martin, “Significant Trends in the Development of Ghanaian Education,” The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter,

1976), pp. 46-60, http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2966541.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A0570e94228fad4d8dcf70744bdadceba, 55.72 Ibid, 56.

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Another challenge at this time was the language of education. Some efforts were made in the 1920s to make

traditional languages such as Ewe, Fanti, Ga, and Twi the language of instruction. The governor at the time

felt that they shouldn’t separate the children from the community by teaching them everything in English.

However, there was a lack of education resources such as textbooks and even teachers in these languages

so English remained the main language of instruction.73 This debate began again in the 1970s after achieving

independence. Those in favor pointed to Tanzania, another country in the Commonwealth, which had begun

to use Swahili as its official language in education. They argued that it was necessary to overcome colonial

power. Proponents of English as the language of instruction point to the importance of integrating into global

society.74

In the 1970s the government took steps to rectify these problems. Local governments were reformed

including a new tax system which went towards funding education.75 This new system was also meant to

inspire a sense of social responsibility among communities that should lead them to pursue education. More

teacher’s colleges were also built and enrollment was increased. The government also partnered with the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other non-governmental

organizations.76 However in the 1980s, a serious economic decline led to more teacher and material

shortages, so the government turned to the World Bank for help.77 Significantly more schools were opened,

but education quality remained an issue. In 1995, more reforms were passed to help combat these issued.

Consistent problems to this day include the distribution of access to education, where rural communities

in the north have as many as 40% of their children who have never enrolled in school. Girls particularly are

under enrolled in school across the country.78 Researchers point to poverty, harassment and cultural norms

as key obstacles to female enrollment in school.79 Since the 1990s, the Ghanaian government has worked to

solve this issue through the Girls Education Unit. This group works on a variety of issues including providing

scholarships to girls, building female sanitary units and working in communities to change attitudes towards

female education.80

73 Ibid, 51.74 Ibid, 54.75 Ibid, 56.76 Ibid, 56.77 Kwame Akyeampong, “Educational Expansion and Access in Ghana: A Review of 50 Years of Challenge and Progress,” Centre for

International Education, http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf_documents/50%20Years%20of%20Educational_Progress_%20in_Ghana.pdf, 5.78 Ibid, 6.79 Megan Lambert, “Understanding the Barriers to Female Education in Ghana,” Blue Kitabu Research Institute, March 29, 2012, http://www.

bluekitabu.org/blue-kitabu-research-instit/understanding_the_barriers_.pdf, 1.80 Ibid, 2.

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There are several take away pieces from this case study that apply to many countries. The challenges of

developing sufficient infrastructure and quality teachers for a population to begin attending school can be

seen around the world. Many countries struggle with underqualified teachers due to the rapid expansion

of education and have not yet been able to develop schooling and training for teachers. The question of the

language of instruction is another recurring theme, especially where the language of business and everyday

life differ. Native language instruction is key for community and culture, but may not prepare students for

life after school. Lastly, gender disparities in education remain a global issue whether in terms of enrollment

numbers or attitudes and policies in schools.

India

1854 was the year of the first consideration for large-scale education for the Indian population.81 However,

this education would be neither free nor compulsory. British colonial policy had previously supported

education for a small group of urban elites, but the British began to recognize the importance of a literate

population82. The policy outlined a large and complicated system of education departments on the national

and state levels, as well as provided guidelines for creating schools and curriculum. In order to minimize the

cost of the system, the government sponsored public and private cooperation. Grants were given to private

groups of individuals who ran schools locally, because it was easier and faster than developing government

resources for a school system. As school boards were created in the 1860s, more schools were run entirely

by government officials, mostly at the municipal rather than national level and was done in English. The

schools, however served only a small fraction of the population. The school boards were run by members

of India ruling castes because they were the only ones who had previous access to education.83 They made

decisions to build schools that served their children and not children of other castes. As such, lower castes,

Muslims and women were especially underrepresented in schools under British rule.84

That is not to say that even elite castes were well represented in schools. The average literacy rate was a

mere 6% and even the high castes had a literacy rate that never surpassed 70%, and that in only one region

and only men.85 Even so, these castes made up only 1% of the population. British colonial rule invested very

little in education during the 19th century, especially at the primary level. They spent significantly less in India

81 Latika Chaudhary, “Determinants of Primary Schooling in British India,” Cambridge University Press, March 2009, http://www.jstor.org.proxy.uchicago.edu/stable/pdf/40263927.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Abfed2837cf64bd7d34b2eafb01fd0b04, 272.

82 Ibid. 273.83 Ibid. 274.84 Ibid. 276,85 Ibid. 277.

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than in other colonies.86 Only 40% of spending was for primary education, an unusually low amount for the

time and even now.87 This was likely because high castes created the demand for secondary education.

Free and compulsory education was part of the large scheme of reforms carried out in 1918 and 1919.

At this point British rule transferred the responsibility of education to the Indian state ministers. Even as

various states began passing measures to make education compulsory they often didn’t cover the entire

population. Some states required education only for boys or only in urban areas.88 Progress was slow and

literacy barely increased. Efforts continued to be concentrated on secondary education to the detriment of

primary education.

After India’s independence in 1947, primary education was guaranteed constitutionally for everyone,

regardless or religion, gender or caste.89 However in practice little progress was made and administration

remained the same with state minsters responsible for education. The five year plan of the Planning

Commission in 1950 and subsequent efforts began to make progress. The number of schools tripled

between the 1950s and the 1980s to achieve universal primary education.90 Most children finally had a

school within one kilometer of their homes, but the problems of understaffing and a lack of resources for

students remained.

In 2002 a constitutional amendment was passed reaffirming the right to education for all children, which led

to the passage of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009. This act mandates governments

to provide free education to all children between 6 and 14 years old regardless of religion or gender. 91 From

this, education spending as a percentage of GDP has grown significantly to 4% in 2004 and 2005.92 More

schools were opened and more children are enrolled in school. Significant progress in literacy rates was

made in the 21st century alone when literacy increased from 65% in 2001 to 74% in 2011.93

The history of education takes no clear path in the Commonwealth. Each country faces its own challenges

and responds in a different way. Many of the historical problems and challenges can be gleamed from these

86 Ibid. 278.87 www.jstor.org.proxy.uchicago.edu/stable/pdf/40263927.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Abfed2837cf64bd7d34b2eafb01fd0b04 27088 History of Education in India. By Ram Nath Sharma, Rajendra Kumar Sharma page 13989 “The postindependence period in India,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/

The-postindependence-period-in-India. 90 Ibid.91 “Elementary Education,” Department of School Education & Literacy, April 1, 2016, http://mhrd.gov.in/overview-ee. 92 Arijit Ghosh, “Indian School Education System: An Overview,” The British Council, 2014, https://www.britishcouncil.in/sites/default/files/

indian_school_education_system_-_an_overview_1.pdf. 93 Ibid.

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three case studies including the role of religion and religious institutions in education, minority access to

education, especially historically disadvantaged groups, growth and quality of education, and sufficient

financing of education. Religious institutions have historically played a huge role in education, but they are

decreasingly relevant with the transfer of responsibility for education to secular government. Historically

disadvantages populations, both minority and majority groups, along both race and gender lines, often have

lower enrollment and graduation rates, and the road of equity is long and slow. There are numerous financing

challenges in education, in infrastructure, in teacher development, and in curriculum and resources. In a

world with limited resources, there is no easy answer for financing priorities.

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Past Actions

The Commonwealth of Nations has always been actively involved in promoting education. The first dedicated

meeting for education happened in 1959 at Oxford in the United Kingdom. The body has reconvened every

three years afterwards in what is now called the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers. The

most recent meeting was held in 2015 in the Bahamas and had the title of “Quality Education for Equitable

Development.94” At these meetings, nations come together to share their expertise on a variety of issues

related to education. A variety of figures including government officials, academics and teaching professionals

engage in discussions and share best practices. In the most recent conference there was special discussion

around working towards the Sustainable Development Goals for education and related themes.95 Special

focus was also placed on early childhood education and ensuring access for all children no matter their

gender, race or ethnicity.

The 2015 conference also saw the creation of the Commonwealth Education Hub.96 The Education Hub

is an online forum to better link education professionals across the Commonwealth. Stakeholders can

ask and answer questions and participate in comparative discussions around a variety of themes.97 These

include quality, teacher development, global standards, and integration of technology. Members will look

at research and policy proposals and examine the successes and shortcomings of various programmes

implemented across the Commonwealth.98 In addition, the website hosts a wealth of information available

to the public. This includes data on education enrollment and links to education policy forums.99 As a whole,

the Education Hub helps continue the discussions that were begun at the Conference of Commonwealth

Education Ministers and proposes new topics for upcoming conferences.

Another important Commonwealth education initiative is the Commonwealth of Learning. This organisation

was founded in 1987 and its mission is to promote and develop open learning and distance education.100

Open learning is learning based on independent study rather than classroom learning, and distance

education is a form of open learning where the communication between teacher and student is done

94 “Quality Education for Equitable Development: Performance, Paths, and Productivity,” The Commonwealth of Nations, June 26, 2015, https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/19CCEM-ReportFinal.pdf.

95 Ibid.96 Ibid.97 “About the Commonwealth Education Hub,” The Commonwealth Education Hub, https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/

about/. 98 Ibid.99 “View Country Report Cards,” The Commonwealth Education Hub, https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/practice-centre/

view-country-profiles/. 100 “About the Commonwealth of Learning,” The Commonwealth of Learning, https://www.col.org/about/what-commonwealth-learning.

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through correspondence; often through online methods. These methods are most often implemented in

rural communities where schools might be hard to access. Through these methods the Commonwealth of

Learning hopes to promote access to education and benefit communities.101 They work with governments

and other institutions to bring education to the most hard to reach. The Commonwealth of Learning focuses

on a variety of initiatives which support teachers, farmers, and others which tackle gender inequalities.102

Their programs supporting girls specifically focus on factors which might normally prevent girls from

attending school such as costs, distance to school, and early or forced marriages.

Lastly, The Commonwealth of Nations has always been a supporter of the UN Millennium Development

Goals and later Sustainable Development Goals. At the turn of the millennium the UN began working towards

eight goals which were to be achieved by 2015. Most clearly related to this issue are achieving universal

primary education and promoting gender equality. The Commonwealth had a special interest in this goal as

most of its members are developing nations, and at the time, more than half of the world’s people who did

not have access to education lived in Commonwealth nations.103 The Commonwealth largely succeeded in

this area; in 2012, 60% of nations in the body had primary school enrollment rates of over 90%.104

The Commonwealth, as a partner organization of the UN and of UNESCO, was a participant of the MDG of

universal primary education. In 2015, at the end of the time frame for the MDGs, UNESCO remarked on

how much progress had been made globally on the issue but also noted some specific areas that need work.

They mentioned Pakistan and Nigeria, two Commonwealth nations, where conflict situations have slowed

progress on the issue.105 But they also noted the great success of Mozambique, and even Sierra Leone which

suffered from an 11 year civil war until 2005, in this area.106 Other African Commonwealth countries such

as Zambia, Mauritius, and Rwanda saw large successes in achieving universal primary education and now

have near 100% enrollment rates. Again, some Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean such as St Kitts

and Nevis and St Lucia struggled with increasing primary school enrollment, whereas Dominica and the

Bahamas were successful.107

101 Ibid.102 “Our Strategy,” The Commonwealth of Learning, https://www.col.org/programmes/our-strategy. 103 Ade Adefuye, “The Commonwealth and the Millenium Development Goals in Africa,” The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs,

January 24, 2007, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00358530600748325. 104 Anit N. Mukherjee, “MDGs Progress and Post-MDGs Priorities in the Commonwealth,” The Commonwealth iLibrary, November 16, 2013,

http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/5jz5m7vv20f4-en.pdf?expires=1506802480&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=592D9347320E46D6D761D6B2DF9F4489.

105 “Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges,” UNESCO, 2015, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002322/232205e.pdf, 77.

106 Ibid, 78.107 Ibid, 79.

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After the expiration of the MDGs, the UN set a new group of goals called the Sustainable Development Goals,

this time calling for twelve years of free education, or both primary and secondary education. This goal,

titled Ensure Inclusive and Quality Education for all and Promote Lifelong Learning, includes other initiatives

such as eliminating various disparities in education, including gender disparities, disparities in indigenous

communities, and for children with disabilities. The SDG will target those regions and communities which

continue to be underserved even after the efforts of the MDG. These regions are sub-Saharan Africa

and South Asia, which contain numerous Commonwealth countries. The communities which are most

underserved are girls in rural areas and children in informal settlements.108

108 Anit N. Mukherjee, “MDGs Progress and Post-MDGs Priorities in the Commonwealth,” The Commonwealth iLibrary, November 16, 2013, http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/5jz5m7vv20f4-en.pdf?expires=1506802480&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=592D9347320E46D6D761D6B2DF9F4489.

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Possible Solutions

The issue of access to primary education is complicated and multifaceted and therefore requires complex

solutions. Here, four important areas of focus will be highlighted. These are: improving resources, which

is further divided into infrastructure and human resources, raising standards, and financing. Each of these

areas targets specific problems within the issue and has advantages and disadvantages.

Improving Resources

Policy regarding educational resources can be further split into two parts: infrastructure and human

resources. Infrastructure focuses on the physical resources available to students as learners. This includes

everything from the school building to chalkboards to computers to books. Resources such as these are

essential to running a school, but they are not yet uniformly available throughout the Commonwealth.109

While most students have access to a school building, some students with physical disabilities may not. The

schools may be too far away or have physical impediments such as stairs that make it too difficult for students

to attend school.110 Students with disabilities, however, are not the only students who may not have schools

to attend. Some remote communities are underserved by existing education systems.111 Governments have

long thought that it is too great a challenge to reach these children, but this is a necessary investment if

education for all is to be reached. Additionally, some schools may lack any sanitation facilities which can

make students feel too uncomfortable to come to school.112

More resources must be devoted to providing this basic infrastructure to students free of charge. One

option for countries to consider is building schools in communities that are not yet served and undertaking

serious renovations to make all schools accessible for students. If the burden of building schools in extremely

remote areas does prove to be too large, other non-classroom methods of education may be explored.

The Commonwealth has the luxury of access to its own organization of the Commonwealth of Learning,

which specialises in distance learning.113 This expertise should be mobilized to serve as many children and

communities. These investments will be long lasting and serve communities for generations to come. School

109 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to- education-around-the-world-2/.

110 Mark Anderson, “Many disabled children in poorer countries left out of primary education,” The Guardian, August 18, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/18/disabled-children-poorer-countries-out-of-primary-education-south-africa-human-rights-watch-report.

111 “10 barriers to education around the world,” Global Citizen, June 2, 2014, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to- education-around-the-world-2/.

112 Ibid.113 “About the Commonwealth of Learning,” The Commonwealth of Learning, https://www.col.org/about/what-commonwealth-learning.

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buildings can stand for years and years and generations of students will walk through their doors. They can

also serve as community centers for everyone to use the space. The technology that underpins distance

learning can also be used by the community at large for other forms of communication like cultural events or

emergency broadcasts.

However, these investments are expensive. National governments of developing countries, especially small

states, often do not have the resources to undertake new building projects. Moreover the challenge is

highest in small states who have a higher proportion of remote communities and the fewest resources to

serve them. The money for this infrastructure is also unlikely to come from the international community at

current funding levels. There is a significant funding gap between current levels and what is thought to be

needed to reach education for all by 2030 in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals.114 More

money is needed but it will be difficult to find, especially from inside the Commonwealth, which has a high

proportion of developing states.

The second half of the resources problem is human resources, which refers to developing the people so they

can work properly within an organization. This issue is much harder to pin down, and even more difficult to

develop a solution for. Many Commonwealth countries have faced the problem, especially in the second half

of the 20th century, of undertrained teachers.115 Nations did not have enough qualified teachers to provide

the basic education they wanted, and were never able to invest properly in formal teacher training as an end

to peoples own schooling. Countries are now beginning to realize the importance of well trained teachers

and are looking to make the right investment.116 Well trained teachers are those who have the capacity to act

and react to different circumstances in the communities in which they work. Teachers and schools should

engage with community members to enhance to quality of education inside and outside the classroom.

On an individual level, teachers should be showing children how to learn, rather than just learning facts

or preparing for tests. Primary education is an important time to develop learning skills that help children

succeed beyond school and the classroom.

Furthermore, teacher development is an ongoing process throughout the career of a teacher. Teachers

should always be learning how to teach and they should always be self-evaluating. The Commonwealth has

114 “Education Financing,” Right to Education, http://www.right-to-education.org/issue-page/education-financing. 115 “Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges,” UNESCO, 2015, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/

images/0023/002322/232205e.pdf, 198.116 Jorg Drager, “Effective Investments in Education,” Global Economic Symposium, 2012, http://www.global-economic-symposium.org/

knowledgebase/the-global-economy/effective-investments-in-education/proposals/effective-investments-in-education.

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already begun developing professional standards for teachers and other school leaders.117 These standards

help to ensure that teachers are also developing and being trained to meet the education needs of children.

These standards further serve as a base for monitoring teachers and helping them to improve, and will

eventually contribute to more robust teacher training policies in individual countries. Organizations such as

the Education and Training Foundation also develop professional standards that counties can look to as they

develop their own standards.118 They focus on three subsections of skills, knowledge and understanding,

and values and attributes and seek to help educators provide the highest quality education as possible.

Partnerships with similar organizations may be a highly cost-effective way for Commonwealth members to

train teachers.

These investments, like investments in physical infrastructure, are long term, especially when they create

changes in the everyday behaviour of teachers. Training a teacher, even for only a few years, means that

all of their students over the course of their career will benefit from their skills, and will help ensure quality

education.119 Furthermore, establishing good methods for training teachers is a practice that lasts far into

the future. However, soft skills investments are very hard to uniformly implement across any jurisdiction,

be it multinational, national, or local. There are few if any simple metrics for judging the quality of teachers,

and any accountability measures are an additional investments that takes more time and money. Delegates

might want to consider what resources would be necessary for developing these metrics within nations or

Commonwealth-wide.

Raising Standards of Education

Determining what makes quality education remains the most difficult challenge left in education today.

Not only will the standards of a quality education have to encompass a large number of factors that affect

students, but it will also vary depending on desired outcomes for students. What can be accomplished with

a primary education in a country such as New Zealand is very different than in Botswana. Some challenges

include accounting for the diverse set of cultures and beliefs around the globe and how they influence

teaching practices and curriculum.120 Other challenges in defining quality are centered on learning outcomes

and qualifications earned from education. The Commonwealth’s current conception of quality education is

117 “Raising the Quality of Education: Developing Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/project/raising-quality-education-developing-professional-standards-teachers-and-school-leaders.

118 “Professional Standards,” Society for Education and Training, https://set.et-foundation.co.uk/professionalism/professional-standards/. 119 Jorg Drager, “Effective Investments in Education,” Global Economic Symposium, 2012, http://www.global-economic-symposium.org/

knowledgebase/the-global-economy/effective-investments-in-education/proposals/effective-investments-in-education.120 “Quality Standards in Education,” The Commonwealth Education Hub, May 31, 2016, https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/

wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Quality-Standards-in-Education-Summary-June-2016.pdf.

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education that fits these six attributes: effective, empowering, equitable, sustainable, appropriate, wellbeing

& safety. This means that education has a determined outcome and can meet that outcome and that it is

inclusive of all and that it empowers individuals to shape their futures. It also means that it is relevant to

national and international social, economic, and environmental circumstances. Lastly it should promote

health, wellbeing, and individual and social resilience.121

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has created a model of education in which learners, content,

environment, and processes all join together to create quality outcomes.122 Quality learners refer to

healthy children who are able to come to school without risk of disease. Quality environment touches on

many of the infrastructure elements already discussed. Quality education content is now thought to go

beyond only formal curricular learning. Life skills such as interpersonal skills and empathy, self-awareness

and value determination, creative and critical thinking, decision making, and stress management have all

been identified as quality educational content. Learning processes, or teaching methods, are also a focus of

quality education. Teacher-centered, authoritarian teaching styles have been identified as harming learners

by making them afraid to ask questions when they don’t understand.123 Untrained teachers are more likely

to be authoritarian if only because they don’t know other teaching methods. Teaching styles that are student

rather than teacher focused will always allow children to learn more and more quickly. Quality outcomes do

not only refer to achieving curriculum goals but to molding self-aware children who know their rights and

their potentials.

The adaptation and implementation of these quality standards is another issue in itself. Applying them

in schools for students is a challenge at many levels. It takes knowledge to develop and revaluate these

attributes, as well as put them into specific local contexts; advocacy work to engage communities and other

leaders; political will and other governance to implement them as a strategy; and quality teachers and

educators who have the capacity to bring them to students.

A more specific problem and goal for education is describing educational achievements across the globe. As

the 21st century progresses and more and more people move around the world for further education and

for work, creating a globally understood framework of qualifications seems increasingly necessary and the

Commonwealth is uniquely positioned to do so. The hopes of such a system are to provide a reference point

that anyone can use to describe their education and anyone can see and understand. As such a system comes

121 Ibid.122 “Defining Quality in Education,” UNESCO, 2000, https://www.unicef.org/education/files/QualityEducation.PDF.123 Ibid.

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into being, nations can see how their education systems compare to those around them and how they might

need to improve. This system would also increase transparency between nations as they strive to develop

quality education. As steps are taken towards this end, the problem has revealed itself as more and more

complex. Thus far UNESCO has identified challenges in categorizing learning, setting levels of learning, and

recognising learning.124 The Commonwealth, as a partner body to UNESCO and the UN as a whole could use

these resources to begin creating their own standards. Additionally, developing language to describe formal

curriculum goals is challenging in itself, but it pales in comparison to the language needed to describe less

formal learning outcomes. This task is a research and time intensive effort that will evolve over the years.

Financing Education

Education financing comes mostly from national or state governments through taxation. UNESCO regards

a healthy amount of a budget spent on education as 20% of the national budget. In the past, many countries

found this target hard to meet, especially those that had conditional loans with the International Monetary

Fund. These countries, including Malawi and Mozambiqe, received financial loans with certain requirements

attached. Some of these requirements included better management of public sector employees through

a total spending cap.125 This limited the amount of money that was available to spend on teacher hiring

and training.126 This is thought to have had unintentional yet serious effects which lessened the quality of

education in these countries.

Countries that are not able to spend a sizable portion of their budgets on education turn to foreign aid.

There are numerous international agreements which call for adequate international funding for education

around the world. These agreements include the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Jakarta

Declaration which elevated basic education to a human right. The largest example of aid for education is

the Global Education Partnership.127 It is a partnership of governments, NGOs, and development agencies

and other experts. The partnership coordinates funding for education projects around the globe. The

Commonwealth has a similar organization called the Commonwealth Foundation. It is the charitable arm of

the Commonwealth and they give grants to community groups in Commonwealth nations across a variety of

124 James Keevy and Borhene Chakroun, “Level-setting and recognition of learning outcomes,” UNESCO, 2015, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002428/242887e.pdf.

125 Annalisa Fedelino, Gerd Schwartz, and Marijn Verhoeven, “Aid Scaling Up: Do Wage Bill Ceilings Stand in the Way,” International Monetary Fund, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2006/wp06106.pdf.

126 Marijn Verhoeven and Alonso Segura, “IMF Survey: IMF Trims Use of Wage Bill Ceilings,” International Monetary Fund, September 5, 2007, https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sopol095a.

127 “About Us,” Global Partnership for Education, http://www.globalpartnership.org/about-us.

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themes related to civil society.128 They do not currently give grants specifically to formal education but the

Foundation could be expanded to assist community groups who are increasing the capacity of their schools.

It could go a long way to filling in some specific gaps in funding, but would require financial contributions

from Commonwealth countries to support any proposals.

This topic is composed of several challenges which should be addressed together. Creating infrastructure for

schools will help address important barriers like class size, sanitation, and classroom resources. Improving

teacher training and creating a culture of life long improvement will go far in ensuring that students are

receiving education that makes a difference. Furthermore, the Commonwealth has the opportunity to

support local education projects through grants that can help fill in government funding gaps. Lastly, the

Commonwealth can pave the way on creating a framework for evaluating quality education, in terms of both

curriculum and teaching methods. They can also work on creating international standards for educational

achievements. Delegates are encouraged to develop thoughtful and detailed solutions to these issues and

more.

128 “Grants Programme,” Commonwealth Foundation, http://commonwealthfoundation.com/grants/.

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Bloc Positions

Developed States(Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Malta, New Zealand, Singapore, and United Kingdom)

These nations are the most developed countries in the Commonwealth. They have well established education

systems that serve almost all children and prepare them for life in advanced economies. While quality is

above average for the world as a whole, and Singapore topped the rankings in the latest Programme for

International Student Assessment scores, there is always room for improvement.129 Measures should be

taken to ensure all schools provide the same level of quality education. These efforts are most needed in

countries that have significant indigenous populations such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. These

groups are drastically underserved by standard school systems.130 Additionally, these countries often

provide the most technical advice and expertise to other members of the Commonwealth both through the

Commonwealth and through bilateral assistance. They host forums and give expert advice as well as aid

funding to countries in need.131 As next steps, these countries will likely have to be responsible for making up

most of the gap in international aid, but they are still limited in what they can give. Furthermore, aid they do

give will likely need to be attached to specific projects and initiatives.

Africa(Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia)

These countries gained independence from the British Empire mostly in the second half of the 20th century.

Before then they had some semblance of an education system but it did not serve a large portion of the

population, nor were these systems free. After independence, and especially in the beginning of the 21st

century, these countries rapidly expanded their school systems in an effort to educate and make literate

as much of their populations as possible. Some countries were more successful than other at ensuring the

quality of education. For example, the literacy rate in South Africa is now almost 95%, whereas in Uganda is

it only around 70%.132 Many of these countries also contend with the problem of the language of instruction.

129 Abby Jackson and Andy Kiersz, “The latest ranking of top countries in math, reading, and science is out — and the US didn’t crack the top 10,” Business Insider, June 12, 2016, http://www.businessinsider.de/pisa-worldwide-ranking-of-math-science-reading- skills-2016-12?r=US&IR=T.

130 John Barber, “Canada’s indigenous schools policy was ‘cultural genocide’, says report,” The Guardian, June 2, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/02/canada-indigenous-schools-cultural-genocide-report.

131 “About the Commonwealth of Learning,” The Commonwealth of Learning, https://www.col.org/about/what-commonwealth-learning.132 “Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above),” The World Bank, 2017, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.

ZS?locations=ZA-UG.

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Some of them run their classes mostly in English, others in traditional language, and yet other in a mix of

both.133 In addition, many countries suffer from having insufficient and underqualified teachers and students

do not meet curriculum standards.134 This group of countries makes much use of Commonwealth resources,

and seeks for both technical and financial aid to be expanded. As it stands the governments of these

countries do not have the resources to expand and guarantee primary education for all, so they require

financial assistance. However they run the risk of becoming more dependent on international aid should

they continue to receive more and more. For long term success, technical assistance for teacher training is

crucial.

Asia(Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka)

These nations face different challenges than many of the others because of their size. The scale of the

education systems they have had to develop are much larger than other countries, with the exception of

Sri Lanka. In this process they have had to contend with numerous ethnic and language divides to create

adequate school systems. In Malaysia, primary school is mostly done in the local language of Bahasa Melayu;

however, some ethnic Chinese students can choose to undergo schooling in Chinese.135 In India there

are numerous languages of instruction that vary by state along with broader use of Hindi and English.136

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation considers education in indigenous

languages to be highly important for fostering inclusion and equality.137 Other problems that are present

in these countries include malnutrition and teacher quality. South Asia has the world’s worst instances of

child malnutrition and this drastically impacts a child’s ability to learn. There are low quality standards for

becoming a teacher and absenteeism is rampant in many countries especially India. More programs for

teacher and school accountability to their students could greatly improve learning outcomes.138

133 “Education in Nigeria,” World Education News and Reviews, March 7, 2017, https://wenr.wes.org/2017/03/education-in-nigeria. 134 Justin W. van Fleet, “Africa’s Education Crisis: In School But Not Learning,” Brookings, September 17, 2012, https://www.brookings.edu/

blog/up-front/2012/09/17/africas-education-crisis-in-school-but-not-learning/. 135 “Education in Malaysia,” World Education News and Reviews, December 2, 2014, http://wenr.wes.org/2014/12/education-in-malaysia. 136 “Language Education,” Department of Higher Education, April 19, 2014, http://mhrd.gov.in/language-education. 137 “Languages in Education,” UNESCO, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/

languages-in-education/. 138 Gabriela Aguilar, “Poor Quality Education Holding Back South Asia, World Bank says,” The World Bank, June 30, 2014, http://www.

worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/06/30/poor-quality-education-holding-back-south-asia.

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Small States of the Americas(Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Luica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)

Many Caribbean countries have made good progress in developing primary school systems. From systems

under British rule which educated only a select group of white men, national school systems now serve almost

all children in systems that have compulsory and free primary education. However, education is not always

of the best quality. The Caribbean struggles especially to attract qualified teachers in the core subjects of

English, math, and science.139 This led to only 50% of students passing a region wide exam in 2009, a serious

disappointment and testament to the failures of the school systems in the Caribbean.140 Serious efforts will

be needed to increase teacher competence and make teaching a more attractive profession. A second issue

that has been pointed out by the World Bank is the lack of decision making power in the schools themselves.

The systems are often highly centralised which prevents them from solving their own problems quickly.141

Small States of Africa and the Pacific(Brunei, Fiji, Kiribati, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu)

Like many of the countries in the Caribbean, these countries are some of the smallest states by population in

the world. They often have limited resources with which to operate. In the last twenty years these countries

have made a lot of progress on expanding access to primary education and eliminating gender disparities

in schools.142 They have also mostly eliminated school fees making education free for all. However, the

geography of these countries can be challenging, and many children live in remote areas that aren’t served

properly by schools.143 The schools that do exist are often below standards for a variety of reasons. They

might have poor sanitation facilities and other infrastructure which inhibits learning, or they might have

poor learning materials and teaching staff.144 These countries are looking for aid to help them build more

schools and learn about reaching remote communities. They are also looking for assistance in teaching in

native languages and serving children with disabilities.

139 “How to improve quality of education in the Caribbean for the next generation?” The World Bank, September 20, 2013, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/09/18/caribbean-quality-education-improvements-next-generation.

140 “Rethinking Education in the Caribbean,” Caribbean Examinations Council, September 3, 2015, http://www.cxc.org/rethinking-education-in-the-caribbean/.

141 “How to improve quality of education in the Caribbean for the next generation?” The World Bank, September 20, 2013, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/09/18/caribbean-quality-education-improvements-next-generation.

142 “Rethinking Education in the Caribbean,” Caribbean Examinations Council, September 3, 2015, http://www.cxc.org/rethinking-education-in-the-caribbean/.

143 “Education,” UNICEF Pacific Island Countries, https://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/overview_1858.html. 144 Ibid.

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Glossary

Apartheid: A term given to the South African government policies of racial discrimination until 1991

CCEM: Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers, a conference that occurs every three years for

education ministers to meet and discuss issues around education

Commonwealth of Learning: A Commonwealth organization dedicated to researching methods and

technologies for open source and distance learning

Enrollment rates: Percentage of children of appropriate age registered for school

Indigenous/aboriginal people/populations: Inhabitants of a region from a time before the arrival of people

of different culture, now a minority in these regions

International Monetary Fund: International organization that works to foster global monetary cooperation,

promote sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world

Language of Instruction: The language used to teach students, different from classes in or about a specific

language

Literacy rates: The percentage of people above the age of 15 who are able to read and write

Millennium Development Goals: A set of globally agreed upon goals set in 2000 to be realized by 2015

Primary school: Usually the first six years of formal education, usually for children between six and twelve

years of age

Sub-Saharan Africa: All countries in Africa south of the Sahara Desert

Sustainable Development Goals: A second set of globally agreed upon goals set in 2015 to be realized by

2030

UNESCO: The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, part of the UN

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UNICEF: The United Nations Children’s Fund, part of the UN

Universal Primary Education: 100% enrollment in primary education in all countries

World Bank: Global partnership working to end global poverty with sustainable solutions

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ranking-of-math-science-reading-skills-2016-12?r=US&IR=T.

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Rotterdam, https://rd.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-6091-888-9_2#citeas, 2.

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TOPIC B: DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW

Statement of the Problem

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth in 2009, the body set out to create the most

comprehensive statement of Commonwealth values yet. Four years later the official Charter of the

Commonwealth was signed by Queen Elizabeth. In it, the nations of the Commonwealth look back to their

original missional statement of independent nations who cooperate as they work towards common values,

and look forward to the challenges of the future.145 Among these they note the increasing demand for

functional and healthy democracies around the world. Promoting democracy and good governance is and

always has been a central mission of the Commonwealth of Nations and it is as important now as it was when

the Commonwealth was founded at the end of World War II.

The Commonwealth Charter demonstrates the commitment of the organization and its members to the

values found within. Of primary concern for this issue are the themes of democracy, human Rights, freedom of

expression, separation of powers, rule of law, and good governance. The Commonwealth Charter recognizes

the importance of elections and healthy democratic culture, stating that governments and political parties

are accountable to the public.146 It also restates the Commonwealth’s complete opposition to discrimination

of all forms and its commitment to all international human rights agreements. The Charter notes the necessity

of dialogue and information to strengthen democracy. It goes on to highlight the divisions of the legislative,

executive, and judiciary branches of government and the necessity of a competent judiciary in maintaining

confidence in the rule of law. Lastly, the charter restates the importance of transparency and accountability

in eliminating corruption and increasing public trust in government.147

Democracy is one of the core principles of the Commonwealth of Nations and it is through democracy that

individuals shape the society in which they live. Self-determination and participation in one’s own government

is an internationally held human right.148 It stems from the equality of all people and the principle that no

individual has a right to more political power than any other. Democracy gives individuals equal control over

their society by allowing them to choose their leaders. Furthermore, the government and its decisions are

145 “Charter of the Commonwealth,” Commonwealth of Nations, 2013, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/page/documents/CharteroftheCommonwealth.pdf.

146 Ibid.147 Ibid.148 “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” United Nations, http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.

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held accountable through a system of elections. Outside of elections, a healthy democracy requires the ability

for individuals to hold and share opinions without fear of punishment or retributions. For this, a healthy and

robust rule of law is required. The rule of law refers to the universal and equal application of the law, which

is also based on the principle that all individuals are equal.149 The rule of law implies that government is also

bound by the law, specifically constitutions. Constitutions contain the guiding legal principles for the nation

which are meant to guide all other legal decisions made by governments and individuals.150 From there,

according to former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the rule of law enshrines the principles

of equality, accountability, fairness and more.151

The philosophical ideals of democracy must be supported by real-world policies. While all nations are

stated supporters of these political values, they play out slightly differently in each nation. Three subjects

in particular form part of the concrete application of democracy and the rule of law. These are free and fair

elections, an independent judiciary, and freedom of expression.

Free and Fair Elections

Elections are the cornerstone of democracy and widely held as a human right. They are the method through

which individuals exercise their sovereignty and express their views on government. Free and fair elections

are also a crucial tool for maintaining peace and order. As the UN notes, “they resolve peacefully the

competition for political power.” 152 Elections bring legitimacy to government, which also serves to reduce

non-democratic challenges for political control. Elections in democratic government also provide a system

for legitimate challenge to authority: running as an opposing candidate. Free and fair elections are but one

crucial part of democratic governance, including other elements such as separation of powers, freedom of

expression, respect for the rule of law, and non-discrimination. Thus, all of these other elements must be

taken into account when examining the record of the Commonwealth and free and fair elections.

The Inter Parliamentary Union, a forum for representatives of the national parliaments of 173 countries,

has laid out criteria for free and fair elections. These are separated into rights and responsibilities for voters,

rights and responsibilities for candidates, and rights and responsibilities for states.153 The voters section

149 “Rule of Law and Democracy: Addressing the Gap Between Policies and Practices,” UN Chronicle, December 2012, https://unchronicle.un.org/article/rule-law-and-democracy-addressing-gap-between-policies-and-practices.

150 Ibid.151 Ibid.152 “Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation,” United Nations, October 27, 2005, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/

default/files/history-items/documents/Declaration%20of%20Principles%20for%20International%20Election%20Observation.pdf. 153 “Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections,” Inter-Parliamentary Union, March 26, 1994, http://www.ipu.org/cnl-e/154-free.htm.

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includes crucial elements such as the right to vote, the right to easy voter registration, and the right to easily

access a polling station. Additionally, all votes should be of equal weight, and the content of the vote should

be secret.154 The rights for candidates include that everyone have opportunity to serve as a candidate, and

that any group of people my found or join a political party. Additionally, all candidates and parties have

the right to express their views, and to have those views shared in the media. The responsibilities of the

candidates include not engaging in violence and respecting the outcome of the election. The state has the

responsibility to provide impartial voter registration, allow and regulate the functioning of political parties,

and create civic education to familiarize population with election processes. It also have a responsibility to

provide a forum for political debate, ensure the rights of voters, and not interfere in the voting process. If

any one of these elements is found to be disregarded, then the outcome of the election is thrown into doubt.

Although elections in Commonwealth countries generally run smoothly, that is not always the case. One

country in particular, Kenya, has had several incidents of election fraud and violence in the past. In 2007,

after contested election results, 1,400 people were killed in riots around the country. Al Jazeera reported

that in the lead up to the election, journalists and activists were harassed and even killed.155 There were also

reports of irregularities in vote counting, which contributed to post-election violence. Ten years and a couple

of elections later in 2017, there were reportedly more irregularities in the counting of results. The leader

of the opposition, Raila Odinga alleged vote rigging and hacking of the election servers and filed a petition

to the Supreme Court of Kenya.156 The petition was upheld, and the presidential election was annulled.157

Observer missions from the European Union and the Commonwealth noted that the vote itself was carried

out smoothly, and that voters and election officials acted properly, but they also noted discrepancies between

Kenyan Law and events of the election.158 A new election was scheduled for October 17, 2017, with Odinga

and the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta competing again.

Kenya is not the only country with issues surrounding free and fair elections. Other Commonwealth countries

struggle to reach all potential voters, either because there are so many of them or they live in inaccessible

areas. Rwanda and Cameroon have had the same leaders for multiple election terms due to unfree elections.

154 Ibid.155 James Brownsell, “Kenya: What went wrong in 2007?” Al Jazeera, March 2, 2013, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/

features/2013/03/201333123153703492.html. 156 Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura, “Kenya Opposition Leader Says He’ll Expose Election Fraud,” New York Times, August 16, 2017, https://www.

nytimes.com/2017/08/16/world/africa/kenya-opposition-leader-says-hell-expose-fraud-for-all-to-see.html. 157 “Kenya election: Raila Odinga threatens re-run election boycott,” BBC News, September 5, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/

world-africa-41159873. 158 Ibid.

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These leaders have repeatedly threatened opposition leaders and their supporters.159 Even worse, Brunei

and Swaziland are ruled by absolute monarchy and don’t have elections at all.160 This gravely undermines the

ability of the people to have their say in how they are governed.

An Independent Judiciary

An independent judiciary refers to the appropriate separation of powers in government, specifically denoting

the ability of appointed judges to interpret and apply the law without interference from the executive and

legislative branches, or even public opinion. A structured and competent judiciary is crucial for the fair

and equal application of the rule of law. Without it, some individuals may receive unfair benefits or may

be treated more harshly than set out by the law. Certain courts in most countries have the ability to strike

down laws passed by legislative and executive branches which violate the country’s constitution or other

legal principles. The respect for the rule of law as carried out through the judicial system is also crucial for

maintaining order in society. Unrest and even violence can occur when individuals believe they are not being

treated fairly.

The Commonwealth has noted a list of elements which should be in place to ensure judicial independence.161

These include having clear criteria and public process for judicial appointments with equality of opportunity

for all those who meet the criteria and appointment on merit. Also important are security of tenure as a

judge and protection of payment while in the position. Sufficient resources must be provided to the courts

so that they may exercise their responsibilities. The criteria for removing a judge from their position should

be limited to incapacity or severe misbehaviour. Lastly, court proceedings should as much as possible be

open to the public and decisions should also be publicly available. The degree to which these are respected

will indicate the independence of the judiciary.

The nations of the Commonwealth have taken several crucial steps to ensure the independence of the

judiciary. In February of 2016, a group of judges and legal scholars from 7 Commonwealth countries

approved a set of principles that guide judicial selection.162 These principles, called the Cape Town principles,

159 “Democracy Is Rwanda’s Losing Candidate,” New York Times, August 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/opinion/rwanda-election-kagame.html?mcubz=3.

160 “Brunei Darussalam: Constitution and politics,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/brunei-darussalam/constitution-politics.

161 “Commonwealth (Latimer Principles) on the Three Branches of Government,” Commonwealth Heads of Government, 2003, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/history-items/documents/LatimerHousePrinciples.pdf.

162 “Cape Town Principles on the Role of Independent Commissions in the Selection and Appointment of Judges,” British Institute of International and Comparative Law, February 2016, https://www.biicl.org/documents/868_cape_town_principles_-_feb_2016.pdf?showdocument=1.

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affirm the importance of the judiciary in the rule of law, and goes on to call for the creation of independent

commissions for judicial appointment in each country of the Commonwealth. These commissions are to be

independent from the executive or legislative functions of parliament, though they may have representatives

of these bodies as members. The members of the committee should come from the existing judiciary, legal

profession and even unaffiliated backgrounds. The diversity of the selection committee is meant to prevent

any one group from dominating the selection process and eliminate any doubts on the impartiality of the

committee. Even before the creation of these principles, more than 80% of Commonwealth nations had

some variation on this system in place.163 These principles are meant to guide the remaining countries in the

Commonwealth if they choose to establish such a system.

One of the countries that does not currently have a firmly independent judiciary is Australia. The power

to appoint judges rests in the hands of the executive branch with no input from any other sources.164 The

process is not publicly declared nor is the eventual decision made on clearly defined criteria, which is a failure

to meet Commonwealth standards.165A second nation that has had the independence of its judiciary called

into question recently is Botswana. In 2016, the International Commission of Jurists noted that four judges

were suspended from office after filing a petition to the Chief Justice which shed light on poor working

conditions and cruel comments made by the Chief Justice about another judge.166 The Chief Justice and

the President of Botswana established a tribunal with the aim of impeaching the justices from their role on

the bench. The move was condemned by the Law Society of Botswana and international observers.167 In

March of 2017, the justices withdrew their petition and the suspension was lifted.168 The interference of the

president in the affairs of the judiciary severely impacts their ability to uphold the rule of law.

Again, situations like these exist in numerous countries. In 2014, notable international human rights lawyer

Geoffrey Robertson issued a paper which outlines some of the most serious recent global violations of

judicial independence, many of which were in Commonwealth countries. These include specific events in

Sri Lanka and Uganda where the government attacked the Constitutional Courts and the justices on them,

163 “Commonwealth announces principles for judicial appointments, tenure and removal,” The Commonwealth, July 9, 2015, http://thecommonwealth.org/media/press-release/commonwealth-announces-principles-judicial-appointments-tenure-and-removal.

164 Andrew Lynch, “Australia is lagging behind the world’s best on judicial appointments reform,” The Conversation, August 12, 2015, https://theconversation.com/australia-is-lagging-behind-the-worlds-best-on-judicial-appointments-reform-45833.

165 Ibid.166 “Botswana: authorities must uphold independence of judiciary in impending impeachment proceedings against four judges,”

International Commission of Jurists, September 20, 2016, https://www.icj.org/botswana-authorities-must-uphold- independence-of-judiciary-in-impending-impeachment-proceedings-against-four-judges/.

167 “Botswana: Suspension of judges potentially threatens freedom of expression and judicial independence,” Amnesty International, October 7, 2015, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/botswana-suspension-of-judges-potentially-threatens-freedom-of-expression-and-judicial-independence/.

168 Oaribile Mosikare, “Khama lifts judges’ suspensions,” Mmegi Online, March 29, 2017, http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=67754&dir=2017/march/29.

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and wide spread practices in Pakistan and Singapore where judges are corrupted by sitting governments.169

These issues seriously impact justice in every country and put people at risk.

Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression is an essential part of any democratic society. Individuals must be allowed to form

their own opinions and express them without fear of punishment from government or other actors. The

right to hold opinions, especially those which differ from the majority or those in power, is a key human

right. It appears in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.170 The Canadian Civil Liberties

Association also calls it a feature of personal development.171 Furthermore, the elimination of the right to

free expression, or even a small limit on free expression, would quickly bring the end of open and diverse

society.172 The right to freedom of expression extends to journalism, and indeed journalism and media play

an important part in the rule of law. UNESCO notes that media has the ability to foster “vigilance towards

the rule of law.”173 Journalists do this through investigations and reporting on legislative, administrative

and judicial events. It is crucial for freedom of expression that news media be allowed to carry out these

responsibilities unimpeded.

Measuring abstract constructs such as freedom of expression is very difficult. There are numerous factors

that must be considered and compared and no easy way to do so. The Human Freedom Index, produced by

three think tanks based in Canada, the USA and Germany, organizes their categories of personal freedoms

as follows: movement, religion, association, assembly, and civil society, expression, and relationships.174

Some of the most important sub-categories are freedom of association, assembly, and demonstration,

the freedom to establish, and the autonomy of political parties, press killings, legal influence on media

content, and access to media content. Data gathered in these categories can give a good idea of the range of

freedom of expression available to individuals and the media. A second set of data on freedom of expression

focuses more specifically on freedom of the press. This report from Reporters Without Borders looks at

media independence, legislative framework on media, transparency, and infrastructure for sharing media

169 Geoffrey Robertson, Judicial Independence: Some Recent Problems, June 2014, 5.170 “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” United Nations, http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.171 “Fundamental Freedoms: Freedom of Expression,” Canadian Civil Liberties Association, https://ccla.org/focus-areas/

fundamental-freedoms/freedom-of-expression-2/. 172 Ibid.173 “Rule of Law to Ensure Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity,” UNESCO, 2014, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/

prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/world-press-freedom-day/2014-themes/rule-of-law-to-ensure-safety- of-journalists-and-combating-impunity/.

174 Ian Vasquez, “The Human Freedom Index 2016,” the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, 2016, https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/human-freedom-index-files/human-freedom-index-2016-update-3.pdf.

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content.175 They also look at data on acts of violence on journalists and the reaction to these attacks to

complete the picture.176

The state of freedom of expression varies widely in the Commonwealth of Nations. Although the

Commonwealth has four member nations among the top ten in the Human Freedom Index, there are still

some countries ranked in the bottom twenty-five.177 Furthermore, several countries in the Commonwealth

have received a rating of Bad, though thankfully no Commonwealth country received a grade of Very Bad,

from Reporters Without Borders.178 Journalists in two Commonwealth countries, Bangladesh and India,

were tragically killed in 2017.179 The nation of the Commonwealth with the highest press freedom score was

Jamaica, who have been especially lauded since a 2013 law that decriminalised defamation.180 Two other

Commonwealth nations who receive criticism for their records on freedom of expression are Singapore

and Nauru. Singapore has long had anti-defamation and anti-contempt laws which serve to limit media and

individual expression and dissent in the country.181 Media in the country is also mostly owned by the state

and therefore would never criticise the government. Nauru’s suppression of speech extends to members

of its own parliament. Three members of parliament were suspended after criticising the Prime Minister

in 2015, which led to protests in which they participated.182 They had criticised the prime minister after a

bribery scandal that connected him to an Australian mining company, and also for suspending all opposition

members of parliament the year prior.183 At their trial, the protestors face up to ten years of jail time for

political protest, based on laws which limit freedom of expression.

The issues of democracy and the rule of law are multifaceted and intertwined. Both are needed for

maintaining personal freedoms and ensuring the security of individuals in their societies. Healthy democracy

allows individuals to contribute to their own government and influence forms of society, and rule of law

ensures that all are treated fairly and protected from undue persecution. The three categories of free and

fair elections, the independent judiciary, and freedom of expression work together to uphold democracy and

the rule of law. Free elections are necessary for individuals to properly and effectively select representatives

175 “Detailed methodology,” Reporters without Borders, 2017, https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology. 176 Ibid.177 Ian Vasquez, “The Human Freedom Index 2016,” the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for

Freedom, 2016, https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/human-freedom-index-files/human-freedom-index-2016-update-3.pdf.178 “Ranking,” Reporters without Borders, 2017, https://rsf.org/en/ranking. 179 “Barometer,” Reporters without Borders, 2017, https://rsf.org/en/barometer. 180 “Jamaica,” Reporters withouth Borders, 2017, https://rsf.org/en/jamaica. 181 “Press freedom: The Singapore grip,” The Guardian, November 16, 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/17/

press-freedom-singapore-grip. 182 “Former Nauru MPs charged over protest fight to halt controversial trial,” ABC, April 20, 2017, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-20/

suspended-nauru-mps-facing-jail-as-controversial-trial-begins/8457664. 183 Paul Farrell, “Nauru opposition MP arrested after anti-government protest outside parliament,” The Guardian, June 15, 2015, https://

www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/16/nauru-opposition-mp-arrested-after-anti-government-protest-outside-parliament.

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for democracy. The independent judiciary is needed to limit any outside influence on cases before the law.

Free expression is needed to share opinions and hold government accountable to those it represents. These

freedoms and policies are carried out with varying degrees of success in the nations of the Commonwealth.

The body must come together to support all nations as they pursue these goals.

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History of the Problem

The history of the Commonwealth of Nations is very tightly connected with the issues of democracy and

the rule of law. From the body’s creation in the 1950s, when it only had a few members, until now, the

organization and its members have worked tirelessly on these issues. Specific moments in the histories of

member nations have defined the Commonwealth stance on these issues throughout history. The first major

dispute was minority rule in South Africa, but later conflicts in Nigeria and Fiji prompted further refinement

and a stronger stance on the importance of these values. This section will have two parts: firstly the history

of the Commonwealth’s stance on Apartheid in South Africa, and secondly the events leading to the creation

of the Commonwealth Minister’s Action Group (CMAG), and some of its successes.

The Commonwealth and Apartheid

The end of the Second World War saw a global push for decolonization. Colonial governments turned over

power to local populations especially in Africa and South and East Asia. The country of South Africa was an

exception to this, as the new local government was still entirely controlled by a white settler minority, mostly

of Dutch and British origin.184 They enacted policies which kept white and Non-white people separate and

unequal. Even inter-racial friendships were considered suspicious.185 Non-white people were required by

the law to carry passes at all times, which were used to control their movement. Anyone could be arrested

for not carrying their pass at any time.186 The African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress

(PAC), organizations which fought for the rights of black South Africans began in 1959 to organize a massive

protest against the pass laws and apartheid as a whole. The protest was planned for Monday the 21st of

March 1960, wherein people would leave their houses without their passes and march to the police station

where they could be arrested.187 It was to be a completely non-violent protest to demonstrate against the

pass laws and show the importance of black Africans to South African society and the economy.188 In one

city, Sharpeville, around 5,000 people gathered in front of the police station. A small fight broke out, and the

police began to shoot at the protestors. 69 people were killed and almost 200 seriously wounded.189

184 Martin Legassick, “South Africa: White Settlement in South Africa in 1994,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/white-settlement-555577.

185 “A history of Apartheid in South Africa,” South African History Online, http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa. 186 “History of Women’s struggle in South Africa,” South African History Online, http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/

pass-laws-south-africa-1800-1994. 187 “Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960,” South African History Online, http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/

sharpeville-massacre-21-march-1960. 188 Ibid.189 Ibid.

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Finally the United Kingdom condemned the South African government, and allowed the Commonwealth as

a group to do so as well.190 The UN and individual countries placed sanctions on South Africa. Later that year,

a referendum of white South Africans voted to change from a

constitutional monarchy to a republic. The change in the style of

government required the new South Africa to reapply for

membership to the Commonwealth of Nations per Commonwealth

law.191 The application needed the approval of the Commonwealth

Prime Ministers, but the African nations as well as India and Canada

were all opposed because of continued apartheid rule.192 The

application was withdrawn, and from the 1960s until 1994 was not

a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.193

Through the second half of the 20th century and up to today, The Commonwealth has codified and clarified

its stance on democracy and the rule of law. The first such declaration was in 1971 and it is called the

Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles. Crucial to the issue of apartheid, the declaration

includes the words, “We believe in the liberty of the individual, in equal rights for all citizens regardless

of race, colour, creed or political belief, and in their inalienable right to participate by means of free and

democratic political processes in framing the society in which they live.”194 Although South Africa was not

a member of the Commonwealth of Nations at the time, the problem of apartheid there was still relevant

for the other African nations of the Commonwealth. The Singapore Declaration also states, “We oppose all

forms of colonial domination and racial oppression and are committed to the principles of human dignity and

equality. We will therefore use all our efforts to foster human equality and dignity everywhere.”195 At this

time, all of the members of the Commonwealth except for Malawi called for an end to minority rule in South

Africa.196 However no country or international body was willing to take action.

1985 marked a turning point in the Commonwealth stance on the issue. The old dominions—Australia,

Canada, and New Zealand—demanded stronger action instead of quiet diplomacy.197 The Commonwealth

190 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 12.191 “South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth,” South African History Online, http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/

south-africa-withdraws-commonwealth. 192 Ibid.193 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 12.194 “Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles 1971,” The Commonwealth, 2004, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/

history-items/documents/Singapore%20Declaration.pdf. 195 Ibid.196 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 15.197 Ibid, 16.

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still couldn’t support sanctions without the approval of the United Kingdom. At the Commonwealth Heads

of Government Meeting that year, the Secretary General worked with Heads of Government to write the

Commonwealth Accord on Southern Africa. In it they strongly condemned apartheid and its practices and

called for the release of prisoners and beginning of dialogue across racial lines.198 Importantly, they proposed

a mission of Commonwealth persons to travel to South Africa to meet with leaders of both sides. They met

with Nelson Mandela, one of the most important leaders of the anti-apartheid movement three times while

he was in prison, and the government twenty-six times.199 While they were there on May 19th 1986, the

South African Defense Force attacked the capital cities of three other Commonwealth nations, looking for

members of the ANC. The cities were Lusaka in Zambia, Gaborone in Botswana, and Harare in Zimbabwe.200

This finally led to the passage of strict sanctions against South Africa.201 Four years later, the government

succumbed to pressure and unbanned the ANC and other political organisations, as well as released several

political prisoners.202 Apartheid legislation was repealed in 1991, with multi-racial elections taking place a

few years later in 1994.

This long fight to end apartheid shows that the Commonwealth can successfully exert pressure on nations.

The Commonwealth was the international leader both in dialogue with South Africa and in laying sanctions.

This was in many ways a successful defence of democracy and other Commonwealth values. It did, however,

take an exceedingly long period of time, but part of this can be attributed to the fact that South Africa was

not a Commonwealth member, and the body needed the assent of the United Kingdom to be able to pass

sanctions. As will be explained, the Commonwealth now has a different and much more efficient system

for defending its political values. If anything, the successes of the Commonwealth in South Africa should

reassure the body that it will have a positive effect in defending democracy and the rule of law.

Creation of the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group

The chain of events which lead to the founding of the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group can be traced

from political happenings in Fiji in 1987. The population of Fiji consisted of two groups: the ethnic Fijians, and

Indian immigrants and their descendants who had been working in the sugar industry since the end of the

198 “The Commonwealth Accord on Southern Africa - Nassau Accord,” African National Congress, October 20, 1985, http://www.anc.org.za/content/commonwealth-accord-southern-africa-nassau-accord.

199 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 50.200 Alan Cowell, “PRETORIA’S FORCES RAID 3 NEIGHBORS IN MOVE ON REBELS,” The New York Times, May 20, 1986, http://www.

nytimes.com/1986/05/20/world/pretoria-s-forces-raid-3-neighbors-in-move-on-rebels.html. 201 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 50.202 “How SA emerged as a democracy from the crises of the 1990s,” South African History Online, http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/

collapse-apartheid-grade-12.

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19th century.203 The Indo-Fijians had greatly reduced political and property rights, even though they were a

very slight majority of the population.204 In the 1987 election, voters elected an ethnic Fijian Prime Minister,

Dr. Timoci Bavadra, and Indo-Fijian majorities in parliament. 205 One month after the election, an ethnic

Fijian army officer named Sitiveni Rabuka overthrew the government demanding that all governments be

led by ethnic Fijians. 206 Rabuka declared the country a republic and had to reapply to the Commonwealth

for membership. His application was rejected because of his disregard for the democratic elections and will

of the people.207 Eventually in 1997, a new constitution was written and Fiji rejoined the Commonwealth.

This event caused the nations of the Commonwealth to re-evaluate the principles they found important.

The document detailing the tenants of Commonwealth membership was the Singapore Declaration, at this

point almost twenty years old. The world had changed significantly in that time, and there was a growing

push for democracy. Although all of the member nations supported democracy in theory, many in practice

had presidents for life or military rule.208 The truly democratic nations of the Commonwealth pushed

for a new declaration, to reaffirm their commitments to, among many things, democracy and the rule of

law. At the CHOGM in Harare in 1991, the Harare Declaration came into force. They pledged to protect

“the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth,” which are “democracy,” “the rule of law and the

independence of the judiciary,” “equal rights and opportunities for all citizens regardless of race, colour,

creed or political belief,” and more.209 There was a greater expectation that these words would be followed

by action and to a large extent that has been true.210 In a speech in 2012, the Commonwealth Secretariat

noted that since the Harare Declaration, twelve states in the Commonwealth had gone from military or one

party rule to a multi-party democracy.211

That does not mean, however, that the transition to democracy has been a smooth one in many countries.

A crucial example is Nigeria and the election of 1993. The election in June was the first election after years

of military rule. Two parties ran in the election and Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic Party was

203 “Fiji: History,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/fiji/history. 204 R. D. Bedford, “Population Movement in Post-Colonial Fiji,” Geojournal, 1988, https://link.springer.com/content/

pdf/10.1007%2FBF02433013.pdf. 205 “Fiji: History,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/fiji/history.206 Ibid. 207 Ibid.208 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 18.209 “The Harare Commonwealth Declaration, 1991,” The Commonwealth Heads of Government, 1991, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/

default/files/history-items/documents/Harare%20Commonwealth%20Declaration%201991.pdf. 210 James Mayall, The Contemporary Commonwealth An Assessment 1965 – 2009, Routledge: 2010, 19211 Amitav Banerji, “CMAG, Good Offices and Human Rights: An Enlarging Commonwealth Role,” The Commonwealth, November 15, 2012,

http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/cmag-good-offices-and-human-rights-enlarging-commonwealth-role.

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reported as the victor.212 Only four days afterwards, the outgoing president, General Babangida, declared

the election invalid and announced a second one in which both original candidates could not compete.213 A

temporary government was established, only to be overthrown in November by General Abacha, an ally

of Babangida. A little over a year later, the Abacha regime executed eleven activists who had worked to

establish democracy.214 Only two days afterwards at the 1995 CHOGM, Nelson Mandela, the leader of

a newly democratic South Africa led the Commonwealth in suspending Nigeria for violating the Harare

Declaration. This was the first time the Commonwealth had suspended an existing member, and was a sign

that human rights violations were unacceptable.215

Suspending Nigeria was not the only step the Commonwealth took to protect democracy and the rule of

law at the CHOGM in 1995. Its leaders also wrote the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on

the Harare Declaration. This program sought to expand the ways the Commonwealth could work to

promote their political values. The first half of the plan sought to increase the powers and resources of the

Secretariat.216 These resources would allow the secretariat to train nations on building institutions to uphold

the rule of law work towards democracy. The second half of the action program focused on violations of the

Harare declaration. Steps were to be taken by the secretariat in the event of unconstitutional overthrow

of government. The secretariat and regional allies of nation in question should both condemn the event

and work with the new regime towards re-establishing democracy. To this end, the Commonwealth also

established the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group. The group was tasked with assessing the nature

of any violations of Harare Declaration and setting a course of action for the Commonwealth as a whole.217

CMAG has exercised its powers of suspending member nations seven times, including the original

suspension of Nigeria from 1995 to 1999. The other suspensions include: Sierra Leone from 1997 until 1998,

Pakistan from 1999 until 2003, Fiji from 2000 until 2001, Zimbabwe in 2002 until it withdrew from the

Commonwealth in 2003, Fiji again from 2006 until 2014, and lastly Pakistan again from 2007 until 2008.218

212 “RIOTING IN NIGERIA KILLS AT LEAST 11,” The New York Times, July 7, 1993, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/07/world/rioting-in-nigeria-kills-at-least-11.html.

213 Ibid.214 “Nigeria suspended from the Commonwealth,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/history-of-the-commonwealth/

nigeria-suspended-commonwealth. 215 Ibid.216 “Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration,” The Commonwealth, 1995, http://thecommonwealth.org/

sites/default/files/history-items/documents/millbrook%20declaration.pdf. 217 Ibid.218 “CMAG Suspension History,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/SuspensionHistory.pdf.

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In Sierra Leone, the suspension occurred after a military junta overthrew the elected president and suspended

the constitution.219 In Pakistan in 1999, the military took control of the government and ousted the Prime

Minister. 220 Armed rebels in Fiji stormed the capital and declared their leaders as the new president and

prime minster while suspending the constitution in 2000.221 Zimbabwe was suspended after catastrophic

election fraud where 107 people died in various violent incidents in 2002.222 In 2006 in Fiji the head of

the army removed the prime minister and declared himself president.223 Lastly the president of Pakistan

suspended the constitution in a state of emergency in 2007.224

CMAG does not have a perfect success record, as seen through Zimbabwe leaving the Commonwealth

after being suspended, yet it has been largely successful. CMAG has been able to work with all other

regimes to re-establish democracy after serious violations, indicating respect for the Commonwealth as an

international leader and for democratic values as a whole. The willingness of the Commonwealth to hold

nations accountable shows that these issues are important enough to merit serious action. However the

work is far from complete. There are countries in the Commonwealth that are regarded by international

observers as having flawed democratic systems. Still others, Swaziland and Brunei, are considered absolute

monarchies.225 It is the responsibility of CMAG and the Commonwealth as a whole to work towards bringing

democratic values to all nations.

219 “Sierra Leone profile – Timeline,” BBC News, July 13, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094419. 220 “How the 1999 Pakistan coup unfolded,” BBC News, August 23, 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6960670.stm. 221 Christopher Zinn, “Fiji’s leaders held hostage in ‘ethnic’ coup,” The Guardian, May 20, 2000, https://www.theguardian.com/

theguardian/2000/may/20/fromthearchive. 222 “2002 Zim election not free or fair – report,” news24, November 15, 2011, http://www.news24.com/Africa/

Zimbabwe/2002-Zim-election-not-free-or-fair-report-20141115. 223 Roger Maynard, “Fiji military seizes power in bloodless coup,” The Guardian, December 5, 2006, https://www.theguardian.com/

world/2006/dec/05/fiji.travel2. 224 Bill Roggio, “Pakistan: Musharraf suspends constitution, declares state of emergency,” November 3, 2007, http://www.longwarjournal.

org/archives/2007/11/pakistan_musharraf_s.php. 225 “Brunei Darussalam : Constitution and politics,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/

brunei-darussalam/constitution-politics.

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Past Actions

As previously noted, the issues of democracy and the rule of law are heavily embedded in the spirit and life

of the Commonwealth. From its earliest days the organization and its members have assisted each other in

the difficult task of nation building. They held each other accountable for human rights violations but also

cooperated to ensure such atrocities would never reoccur. Some of the historical challenges of these issues

have already been discussed, along with the serious steps the Commonwealth of Nations took to rectify

them, and affirm their commitments to healthy democracy and strong rule of law. Among these were the

Singapore Declaration of 1971, the Harare Declaration of 1991, and the Millbrook Action Programme of

1995.

The language of the Singapore Declaration focuses on non-discrimination and the rights of individuals. It

promises equal rights for people of all sorts, no matter race or colour of political belief.226 One of these rights

is the right to participation in self-determination through democratic government. Democracy is a method of

securing rights for individuals because it can hold everyone accountable and limit the authority of tyrannical

rulers. Twenty years later the Harare Declaration pledged to uphold certain fundamental political values

across all nations of the Commonwealth. These included democracy and the rule of law, named outright

in the declaration.227 With healthy democracy comes opportunities for all to flourish and prosper. Lastly

the Millbrook Action Programme gave the Commonwealth its own mechanism to guard and protect these

values. It created the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group who meet to discuss violations of Harare and

Singapore Declarations. They create a course of action that both punishes regimes for their violations and

offers support to return to democracy.228

Since then, the Commonwealth has been active on various fronts in promoting democracy and the rule of

law. CMAG continues to act as the Commonwealth’s primary point of action for serious violations of the

Harare Declaration, but more constructive actions aimed at all countries in the Commonwealth have also

been taken. This section will discuss four of these actions taken since the turn of the millennium: the Latimer

House Principles, the Aberdeen Agenda, the Cape Town Principles, and the Expansion of CMAG. Some of

these actions, like the expansion of CMAG, target these issues on a large scale and in broad terms. Other

226 “Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles 1971,” The Commonwealth, 2004, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/history-items/documents/Singapore%20Declaration.pdf.

227 Ibid.228 “Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration,” The Commonwealth, 1995, http://thecommonwealth.org/

sites/default/files/history-items/documents/millbrook%20declaration.pdf.

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actions are smaller and focus only on certain parts of the issue, like the Aberdeen Agenda and the Cape

Town Principles.

The Latimer House Principles of the Three Branches of Government is an important document written in

2003 by the law ministers of the nations of the Commonwealth. With these ideas they sought to promote

good governance, the rule of law and human rights.229 They also use these principles to support the Harare

Declaration and the Millbrook Action Programme. The three branches of government are the executive,

the parliament and the judiciary, and they are meant to operate separately and alongside each other. The

separation of the branches solidifies a standard of good governance and accountability.230 However, it

is important to note that many of the functions of the executive are combined with the functions of the

parliament, as the prime minister is also a member of parliament. The executive remains separate from and

accountable to parliament through debate and testimony.231 The Latimer House Principles also highlight

the importance of independent members of parliament. Parliamentarians must be able to carry out their

duties without interference.232 An independent judiciary is crucial for the rule of law. The judiciary must be

impartial and honest. Appointments to the judiciary must be equal opportunity and based on merit. The

process must be transparent and done on defined criteria. Additionally the judiciary must have access to

sufficient resources to carry out their mandate of interpreting the law. Lastly there must be zero tolerance

for corruption in any branch of government. Public bodies should exist to oversee all parts of government.233

The Aberdeen Agenda is a 2007 statement on good practices for local democracy and good governance. It

was written at a conference based on input from over 500 officials from 40 countries.234 The principles laid

out in the agenda note the importance of local officials being elected and properly reflecting the community.

Local government should also be open to all citizens who participate in decision making through democracy.

Additionally, local government should be well defined and incorporated into the other levels of government.

The responsibilities of each level of government: local, regional, and national should be clearly defined. Local

governments can also engage in partnerships with each other to share best practices and experiences.235

229 “Commonwealth (Latimer Principles) on the Three Branches of Government,” Commonwealth Heads of Government, 2003, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/history-items/documents/LatimerHousePrinciples.pdf.

230 Ibid. 231 Ibid. 232 Ibid.233 Ibid.234 “The Aberdeen Agenda,” The Commonwealth, 2007, http://www.clgf.org.uk/default/assets/File/CLGF_statements/Aberdeen-agenda.

pdf. 235 Ibid.

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The nations of the Commonwealth have taken several crucial steps to ensure the independence of the

judiciary. In February of 2016, a group of judges and legal scholars from 7 Commonwealth countries approved

a set of principles that guide judicial selection.236 These principles, called the Cape Town principles, affirm the

importance of the judiciary in the rule of law, and goes on to call for the creation of independent commissions

for judicial appointment in each country of the Commonwealth. These commissions are to be independent

from the executive or legislative functions of parliament, though they may have representatives of these

bodies as members. The members of the committee should come from the existing judiciary, legal profession

and even unaffiliated backgrounds. The diversity of the selection committee is meant to prevent any one

group from dominating the selection process and eliminate any doubts on the impartiality of the committee.

Even before the creation of these principles, more than 80% of Commonwealth nations had some variation

on this system in place.237 These principles are meant to guide the remaining countries in the Commonwealth

if they choose to establish such a system.

The last measure to be examined is the expansion of CMAG carried out in 2011. Throughout the first fifteen

years of CMAG there was a feeling among Commonwealth Secretariat Leadership that the body had reacted

well to pressing violations of the Harare Declaration but hadn’t been particularly proactive. They weren’t able

to de-escalate situations before they became full blown crises.238 The Commonwealth and CMAG wanted to

function less as a punitive body and more in a supportive capacity. Thus at the 2011 CHOGM a new process

for CMAG was put into place. The body is able to engage in situations at an earlier stage and work alongside

the secretary general on situations of concern.239 With this new purview they are also capable of dedicating

resources to addressing structural issues of national institutions. Additionally, the procedure for addressing

serious violations of Commonwealth values, headed jointly by the Secretariat and CMAG was clearly laid

out.

The Secretary General of the Commonwealth upon taking notice of a serious violation should reach out to

the nation and use all resources to address the problem. The Secretary General is also obligated to notify

CMAG of the situation but is not the only figure who can notify CMAG of a potential violation; in fact any

nation is able to notify CMAG of events in any other nation. The potential violations include abrogation

236 “Cape Town Principles on the Role of Independent Commissions in the Selection and Appointment of Judges,” British Institute of International and Comparative Law, February 2016, https://www.biicl.org/documents/868_cape_town_principles_-_feb_2016.pdf?showdocument=1.

237 “Commonwealth announces principles for judicial appointments, tenure and removal,” The Commonwealth, July 9, 2015, http://thecommonwealth.org/media/press-release/commonwealth-announces-principles-judicial-appointments-tenure-and-removal.

238 “Strengthening the Role of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG),” Commonwealth Heads of Government, 2011, http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/news-items/documents/120131.pdf.

239 Ibid.

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of democratic constitution of serious threats, suspension of lawful functioning of democratic institutions,

postponement of elections without justification, denial of political space, such as detention of political

leaders of restrictions on freedoms of speech and assembly, an electoral process that is seriously flawed,

undermining of the judiciary, systemic violation of human rights, or of any communities or groups by the

government, restrictions of the media or other institutions, and others. If after two months there is no

improvement, then CMAG assumes responsibility for the violation and decides on a course of action. Any

decision is to be made with careful attention to evidence.

The most serious violation would be the overthrow of elected government. In such an occasion, the

Secretary General must act immediately to establish contact with the new regime and offer assistance to

return to democratic government. CMAG must also meet within 4 weeks to suspend from councils of the

Commonwealth. This would exclude the nation from all Commonwealth intergovernmental meeting and

events and halt any technical assistance that isn’t related to restoration of democracy. CMAG would then

stipulate a timeframe of up to two years to hold elections and consider sending a delegation to the country.

If nothing is done within two years, then the nation is suspended from membership of the commonwealth.

Member states might then reduce their bilateral cooperation including trade and other agreements.240

Since these changes, the Commonwealth has been very active in the situation in the Maldives. In 2012, the

police mutinied and arrested the chief justice. The democratically elected president Mohamed Nasheed was

forced to resign. Since then, the new President Abdulla Yameen has cracked down on opposition members

and even called in the Army to prevent them from entering parliament.241 The Commonwealth and CMAG

have engaged in a fact finding mission and exerted pressure on the Government, calling for a specific series

of reforms, including increased dialogue and an end to the Anti-Terrorism act 2015.242 However they have

stopped short of issuing any consequences for failure to follow these reforms.243

These four actions in the 21st century have solidly established the Commonwealth of Nations as one of the

strongest organizations promoting democracy and the rule of law in the world. The organization has on

240 Ibid.241 Justin Rowlatt, “The Maldives: Political turmoil threatens the ‘island paradise’,” BBC News, August 10, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/

world-south-asia-40827633. 242 “Extraordinary Meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group Concluding Statement,” Commonwealth Ministerial Action

Group, February 2016, http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/extraordinary-meeting-commonwealth-ministerial-action-group-concluding-statement.

243 Kai Reddy, “Maldives and the Commonwealth: It is Time to Walk the Talk,” The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, July 5, 2016, http://www.commonwealthroundtable.co.uk/commonwealth/eurasia/maldives/maldives-commonwealth-time-walk-talk/.

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numerous occasions committed and recommitted to the principles of democracy and the rule of law and

has an effective organization that works in a variety of ways to protect and uphold them in member nations.

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Possible Solutions

The myriad steps taken by the Commonwealth since its inception have created strong foundations for healthy

democracy and strong rule of law in its member nations. However, the situations in member nations are not

all ideal, as noted in the previous sections. Questionable election processes, violations of the independence

of the judiciary, and limitations of free speech and journalism occur all too frequently. Additionally, the

history of the Commonwealth is intertwined with decolonization and the fight against minority rule. These

issues manifest differently in every country and region, so the steps to be taken by the body must be diverse

and multi-faceted. The potential actions fall under two categories: tools for empowerment in member

nations and outside pressure from the Commonwealth as a body. The Commonwealth already operates

along both of these streams through actions like the Aberdeen Agenda which supports local democracy and

the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group which takes steps to work with member nations who violate

the Harare Declaration. With these tools for empowerment the Commonwealth can work on training

parliamentarians in best practices and also work in communities to strengthen local efforts at democracy.

On the other hand, the Commonwealth has the options of further strengthening CMAGs ability to act to

defend Commonwealth values and also increase election observation missions.

Consultation and support are considered the lifeblood of Commonwealth diplomacy and assistance. As a

body of voluntarily participating nations, members have an especially vested interest in learning from each

other on a bilateral and multilateral basis. A simple way to maximize this interest, and to work towards

promoting democracy and the rule of law is programs to train parliamentarians. This can take many forms

on the administrative and personal side. The Commonwealth can work on improving the organization of

legislative bodies so that they run smoothly and without undue interruption. Other areas of focus are formal

structures for parliamentary procedure. With this, parliamentarians will be better able to turn their policy

proposals into law.244 Beyond this the Commonwealth can work in policy development, or developing the

resources and information systems that allow legislators to develop thoughtful policy. On the human resource

side, the Commonwealth can create programs that train new legislators in procedure and process.245 More

specific training can focus on understanding and critiquing national budget proposals. The final area is work

on the relationships between legislators and the electorate. Developing open and responsive channels of

communication is essential to respecting the will of the electorate in a democracy.

244 “How UNDP Supports Parliaments,” United Nations Development Programme, https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/HOW_UNDP_SUPPORTS_PARLIAMENTS.pdf.

245 Ibid.

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A key advantage of this step is that many of these actions are already underway in various forms. Organizations

such as the UN Development Program and the International Parliamentary Union work in these areas.246

Recently these organizations released their Global Parliamentary Report 2017̧ which focuses on the challenges

parliamentarians face in holding governments accountable. They call for better relationships between the

legislative and executive branches, and civil society as a whole.247 The Commonwealth can take the easy

step of promoting the IPU and its practices by supporting their program called Parliament and democracy in

the twenty first century: A guide to good practice and the accompanying assessment program for parliaments.

The Commonwealth also has a robust network of professionals under the secretariat who are capable of

performing this type of work.

There are disadvantages as well, however. The process of development is a slow and tenuous process and

does little to bring democracy to underserved communities. Training parliamentarians is something that must

happen after every election to ensure that all serving members have been trained. Developing information

systems for parliament is only useful if the information is accurate. In countries where many people live in

informal settlements, governments lack sufficient data to develop useful policy.

Work on strengthening democracy and the rule of law can also take place on the other end of the line. Rather

than training parliamentarians, the Commonwealth can work with the electorate to promote participation

in democratic processes. Participation that works towards consensus building is key for democracy and

creating a government that represents the views of its constituents. The existence of government on

more than just the federal level is key for involving more people. Government at the municipal and even

neighbourhood level can help with this.248 The Commonwealth can assist in establishing neighbourhood or

other small councils that will give residents more control over matters that affect them. This will help to

inform more people which will allow them to hold government at higher levels accountable.249 This can also

help inform people of policy and governance issues at all levels that matter to them, which contributes to

civil society.250 Like training parliamentarians, these programs are hard to implement. The sheer number of

people that would need to be reached in the Commonwealth is staggering. It is also a very slow process of

getting people involved, and maintaining their involvement over the years.

246 “Better Parliaments, Stronger Democracies,” Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2017, http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/strategy-e.pdf. 247 Charles Chauvel, “Parliamentarians need to step up efforts to hold governments accountable,” United Nations Development Programme,

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2017/parliamentarians-to-step-up-efforts-.html. 248 Matt Leighninger , “Funding and Fostering Local Democracy,” Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, April 2009, http://www.

pacefunders.org/publications/FundingLocalDemocracy.pdf. 249 Ibid.250 Timothy Sisk, “Democracy at the Local Level,” IDEA, 2001, http://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/democracy-at-the-local-

level-handbook_0.pdf, vii.

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Just as a robust system of consultation is unique to the Commonwealth, so is the impressive level of

oversight the body has over its members and their adherence to the fundamental values of democracy.

CMAG’s powers have grown over the last 20 years as the organisation ought to determine exactly when and

how CMAG had the power to act. Although the criteria for CMAG involvement are now specific and clear,

CMAG has not always been able to act on those violations. When media sources reported that opposition

members of parliament in Nauru were arrested and were facing trial while high ranking justices were also

being removed, both circumstances that should have invoked CMAG action, the CMAG mission to Nauru

found nothing was out of order.251 CMAG’s ability to act is also hampered by the fact that it only meets twice

a year, while serious events can happen overnight. Changes could be made to CMAG procedure that will

make it more effective at responding to violations of Commonwealth political values. It is limited in the ways

that serious violations can be brought to its attention; currently only through national governments or the

secretariat. More involvement from outside actors could make it more impactful.

CMAG will forever remain hampered by restrictions of national sovereignty. It has to find a very fine balance

between the old Commonwealth policy of non-interference in the affairs of its members and the powers

granted to CMAG. Even Commonwealth officials were surprised that CMAG was granted as much power

as it was by member nations.252 For violations, CMAG cannot punish individual actors in member nations as

could a court of law. They are limited to dialogue and suspending them from the Commonwealth. Still, this

relies on national governments wanting to be members of the Commonwealth. A nation can withdraw at

any time, as did Zimbabwe after the Commonwealth took action against them in the early 2000s.253 Thus

CMAG must be very diplomatic and not push too hard on its member nations, which limits the extents to

which CMAG can be expanded.

The last potential option to be discussed is election observation. The Commonwealth is a frequent election

observer, carrying out nineteen missions between July 2013 and May 2015 alone. Election observation

and approval can help ensure public confidence in election results and maintain order. The presence of

observers can also provide assurance that politicians and election officials will respect the rule of law. Two

important observation missions were carried out in 2017, one in Kenya and one in Papua New Guinea. The

Commonwealth noted problems with vote counting in the Kenyan election, and in Papua New Guinea it

251 “Statement on the Commonwealth delegation to Nauru,” The Commonwealth, December 22, 2015, http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/statement-commonwealth-delegation-nauru.

252 Ibid.253 Anton La Guardia, “Zimbabwe quits Commonwealth over suspension,” The Telegraph, December 8, 2003, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/1448864/Zimbabwe-quits-Commonwealth-over-suspension.html.

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reported issues with the voter roll which may have prevented some from voting.254 These election observation

missions give the Commonwealth specific areas that they can work on to promote democracy and the rule

of law. They are a way for the Commonwealth to directly interact with issues as they arise. As it stands,

the Commonwealth does train electoral officials but only on a voluntary basis. With knowledge of specific

issues, the Commonwealth can put pressure on countries to improve, and provide support for that. Again,

election observations have to respect sovereignty, and the Commonwealth must be careful of criticising its

members too strongly. There is also limited guarantee that these efforts will see the intended results, as any

subsequent elections are likely years in the future and will feature different candidates and staff.

The Commonwealth of Nations has plenty of existing resources, staff, and programming that can help it

work on these issues. The Commonwealth could work on promoting democratic culture and the rule of law

with both the electorate and parliamentarians. It could also strengthen its own oversight systems such as

CMAG and electoral observation. Delegates may also find it worthwhile to think outside existing institutions

and find other solutions.

254 “Urgent review needed of Papua New Guinea election, say Commonwealth observers,” The Commonwealth, July 10, 2017, http://thecommonwealth.org/media/press-release/urgent-review-needed-papua-new-guinea-election-say-commonwealth-observers.

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Bloc Positions

Old Dominions:Australia, Canada, Malta, New Zealand, United Kingdom

These countries are considered some of the strongest democracies in the world. They have strong legislative

systems and independent judiciaries with high respect for the rule of law. Where these countries need work

is often on issues such as freedom of the press. In recent times, counter intelligence laws have limited press

access to information and what they can publish in the name of national security.255 Other issues as discussed

previously include judicial nomination, which remains cloudy in countries like Australia. On the other hand,

these nations have a great deal of expertise they can offer to nations looking to strengthen their rule of law.

Their court systems are well established, and they have knowledge on electoral processes and practices.

They can participate in electoral observer missions, or give technical advice to nations as they prepare for

elections.

Small State Democracies:Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cyprus, Dominica, Guyana, Kiribati, Mauritius, Nauru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

These countries also have healthy democratic culture and respect for rule of law, but they face unique

advantages and challenges as small states. Smaller populations can make some democratic governance

easier in terms of the resources necessary for government. However, some small states may be divided along

tribal lines, or have other traditional systems of government that require compromise with democracy.256 257

These nations may be looking for high level expertise on legislative procedure or policy development. In

some cases they may also be able to offer expertise, but due to their small size, many of these nations have

few resources to spare for foreign assistance.258 Still, these nations may be looking to cooperate within their

geographic region on key issues like running elections and improving the independence of the judiciary.

255 Jane Martinson, “Why press freedom is under the cosh in the UK,” The Guardian, April 27, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/27/press-freedom-uk-40th-press-freedom-rankings-election.

256 “Samoa: Constitution and politics,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/samoa/constitution-politics.

257 “Tongan king sacks democracy PM, dissolves Parliament for election,” Asia Pacific Report, August 26, 2017, https://asiapacificreport.nz/2017/08/26/tongan-king-sacks-democracy-pm-dissolves-parliament-for-election/.

258 “Issues Facing Small Island Developing States ‘Global Challenges’ Demanding Collective Responsibility, Secretary-General Tells Security Council,” United Nations, July 30, 2015, https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11991.doc.htm.

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Large State Democracies:Botswana, Ghana, Grenada, India, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malaysia, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore. South Africa, Sri Lanka

These countries also have established democratic systems of government but struggle in one or two areas

that leave them lacking a strong rule of law. Some of these have been previously discusses, such as attacks on

the judiciary in Botswana and curbed freedom of the press in Singapore. Other countries have populations

that are poorly served by the democratic government for various reasons. The population of India is

over one billion people, and there is little local democracy, whereas the population of Papua New Guinea

is incredibly rural, living on faraway small islands.259 260 These countries are looking to foster democratic

culture at all levels of society. They are also looking for ways to make their governments more accepted by

the international community and effective for their people. Another important topic for these countries is

reinforcing the independence of the judiciary for a more even sense of justice and stronger rule of law.

Developing Democracies:Bangladesh, Fiji, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia

These countries, while ostensibly democratic, have serious flaws that interrupt the rule of law and can put

their inhabitants at risk. Some countries like Pakistan and to a lesser extent Nigeria are conflict zones, where

democratic institutions have crumbled. Other countries like Tanzania suffer from extensive corruption,

whereas Fiji has endured numerous military coups since independence. In any case these countries require

serious efforts in building institutions of democracy and fostering democratic culture. So long as any

measures don’t limit the power of existing governments, these nations might support programs like electoral

observation missions or even proactive assistance from CMAG which could help them return to a respect

for democracy.

Non-Democratic Nations:Brunei, Cameroon, Rwanda, Swaziland

For various reasons, these countries can be called non-democratic. Brunei and Swaziland are both absolute

monarchies. Representatives may be elected or appointed as advisers, but almost all political power remains

259 “Papua New Guinea: Society,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/papua-new-guinea/society. 260 Mayraj Fahim, “Local government in India still carries characteristics of its colonial heritage,” City Mayors, May 24, 2009, http://www.

citymayors.com/government/india_government.html.

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with the monarchs.261 Democracy appears to exist in Cameroon and Rwanda, but close examination shows

that elections are largely inconsequential. Their respective rulers have been in power for multiple terms

and are notorious for silencing opposition leaders, activists, and media.262 Citizens and governments

in these countries likely have different views on democracy, and while it is Commonwealth policy not to

engage in the internal affairs of member nations, these countries can also be considered to be in violation

of Commonwealth political values. These governments are highly unlikely to seek expertise from the body

on democratic transition, but citizens might. These nations are also unlikely to support any efforts taken

by CMAG, so the Commonwealth will have to take carefully considered next steps. The best step for the

Commonwealth and for these nations are cooperative measures.

261 “Brunei Darussalam: Constitution and politics,” The Commonwealth, http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/brunei-darussalam/constitution-politics.

262 “Democracy Is Rwanda’s Losing Candidate,” The New York Times, August 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/opinion/rwanda-election-kagame.html?mcubz=3.

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Glossary

Apartheid: A term given to the South African government policies of racial discrimination until 1991

CHOGM: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, a meeting which takes place every two years to

discuss issues affecting the Commonwealth

CMAG: The Commonwealth Ministers Action Group, a Commonwealth organization consisting of a rotating

group of foreign ministers responsible for punishing violations of Commonwealth Principles

Commonwealth Secretariat: The elected and appointed administrative leadership of the Commonwealth

European Union: Political and economic organization of 28 nations in Europe

Harare Declaration: 1991 Declaration reaffirming Commonwealth Political Principles

Independence of the Judiciary: Principle that judges should be able to interpret and apply law without

interference from government or the public

Inter-Parliamentary Union: An international body with representatives from national parliaments working

to build and promote democracy

Millbrook Action Programme: Document that established the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group

Rule of Law: Principle that the law is the primary governing force in a nation and that all individuals are

equally subject to the law

Separation of Powers: Principle that the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government hold

different powers and responsibilities

Singapore Declaration: 1971 document outlining the political principles of the Commonwealth of Nations

UNDP: The United Nations Development Program, part of the UN

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UNESCO: The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, part of the UN

UNICEF: The United Nations Children’s Fund, part of the UN

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