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Co-operationJust and honestgovernmentA democratic promiseThe Singapore and HarareDeclarations in 1971 and 1991 (seepage 11) commit the Commonwealthto promoting and supportingdemocracy in all member states.Democracy is the best guarantee forthe maintenance of the rule of law,human rights, and good governance. Itdoesn’t guarantee the absence ofserious conflict within or betweenstates, but it does reduce the likelihoodof it occurring. Good governance is alsoan effective remedy against poverty.What is democracy? ➤ Democracyrefers to a system of governmentwhere decisions are taken either bypeople directly, or throughrepresentatives whom they haveelected.Government based on representativedemocracy has a number of furthercharacteristics; it …• is based on regular and freeelections• shows a willingness to reflect andrespond to public opinion• allows individuals, civil societyorganisations, and the media tocriticise governmentpolicy, and it• protects the rights ofindividuals andminority groups.Over the past 60 years, theCommonwealth has acted on manyoccasions to reduce conflict and tosupport or help restore democracy inmember states. Central to theCommonwealth’s work is theestablishment of dialogue betweengovernments, political parties, and civilsociety groups. The Commonwealthalso offers member states training andguidance on managing elections,helping citizens understand more aboutthe election process, and monitoringthe conduct of elections, including therole of the media.Conflict resolution ➤ In 2002, thePresident of Guyana asked for theCommonwealth’s support in dealingwith hostility between the country’stwo main political parties, which washampering effective democraticgovernment. For the next four years,the Commonwealth’s special envoy, SirPaul Reeves, worked in Guyana, withgroups right across the politicalspectrum, encouraging dialogue andtransparency in government.After a while, Parliament began towork noticeably better, the Oppositionreturned, and a new party emergedjust before the 2006 election. A mediamonitoring unit was set up, and themajor media outlets agreed not toreport statements inciting racialhatred.The elections were the most peacefulin 40 years, but distrust and insecurityremain of concern. The Commonwealthcontinues to monitor events in Guyanaand provide advice and support.Encouraging civil society ● TheCommonwealth believes that civilsociety organisations are of particularimportance in promoting democracyand protecting human rights. There canbe a tendency, particularly in times ofheightened international security, forgovernments to limit the scope fordebate and dissent. TheCommonwealth encourages people’sparticipation in government, activelypromoting this through the work of theCommonwealth Foundation (seepage 19)Human rightsThe protection of human rights is afundamental principle ofCommonwealth membership, and theCommonwealth works in a number ofways to develop and uphold humanrights standards in member states.Best practice ● A wide network ofCommonwealth professional and civilsociety organisations provide adviceand training on human rights. Thiscan take many forms,including helping memberstates to establish their ownhuman rights commission;training groups like thepolice, civil servants andjudges, on ways of upholdinghuman rights; andencouraging memberstates to adoptpractices reflecting thehighest human rightsstandards.Too low ➤ New Zealand is one ofmany countries working to achieve theCommonwealth target of havingwomen occupying at least 30 per centof the seats on local councils. Inresponse to this, the New ZealandHuman Rights Commission ran a seriesof regional workshops and eventsdesigned to increase the nationalrepresentation of women.Dealing with abuse ● Although agreat deal of work is done by theCommonwealth helping member statesdeal with human rights issues, theCommonwealth nevertheless facescriticism for failing to be more vigilant indealing with member states who fallseriously below accepted internationalstandards. At the recent CHOGMmeeting in Trinidad and Tobago,representatives from a number ofmember states and civil societyorganisations urged theCommonwealth to take a more proactiverole in dealing with this.Commonwealth Photographic Awards 2004: RunnerUp - Africa. This photograph was taken in a smallrural village in southern Botswana.22A practical guide to the Commonwealth ➤ Co-operation23St LuciaSt Vincent andthe GrenadinesSamoaSeychelles