Latest content: Secretary-General

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed have formally committed their organisations to work more closely together.

Diplomats newly-appointed to posts with responsibility for the Commonwealth have been encouraged to take full advantage of opportunities to boost co-operation and connection among its 53 member countries.

The Commonwealth has announced a new partnership designed to reduce domestic violence in member countries. Today, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland signed a memorandum of understanding with the NO MORE Foundation which is a global movement of 1,400 allied organisations and 40 international chapters working together to stop and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.

Voting has begun in a referendum on the independence of Bougainville from Papua New Guinea, with a team from the Commonwealth deployed to observe the process.

The Secretary-General spoke of partnership being in the Commonwealth’s DNA as she delivered a message on multilateralism and peace dialogue at a major thought-leaders’ event.

A robust framework for resolving cross-border commercial disputes can help unlock valuable trade and investment opportunities for Commonwealth countries.

Access to justice for everyone in all communities is an important right and requirement for building fair and peaceful societies – yet this objective has been achieved in few if any nations, and the consequences are damaging for social, economic and political progress and stability.

People must have faith in the justice system for the rule of law to work, according to the Commonwealth Secretary-General. Patricia Scotland spoke at the opening ceremony of Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Secretary-General has called for “transformational leadership” in youth development across Africa and the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth is working to establish a fund to help member countries take practical action on ocean sustainability. Ministers leading Commonwealth Blue Charter action groups met in Oslo with marine experts, investors and philanthropists to discuss the shape of the proposed fund. 

Trade wars, protectionism, and nationalist rhetoric are combining to weave the possibility of a nightmare debt crisis that could be worse than any previously experienced. Global borrowing is now at the highest levels since the 1950s – and history suggests we should take this as a warning that a debt crisis could be looming.

The Secretary-General has expressed solidarity with the people of The Bahamas in a visit to the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama which were hit by Hurricane Dorian last month.

The Commonwealth has launched a regenerative climate change model that marries the ancient wisdom of indigenous groups with emerging innovations, technologies and scientific approaches. Common Earth, is the programme that will create a network of projects that could be replicated and adapted to any community, country or region.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, urges the President of Guyana and all relevant stakeholders and institutions to restore constitutional rule in Guyana by immediately setting an early election date in consonance with its constitution, enabling elections to be held without further delay.

This month the Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting will assemble in Nairobi, Kenya. It has taken place regularly since 1985, to take stock of the current status of gender equality in our member countries, and to share perspectives and experience of how progress on this important Commonwealth priority can be achieved more swiftly.

A Commonwealth facility designed to assist smaller and more vulnerable countries tackle the damaging effects of climate change has helped them access USD 27 million of funding.

The Secretary-General has urged young diplomats posted to London from across the world to pool their talent, knowledge and dynamism to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Courage is the greatest measure of a leader and young people should not be afraid to “go against the flow” when acting on their convictions, the Commonwealth Secretary-General has said.

The Secretary-General was granted the honour of naming a baby gorilla during a Rwandan ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people. Kwita Izina is an annual event which this year was held in Kinigi, near Rwanda’s borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

With Hurricane Dorian having swept through The Bahamas with unprecedented intensity and force, causing extensive damage to infrastructure, and having reportedly claimed at least one life to date, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has on behalf of the wider Commonwealth family expressed deep concern to the government and people of The Bahamas.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has appealed to governments of member states to continue their support for youth workers and invest in education and training.

Blog by Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth: The frightening reality of Pacific island nations disappearing into the ocean could also become a real worry for western metropolises. Only with a truly inclusive and worldwide effort, with every nation, government and community on board can we win the battle. 

The Pacific is the Commonwealth region most vulnerable to climate change. It faces intense variations in temperatures, extreme storms, rising sea levels, and is also highly vulnerable to earthquakes, floods, tidal surges, landslides, droughts, forest fires, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

Five months ago, Cyclone Idai ripped through the Southern African region, causing a massive humanitarian disaster that affected three million people. More than a thousand perished, while 200,000 lost their homes, many of whom are still to this day living in refugee camps.

By taking coordinated collective action, the nations of the Commonwealth can accelerate the mobilisation of international efforts that are the only hope if we are to prevent further detrimental human impact on the delicate natural balance of our planet.