Latest content: Small states

Vulnerable small island states and developing countries stand to gain access to billions of dollars of climate finance with the aid of a new Commonwealth initiative.

The Secretary-General has told BBC News that Commonwealth ministers and parliamentarians have asked her to help them respond to the crisis of irregular mass movement of people across the world by coming up with a plan.

Small states need to unite on getting their priorities on the global agenda, members of a Commonwealth working group agreed this week.

Commonwealth climate finance experts will be on the ground within six months, Deputy Secretary-General Deodat Maharaj told Pacific heads of governments this week.

Plans for a first national inquiry into violence in Samoa were discussed by the country’s National Human Rights Institution, the Office of the Ombudsman at this week’s Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers meeting in Apia.

Key industries in some Commonwealth nations could take massive hits if appropriate steps aren’t taken following the UK’s departure from the EU. The forecast over so-called Brexit comes from policy experts’ analysis in two new research papers published by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Top four Olympic nations judged by population size are Commonwealth countries.

Government officials from eight Caribbean countries preparing for bilateral talks to settle unresolved maritime boundaries are in London this week to exchange best practices and receive technical guidance from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth will offer strength, stability, solidarity and practical assistance to its member states and in particular will advocate for small and vulnerable economies the Commonwealth Secretary-General pledged yesterday at the CARICOM conference.

Commonwealth ministers and other high-level officials committed to push for a vulnerability index in development financing criteria.

Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Trade and Blue Economy Jean-Paul Adam drew the Fourth Global Biennial Conference on Small States to an end by calling on all delegates present to be global activists.

Abuzz with impassioned conversations, a breakfast session this morning at the Fourth Global Biennial Conference on Small States heard from young people about their perspectives on development challenges.

Small states including those with financial services industries should play a greater role in the development of global financial rules, Seychelles’ Vice President, Danny Faure, told the Fourth Global Biennial Conference earlier today.

On its current development path, the Caribbean in 2050 will face unmanageable debt, poor growth, and greater socio-economic problems warns a Commonwealth report.

Preserving marine biodiversity, conserving fishing stocks and tackling the effects of climate change are some of the key topics to be addressed at a two-day seminar (10-12 May) in Geneva.

Trade, debt and accessing financing to help small states achieve Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development are a few of the priority issues small states and development partners will tackle this week in Seychelles.

The Commonwealth has played a long-standing role in providing assistance to its members, particularly small island states and developing countries, to design strategies that open up new opportunities and create better development outcomes.

On her first day in office, Commonwealth Secretary-General Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC visited her home country of Dominica and launched a new Disaster Resource Centre.

The Government of Malta and the Commonwealth Secretariat will fund a new initiative to help small states recover from natural disasters, manage debt and get more women into enterprise.

First accessible publication with key objectives of driving knowledge sharing and south-south collaboration opportunities in trade competitiveness is launched.

Pacific trade officials and experts in the Commonwealth are meeting in Tonga to address trade-related issues affecting the region.

Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma commenting on recent developments in Vanuata.

Small states require debt relief, climate finance, international acknowledgement of their vulnerabilities and capacity building initiatives to achieve globally agreed development goals.