Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma reflects on 2013 and looks ahead to 2014 in which the Commonwealth belief in a future where none are excluded remains firm and strong.
Setting out on this New Year, our minds are still fresh with two defining Commonwealth moments of 2013. Towards the start of the year, the ‘Commonwealth Charter’ was launched globally, setting out the values and principles which unite the peoples of our family of nations, and which are our enduring compass for the future.
Towards the end of the year, we mourned the passing of that great titan of the Commonwealth and exemplar of its values, Nelson Mandela, whilst also celebrating the enduring gift of his great moral weight and his colossal contribution to advancing those values to which we commit ourselves as the Commonwealth: democracy, development, and respect for diversity.
Reflecting on the life and legacy of this great son of Africa has given us cause to recall a proud and defining achievement of the Commonwealth. As Madiba himself wrote: ‘The Commonwealth had earned a place of honour in the gallery of international organisations, particularly by mobilising the conscience of mankind against the evil of apartheid and, beyond that, by playing a leading role within the international community in the long campaign to end that system of racial rule’.
Such recollections of 2013 serve us well and strengthen resolve and renewed effort in the year ahead towards realising our cherished values and goals. It reminds us of the need to carry forward the struggle for the freedom, dignity and welfare of every human being and all communities.
We are a Commonwealth that seeks an equitable world, that stands with those whose voice needs to be heard. The Commonwealth belief in a future where none are excluded remains firm and strong. Our aspiration in seeking to follow in the footsteps of Madiba is to be on the side of right. It is then that we shall find ourselves, with him, on the right side of history.