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CORNERSTONES, INSTITUTIONS AND THE RULES-BASED INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
Reflections on the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter by the Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) share a number of fundamental characteristics, most notably, 1) voluntary membership of state institutions 2) a core belief in democracy as an ideal and a system of government. We have a common goal of international understanding and world peace.
In this article on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter, I want to reflect on the significance of cornerstones and institutions for the rules-based international system.
The Commonwealth Charter, adopted in 2013, is such a cornerstone. It is a collective statement of the aspirations of the membership. Within the diversity of nations that make up the Commonwealth, it clearly sets out the values and principles that are shared by all members. When the future is uncertain, it provides an anchor that holds firm in the storm. For the IPU, the 1997 Universal Declaration on Democracy is a similar cornerstone.
The Commonwealth Charter, like the Universal Declaration on Democracy, emerged at a point of time in the organisation’s history. It emerged at the time when the organisation was ready to state its core beliefs. These core beliefs were not created ex nihilo in order to write a Charter; instead, the Commonwealth Charter is a reflection of decades of discussions, decisions, disagreements and ultimately consensus among members.
People ask: what purpose does this serve? Why does it matter today? If you did it again, would you do this differently? We live in a fractured world of competing interests. There is competition within countries and between countries. Inequalities abound, as do injustices.
Dialogue, based on principles of tolerance, respect and understanding, is the only possible solution. Dialogue takes place within institutions that are trusted by their members. And institutions need cornerstones that provide the foundation for that trust: The cornerstone is a statement that says: This is what we believe in. This is the standard to which we hold ourselves. In the past, the present and the future.
People will argue that there is a need to update it to reflect changing views or emerging issues. A key characteristic of democracy is that it is always perfectible. Maybe cornerstones can be perfect as well?
I don’t believe a cornerstone should be changed lightly. I suggest we think about the Commonwealth Charter in the same way as one thinks of a national constitution. It provides clarity and certainty. The principles that it expresses are enduring. Getting to a point of agreement among members is a huge political challenge. Tinkering with what has been agreed creates risks of diminishing or diluting the original document.
On the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Democracy in 2017, the IPU’s Member Parliaments reaffirmed their attachment to this instrument and its principles. They acknowledged that it represents a coherent whole and a political settlement and decided against reopening debates that had been fought over and settled. In that sense, the cornerstone is not only enduring but also persistent.
While the Commonwealth Charter reflects the values and principles of the Commonwealth membership at a point in time, it is also timeless and in some ways a very forward-looking document. I admire the Commonwealth Charter for its inclusion of a specific reference to protecting the environment. Its drafters saw clearly that the values and principles have to find their expression in political action. As the climate emergency deepens, the political choices are getting starker every day. Political leadership is required to ensure the green transition as a means of enhancing the social and economic well-being of the people they represent.
I admire the Commonwealth Charter for its ambition to be people-oriented and for the consultative process through which it was developed. I salute the Charter’s recognition of the role that civil society plays in promoting and supporting core values and principles. The fundamental tenet of democracy is that everyone should have the right to participate in the management of public affairs. This means listening to the voices of all people, men and women, young and old as well as the voices of those who may be marginalised. Public engagement can be slow and expensive. It brings out contradictions and competing interests. The benefits of consultation, however, are immeasurable. Decision-making is improved. Laws are more effective. Trust in and legitimacy of the democratic system of government is reinforced.
A cornerstone is a product of its time. It is of course possible that a different process at a different time might potentially lead to a very different document. If we were to set out today to write a Commonwealth Charter from scratch or to write a new or alternative Universal Declaration on Democracy, my suspicion is that the result would be very similar. These cornerstones articulate the soul of the organisation. They are not subject to political winds but are an expression of something altogether deeper.
When members voluntarily join or participate in an association of equals, at whatever level, they are expressing their willingness to dialogue and cooperate with others. This is not to say that members will agree on everything. Nor should they! A Charter or a Universal Declaration is not a denial or a flattening of differences, or an attempt to impose uniformity on a diverse membership.
What a cornerstone does is provide an understanding of core values and principles upon which all members do agree. This sense of shared purpose creates the space in which international cooperation can take place. It provides a framework in which members can reach consensus on political issues or agree to continue to discuss them until a consensus can be found. It allows States, and Parliaments, to express their commitment to a rulesbased international system in which rights and responsibilities are shared among all. This is what I have observed in my three decades in the service of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, during which the organisation has evolved rapidly under the guidance and support of its member Parliaments. I suspect the same is true for the Commonwealth.
I congratulate The Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on the tenth anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter. I fervently wish that the values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter continue to inspire members and others for the next decade - and beyond - to pursue new levels of international understanding and world peace.
