New Role for the Commonwealth

...Commonwealth must be careful not to overreach itself At the moment, the organization's primary concerns are the various economic pressures on its poorer members It managed recently to shift the emphasis awav from the often sterile consideration of what should be done to cope with economic problems ("We know what should be done," Ramphal declares) toward what could be a more fruitful examination of the constraints on economic growth and structural change It is very much involved in the North-South dialogue, though frustrated by the realization that flaring East-West hostility and concern about Middle East stability divert much attention from the problems of the Third World Nevertheless, Ramphal retains his optimism He sees a possibility that present economic tribulations will kindle a new opportunity for basic, constructive change Arising from the current crisis," he sa\s "is a growing awareness that the problems of poverty for the South arc problems as well tot the North—not only because of the moral imperative, but also because the self-interest of developed (.outlines demands that something be done about the poverty of the South Norman Gelb reports from London for the Mutual Broadcasting Swiun...

...TRANSMITTING UNDERSTANDING New Role for the Commonwealth by norman gelb London More anguish undoubtedly lies ahead for Rhodesia Fundamental differences among the political parties and personalities competing for power remain to be resolved Stability is yet to be won and sustained Nevertheless, alter years ol bloodshed and hopelessness, progress toward a settlement in the country that is soon to be born again as Zimbabwe is truly impressive A protracted guerrilla war (an incipient civil war) has been defused A framework for a new democratic nation has been constructed with the agreement (or at least acquiescence) of all major interested groups The prospect of an expansion of Soviet influence in that part of Africa has been considerably diminished Much, perhaps most, of the credit for all of this belongs to the largely neglected Commonwealth of Nations, better known—where it is known at all—simply as the Commonwealth It was the Commonwealth heads-of-gov-ernment meeting in Lusaka last summer that spawned the London conference at which the terms for the Rhodesia settlement were excruciatingly evolved It was the organization's secretary-general who stepped in effectively behind the scenes when the conference seemed doomed to dismal wrangling and ultimate failure Until now, the Commonwealth has aroused little interest in the prominent capitals of the world Vl the State Department in Washington scant attention was paid to its activities or objectives Moscow, preferring to deal individually with Third World countries, considered it an insignificant vestige of the British Empire (and probably still does) Even in Britain, once its centerpiece, the Commonwealth has in recent years been held in no great esteem and the proverbial man-in-the-street in London today has no clear idea ol what it is A suggestion a little while back that the Commonwealth might break up over the Rhodesia dispute drew from Robert Blake, provost of Queen's College, Oxford, the comment that "the pricking of that meaningless bubble would do no harm—and possibly some good But since the organization has proved its worth in helping to fashion a Rhodesia settlement, such casual dismissal seems profoundly misplaced The "British Commonwealth, as u was originally called, was founded in 1931 as an association ol Britain, Australia, Canada, Ireland New Zealand, and South Miica countries linked by common allegiance to the British Crown Its nature and character were transformed after World War II, when British colonies and dependencies began gaining their independence and became what are still called "younger members" of the Commonwealth There are now 42 members around the world (Ireland and South Africa withdrew for reasons of their own several years ago ) Prior to 1965, the British Commonwealth Office—really an annex of the British Foreign Office—was the nerve center of the association But growing recognition of distinctive national and poorer members whose needs were greater Because he helped the organization shed its British-oriented image, Smith inevitably riled mandarins at the British "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" who were unhappy about this previously tame institution developing an impetus and direction of its own that frequently did not entirely accord with their policies and practices Their displeasure is still often apparent, though a British government spokesman diplomatically explained to me, "Families occasionally fall out, even in the best of circles " regional interests and goals among other member nations led to the formation 15 years ago of the Commonwealth Secretariat, with headquarters in London's stately Marlborough House on Pall Mall, as a separate body responsible for the functioning of the organization The first Commonwealth secretary-general was Canadian diplomat Arnold Smith (who is now teaching at Carleton University in Ottawa) Smith labored long and hard to fashion an independent Secretariat that served all its members and favored none In practice, this often meant favoring the younger, Smith was succeeded in 1975 by Sir Shndath Ramphal, formerly foreign minister of Guyana and twice vice president of the UN General Assembly Ramphal ("Most people call me 'Sonny'") is an agreeable, articulate, quick-witted man His main thrust has been a double-pronged approach to the problems of the Third World countries making up a majority of Commonwealth members He has attempted to cope with those problems in a Commonwealth context, while simultaneously seeking global answers to the fundamental causes underlying them The package of Commonwealth programs for aiding members includes regular consultation and cooperation on a wide range of economic matters, joint efforts to advance industrialization and exports, promotion of food production and rural development, and training students in technological and administrative skills Significantly, it is not only countries such as Zambia, Malawi, Jamaica, and Bangladesh that are deeply interested in all this, the proud giants among them, like Nigeria and India, are equally anxious for concerted Commonwealth action to produce fruitful results in these areas The possibility that the organization might be useful in untangling complicated international problems, however, had never been seriously entertained before the Rhodesia undertaking With the experience there over the last few months on the record, attitudes are being modified and horizons are being expanded One Western diplomat in London, after noting that he had not been overly impressed with or interested in the Commonwealth, recently conceded that it was clear a Rhodesia settlement would have been much more difficult to achieve, if not impossible, without Commonwealth assistance The organization, he went on, had proved itself to be a useful grouping of nations He could envisage world leaders exploring the possibility of turning to the Commonwealth in the future when other possible instruments of negotiation and conciliation had failed to produce results Ramphal enthusiastically agrees "The Rhodesia effort has given us a better idea of the potential that was always there, and perhaps a little more confidence to fulfill that potential It was a demonstration of a capacity to be effective at a time when the international community was losing confidence in the capacity of the wider world machinery [the United Nations] to be effective " In fact, the Commonwealth occupies a unique position on the international stage It includes industrialized nations and those with predominantly agricultural economies, large and small countries, a key member of opec (Nigeria) and countries with potentially catastrophic energy problems It is represented on every continent and its peoples, accounting for a quarter of the world's inhabitants, are of many races and religions They are linked by shared institutions (a legacy of the British Empire), by joint economic development programs and by the regular meetings of their leaders—who confer informally (no one brings a prepared speech) in the same language (English) on a vast range of subjects (there is never a prepared agenda) When links of this kind exist among countries that would otherwise seem to have little in common (Canada and Ghana, Malaysia and Cyprus, Australia and Trinidad), the potential for transmitting understanding and winning sympathy for particular national and regional problems is considerable Britain, for example, can carry the views of its Third World Commonwealth partners into the councils of the European Community and nato Developing Commonwealth countries can convey to the nonaligned movement, the Organization of African Unity and other regional organizations an appreciation of the limitations to the support offered by more prosperous member states—why the North cannot move more strongly or quickly to help the impoverished nations of the South Ramphal does not expect these lines of communication to bring about any dramatic alteration in the uneven balance between the haves and the have-nots But, he says, they can have an important leavening effect and, in some instances, serve as a conduit "Indeterminate, intangible, ephemeral even...

...Commonwealth ties that do not bind are yet real enough to make many things happen that otherwise might not " Ramphal himself was chosen to sit on Willy Biandt's Independent Commission on International Development Issues, a group of distinguished North-South personalities which has recently released its plan for a new global economic order "to avert catastrophe " Indeed, the Secretary-General's wide range of influential contacts and his personal stature enhance the potential of the Commonwealth His role in the Rhodesia negotiations is an example When it looked like the talks would grind to a halt over the issue of land reform, Ramphal telephoned his friend Kingman Brewster, the U S ambassador in London, to ask what Washington could do to help Within 48 hours, Brewster phoned back with word that the United States would be willing to help financially with the implementation of a Rhodesia land reform program, thus enabling the negotiations to move forward It may have been by way of thanks that Ramphal helped initiate Commonwealth consideration of the plight of the American hostages in Iran, making the organization one of the first international bodies to call for their release But being mindtul of the serious domestic troubles of so many of its member countries, and of the fact that the final results in Rhodesia are not let certain, Ramphal savin...