26 Nov 2015

The new Commonwealth Secretary General will be elected and announced by the 24^th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) today (Friday).

The race for the position is contested by three official candidates including Botswana’s own Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, the only one woman candidate from the African bloc of nations.

Ms Masire-Mwamba was until May last year, serving as Deputy Secretary General (Political) at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Her vision for the Commonwealth is to progress initiatives that would ensure a relevant organisation which would support and engage member states effectively.

She is of the view that even as the Commonwealth pursues its political values, it should lend a credible voice in the discourse of global development issues and have a special role in championing small states and vulnerable communities as well as the broader membership.

As deputy secretary general, Ms Masire-Mwamba provided support and leadership for the work of the Commonwealth on political, human rights, legal and youth development. She also got to appreciate challenges facing the Commonwealth as well as have insights into the organisation’s potential.

Other candidates are Antigua and Barbuda’s Sir Ronald Sanders and another woman, Ms Baroness Patricia of Scotland.

Meanwhile, the first inaugural women’s forum was held on November 23-24, where the out-going Secretary General Mr Kamalesh Sharma announced that it is important to discuss gender equality as human rights are women’s rights too.

The women’s forum also requested that it be a permanent feature of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings.

The two-day women’s forum which was themed Women Ahead: Be All that You Can Be, called for strategies to deal with gender based violence, including programmes for educating men about valuing women. 

It also challenged member states to develop strategies to increase representation of women in all spheres, including enterprise, politics as well as the judiciary.

Further, it called for equal representation in parliament and on company boards.

A conclusion was also made for the Commonwealth to establish a working group of experts which would help further women’s empowerment among countries.  

The forum was organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Maltese government.

Among other things, the forum sought to amplify women voices as well as address lack of women leaders.

It also intended to address a range of issues, including education, technology, violence against women, health and the institutionalised exclusion of women in public bodies and private companies.

It came on the heels of the UN conference to ratify the Sustainable Development Goals, where world leaders reaffirmed their commitment to gender equality and women empowerment.

Getting more women into decision-making positions was one of the 17 goals agreed upon in New York.

Further, the women’s forum explored underlying barriers to women’s leadership as well as Commonwealth Secretariat programmes that would help governments to choose and implement strategies such as regulated and self-regulated quotas, targets and reserved seats.

Such emphasis on women empowerment should surely guide election of one of the two woman candidates for the Secretary General position by heads of member states today.

The women’s forum, which featured over 400 participants from the Commonwealth countries, ended with delegates and guests being treated to a lively multi-disciplinary performance which highlighted the forum’s theme in a creative and interactive manner. 

The ceremony included Mro Paul Abela’s band, singers Mary Rose Mallia, Dorothy Bezzina and Chloe Portelli and Stagecoach Choir. Ends