A confidential report commissioned by the Commonwealth has called on the group to make essential reforms and uphold human rights in the organisation or they risk becoming irrelevant.
The report, obtained by Reuters, was compiled by a 10-member Eminent Persons Group and is due to be presented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth later this month.
The 204-page report said, "As it is currently perceived, the Commonwealth is in danger of losing its relevance".
See the report from Reuters here.
Amongst the recommendations made was to appoint a commissioner to look into "persistent violations" of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in member states.
There was also criticism of its watchdog the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which the report said had "only shown real interest, and responded, when there has been a coup d'etat or a military seizure of power in a member state."
The experts group was chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and included former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, former Australian High Court Justice Michael Kirby and Asma Jilani Jahangir, a human rights advocate from Pakistan.
See our earlier posts:
‘Canadians turn up the pressure on Sri Lanka’ (Sep 2011)
‘Australian campaign for Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth suspension’ (Sep 2011)
‘British MPs turn up the heat on Sri Lanka’ (Sep 2011)
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