Commonwealth should “shame” undemocratic members-report

LONDON, (Reuters) – The Common-wealth must do more to  promote democracy and get tough on autocratic regimes, even if  that means publicly “shaming” some of its members, said a report  to be presented to its political leaders today.

Many Commonwealth governments fail to “encourage, or even  countenance, open political competition” and instead use state  apparatus to repress dissent, said the report, commissioned by  the club’s policy think-tank and an electoral reform group.

In September, the 53-nation Common-wealth suspended Fiji  after the leaders of a 2006 coup failed to make steps to return  the country to democracy — a rare sanction from the group which  generally uses back-door diplomacy to persuade members to  behave.

This subtle approach meant it was easier for “wily autocrats  manoeuvre to deflect demands for reform”, said the report,  written by democracy experts from Britain, Ghana and Pakistan.

The Commonwealth — mostly made up of former British  colonies — should publish regular democracy “health checks” for  each member state, inviting the judiciary, media and  non-governmental groups to contribute, it recommended.

Rather than just acting against countries that have  undergone coups or obviously rigged elections, the Common-wealth  should speak out against regimes which are more subtle in their  repression.

“The Commonwealth can play an important role in monitoring  such processes and shaming those governments who fail to respect  the association’s basic political values,” said the report.
Promoting democracy “should not be just one among a number  of Common-wealth objectives”, it said. “It must become, and be  recognised as, the defining characteristic of the association.”
Commonwealth heads of state and government meet in Port of  Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, from Nov. 27 to Nov.  29. The report, “Demo-cracy in the Commonwealth”, will be  available on the website http://www.eris. org.uk/news.php?aid=230  from 1615 GMT today.