The Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Samoa is a landmark occasion. As well as it being the first CHOGM in a Pacific Island nation (Vanuatu was unable to host the 2017 gathering following the devastation of Cyclone Pam), it will be the first which is presided over by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth.
The leadership of the Commonwealth will be a major talking point of the leaders’ summit, with the Association’s Secretary General, Baroness (Patricia) Scotland stepping down. All three candidates vying to replace her – Ghanaian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Gambian foreign minister Mamadou Tangara, and Senator Joshua Sepita of Lesotho – have expressed their support for “reparatory justice” (the payment of financial reparations for slavery and colonialism).
While the UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing domestic and foreign pressure to open talks on reparations at the Commonwealth leaders’ summit, he must not cave in to them. The UK Government is correct to say reparations are not on the agenda and that it has no plans to make such payments. It has also said that there will be no apology issued at the summit for the transatlantic slave trade – this position should be maintained, considering the role Britain played in the suppression and eventual abolition of such activities (especially the West Africa Squadron of the Royal Navy).
As a new report by Policy Exchange warns, the Commonwealth has drifted to the margins of international relations in recent times – with undemocratic revisionist powers looking to flex their muscles. The Commonwealth will continue on this trajectory if it consumes itself over issues such as “reparatory justice” as opposed to focusing on how its strategic potential can be harnessed in an increasingly contested and uncertain international system.
At the heart of this should be deepened co-operation around trade and investment, where the Commonwealth – an international association of fifty-six member countries – can build on existing advantages due to a shared language, parity of legal systems, and compatible administrative regimes. Caribbean business associations – including those in the food and drink industry – should be considered important stakeholders by a new Commonwealth trade and investment commission.
In terms of environmental collaboration, the UK should ensure the voice of ambitious Caribbean member countries such as Dominica – which strives to become the world’s first “climate-resilient” nation – is amplified by the Commonwealth. Considering the well-established environmentalism of the Royal Family, there can be a new role for HRH Prince of Wales – next in line to be the Head of the Commonwealth – in promoting the Association’s blue economy agenda, which focuses on the sustainable use of the ocean’s resources to foster economic growth in smaller island nations.
The creation of a new security and defence co-operation forum in the Commonwealth, as recommended by Policy Exchange, should see the UK playing its part by reinstating the Sandhurst-based officer training posts it used to offer to the Caribbean’s Commonwealth Realms. A similar model of training provision can be introduced at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. And there is a possible role for the Commonwealth in assisting Guyana against the threats to its territorial integrity from neighbouring Venezuela.
The Commonwealth, more than ever, needs the UK to confidently flesh out a bold, future-oriented agenda which strengthens the Association in areas such as trade, climate mitigation, and security.
And crucially, the UK must do away with debilitating forms of “colonial guilt” and engage with Caribbean Commonwealth partners by respectfully viewing them as free, equal, independent, self-governing nation-states in the post-colonial world.
Dr Rakib Ehsan is a senior adviser at Policy Exchange