The next Commonwealth summit which is billed to hold in Rwanda will not only get heads of government to agree on new collaborative programmes, but it will address issues of democratic governance, youths, and women empowerment, as well as climate adaptions. This information was disclosed by Baroness Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth secretary-general on Monday.
“When Commonwealth Heads of Government meet in Rwanda later this year, we can expect them to agree on new collaborative programmes on a range of issues,” she said. “These will carry forward the impressive record of Commonwealth engagement on climate and regenerative development.”
Scotland recalled that the Langkawi Declaration on the Environment made in 1989 by Commonwealth heads of government in Malaysia recognizes that our planet Earth is under climatic threats which must be addressed urgently. She said national leaders must go beyond “declaration to implementation” if our planet must be saved.
“We may be the first generation to have truly experienced the tragic consequences of this climate crisis, yet we are perhaps the last with the opportunity to take action to reverse it,” she added.
Baroness Scotland disclosed that the ability to tackle the existential threat to our environment and planet lies in the combined strength of nations who must “evolve and adjust to changing circumstances”. She cited that one of the instruments for achieving transformational change through innovation is the Commonwealth Blue Charter which provides a dynamic framework for ocean health, marine resources, and environmental sustenance.
“Our conviction is that with a common purpose and by learning from one another, all can give and all can gain,” she added.
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