The 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 17th

Meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defini ...

of the

Heads of Government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. It was held in

Coolum Coolum Beach is a beachside town and coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Coolum Beach had a population of 8,497 people. Geography Coolum Beach has the ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, between 2 and 5 March 2002, and hosted by the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

. Planned to have been hosted in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

on 6 October 2001, the CHOGM was postponed only nine days before it was due to be held, on account of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. When the meeting was finally held, three issues loomed large on the agenda: security, the future of the Commonwealth, and (most prominently)

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

's upcoming presidential election. The meeting was attended by representatives of 51 countries out of the Commonwealth's 54 members (suspended member

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

was not invited, whilst

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

and

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

sent no representatives). Of those, 35 were represented by their

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

Security

Originally slated to be hosted in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

the plan was changed so it would be held in

on 6 October 2001, making it two years since the previous meeting. However, on 28 September, in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks, it was postponed, to allow for improved security. Instead of the October summit, the Heads of Government issued a statement on

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and established the Commonwealth Committee on Terrorism, which met on 29 January 2002, reported in March, and recommended annual reviews of the Commonwealth's

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

strategy. The postponement dealt a big blow to the Commonwealth, both in piling up costs on an already over-stretched budget and undermining the celebration and promotion of Commonwealth culture and values to Australia that the Heads of Government had hoped the CHOGM would be. The postponement ultimately raised questions of how credible and practical the CHOGM, and thus the present Commonwealth, could be. However, the

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. The CHOGM itself was highly security-conscious, due to the concerns raised by the attacks. The hotel compound was ringed by an

electric fence An electric fence is a barrier that uses electric shocks to deter people or animals from crossing a boundary. The voltage of the shock may have effects ranging from discomfort to death. Most electric fences are used for agricultural fencing an ...

, whilst the media representatives were transported by coach between venues. Security, originally budgeted at A$11.4m, was ramped up to include 4,000

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

, 2,000

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

, and over 100

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

personnel. This, combined with the presence of only 30 accredited

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

representatives, gave the entire CHOGM the feel of a 'retreat without a retreat', rather than accessible conference.

Zimbabwe

At the CHOGM, the Commonwealth made final arrangements for its

election observer Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an electi ...

mission to Zimbabwe, which would consist of 42 observers and 19 staff from 26 countries. With the earlier withdrawal of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

's observers, the Commonwealth's delegation was to be the only fully international group judging the election's fairness. The CHOGM gave the 'troika' of Chairperson-in-Office

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

, and

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

a mandate to assess whether the report of the observers met the

Harare Declaration The Harare Commonwealth Declaration was a declaration of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the Commonwealth's core principles and values, detailing the Commonwealth's membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose. The ...

, and (if it didn't) the punishment under the Millbrook Programme. The observers' initial report was received by the troika on 14 March, and explicitly stated that 'conditions in Zimbabwe did not adequately allow for free expression of will by the electors'. In response, the troika, announced on 19 March 2002 that Zimbabwe was to be suspended from the Commonwealth immediately. Two other countries that had been suspended were deemed to have shown progress.

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

's suspension had been lifted by the

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration, abbreviated to CMAG, is a group of representatives of members of the Commonwealth of Nations that is responsible for upholding the Harare Declaration. That Declaration dictates ...

(CMAG) on 20 December 2001, allowing Fiji to take part in the CHOGM. Nevertheless, it would stay on the CMAG's agenda until

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

's government had been ruled constitutional by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Even though

's suspension was not lifted in time for the CHOGM, the CMAG meeting on 30 January accepted

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

's plans for the elections in October, and recommended that the Commonwealth should send observers, with a view to lifting the suspension if the election was free of fraud or intimidation.

Footnotes

External links

Commonwealth Secretariat webpage on CHOGM 2002
{{Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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