The 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, also known as CHOGM 2022, was the 26th

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 ...

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 C ...

. The meeting was originally scheduled for 26–27 June 2020 in

Kigali Kigali () is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda's economic, cult ...

, Rwanda preceded by various fora between 22 and 25 June, but was postponed twice due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On 31 January 2022, it was announced that the meeting would be held on 24 and 25 June 2022 and the pre-meeting fora held from 20 to 23 June.

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

represented the Head of the Commonwealth,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, at the summit. The Queen died less than three months later, on September 8, 2022.

Background

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is a pivotal agenda-setting and decision-making space for the diverse community of 56

Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a p ...

. The 2022 CHOGM was scheduled to be held in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. It was the first Commonwealth Summit held in a country that is not a former

British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

or the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

itself. On 8 May 2021, the CHOGM was postponed by President

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

of Rwanda and Commonwealth secretary-general Patricia Scotland a second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 31 January 2022, Kagame and Scotland announced that the CHOGM will be held in the week of 20 June 2022, following agreement by all member countries of the Commonwealth.

Agenda

In his speech at the opening ceremony,

said that the decision for

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonweal ...

as to whether to remain a monarchy, or become a

republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

, were purely a matter for each member country to decide, and suggested that changes can be made "calmly and without rancour". The position of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, held by the government leader of the CHOGM host country, was transferred at the summit from the

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

to the

President of Rwanda This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day. The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive of the Republic of Rwanda. The pres ...

, who will hold the post until the 27th CHOGM to be held in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and which was initially scheduled for 2022. The theme for the meeting was 'Delivering A Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming'. Five sub-themes have been identified for discussion: Governance and Rule of Law, ICT & Innovation, Youth, Environment and Trade. Leaders discussed ways the contemporary Commonwealth can transform societies, in accordance with Commonwealth Charter values of democracy, multilateralism, sustainable development, and empowerment of women and youth. Ahead of the meeting, ministers of parliament, youth and gender activists, and representatives from civil society and commerce convened special forums to ensure the consideration of key concerns and perspectives of women, young people, businesses and non-governmental organisations in leaders' decision-making.

Environment

Commonwealth leaders and senior officials expressed support for a non-binding charter on climate change, biodiversity and land degradation.

Small states

Ministers discussed ways of improving the resilience of small states, resulting in several Commonwealth nations being declared "Commonwealth Small States Advocacy Champions whose role is to galvanise support for the Advocacy Strategy" and the "Launch of the Commonwealth Virtual Centre for Small States (VCSS), a tailor-made platform which connects Commonwealth Small States Offices in New York, Geneva and the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

Women's rights and safety

The Commonwealth Women's Forum discussed actions for promoting gender equality. The Commonwealth Secretariat and the NO MORE foundation launched new guidelines for combatting violence against women and girls within the Commonwealth.

Youth

Youth delegates presented a series of recommendations for Commonwealth heads of government, including increased taxes on industrial polluters and more support for youth-led start-up businesses.

Secretary-General election

There was an attempt by the United Kingdom to deny Patricia Scotland a second term as

Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commo ...

The British government rejected an attempt in 2020 to automatically appoint Scotland to a second term and has reportedly lost confidence in her due to allegations about her leadership style and spending while in office.

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n defence minister Monica Juma was nominated in August 2021 for the position of Secretary-General by Kenyan president

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

. She withdrew her candidacy in February 2021, saying she did not want her candidacy to further divide the Commonwealth. In April 2022,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

nominated its foreign minister,

Kamina Johnson Smith Kamina Johnson Smith is a Jamaican attorney and politician. A member of the Jamaica Labour Party, Johnson Smith is currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in the second Holness cabinet. Since 2009 Johnson Smith has been a mem ...

, as a candidate for Secretary-General, prompting criticism from other Caribbean states that are backing Lady Scotland's re-election. Tuvalu had proposed its former governor-general, Sir Iakoba Italeli, for the post of secretary general – the first time a Pacific nation has sought the role. Lady Scotland was re-elected to a second term, reportedly defeating Johnson Smith by 27 votes to 24, with Italeli having withdrawn. As her first term had been extended by two years due to the pandemic and the postponement of the 2020 CHOGM, Scotland promised that she will only serve for two more years instead of a full four-year term.

Human Rights in Rwanda

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

, and

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...

have all found that the protection of democracy and

human rights in Rwanda Human rights in Rwanda have been violated on a grand scale. The greatest violation is the Rwandan genocide of Tutsi in 1994. The post-genocide government is also responsible for grave violations of human rights. Before the genocide As decoloniz ...

have declined since the country joined the Commonwealth in 2009. There have been calls for the Commonwealth to stand up for democracy and

at the 2022 CHOGM. Such calls have included for Commonwealth governments to pressure CHOGM 2022 host Rwanda to free

human rights defender A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing camp ...

Paul Rusesabagina. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found on 18 March 2022 that he had been illegally kidnapped, tortured, and sentenced after an unfair trial. The Working Group stated that: "It is clear on the facts that Mr. Rusesabagina has been targeted by the Government on account of his work as a human rights defender, because of his criticism of the Government on a broad range of human rights issues, including unfair elections and a lack of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of the press. He has also challenged cases of arbitrary detention, torture and extrajudicial killings.’’ The Working Group called on the Government “to release Mr. Rusesabagina immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law’’ and “to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Rusesabagina and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.” Rusesabagina’s family welcomed the Working Group’s finding, and were “hopeful that the world will listen to this call by the United Nations and put pressure on Rwanda to immediately free our father and husband”.

Togo and Gabon

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

joined the Commonwealth, despite never having been under British rule.

References

{{Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings

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Diplomatic conferences in Rwanda 21st-century diplomatic conferences

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of ...

Rwanda and the Commonwealth of Nations Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, 2021