2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Summit February 2021 17th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2–5 March 2002 Coolum Beach, Queensland, Australia 51 (of 54 members) Heads of State or Government 35 John Howard(Prime Minister) 1999 2003 Commonwealth's future Terrorism Zimbabwe The 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 17th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Coolum, Queensland, Australia, between 2 and 5 March 2002, and hosted by the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard. Planned to have been hosted in Brisbane 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.Ingram Derek Derek Ingram (journalist) January 2002 Brisbane Notebook The Round Table 91 363 37–39 10.1080/00358530220118516 219629137 When the meeting was finally held, three issues loomed large on the agenda: security, the future of the Commonwealth, and (most prominently) Zimbabwe's upcoming presidential election.April 2002 The Commonwealth at and immediately after the Coolum CHOGM The Round Table 91 364 125–9 10.1080/00358530220144139 219624218 The meeting was attended by representatives of 51 countries out of the Commonwealth's 54 members (suspended member Pakistan was not invited, whilst Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada sent no representatives). Of those, 35 were represented by their head of state or head of government. Security Originally slated to be hosted in Canberra, Australian Capital TerritoryOctober 1999 Previewing the Durban CHOGM The Round Table 88 352 1–6 10.1080/750459620 the plan was changed so it would be held in Brisbane 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 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 strategy.Ingram Derek Derek Ingram (journalist) April 2002 Commonwealth Update The Round Table 91 364 131–59 10.1080/00358530220144148 219627051 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.Srinivasan Krishnan Krishnan Srinivasan January 2002 The 11 September 2001 and After The Round Table 91 363 5–10 10.1080/00358530220118499 154318181 However, the civil society celebration went on as planned, except without the Heads of Government and media presence, and were deemed to be a great success, despite the surreal circumstances. The CHOGM itself was highly security-conscious, due to the concerns raised by the attacks. The hotel compound was ringed by an electric fence, 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, 2,000 Australian Defence Force, and over 100 Federal Police personnel. This, combined with the presence of only 30 accredited NGO 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 mission to Zimbabwe, which would consist of 42 observers and 19 staff from 26 countries. With the earlier withdrawal of the European Union'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 John Howard, Thabo Mbeki, and Olusegun Obasanjo a mandate to assess whether the report of the observers met the Harare Declaration, 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's suspension had been lifted by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (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's government had been ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court. Even though Pakistan's suspension was not lifted in time for the CHOGM, the CMAG meeting on 30 January accepted Pervez Musharraf'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. Attendees Commonwealth of Nations 1976 Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth Commonwealth of Nations 1976 Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General ATG No representation AUS John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia (chair) BHS Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of the Bahamas BAN Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh BRB Billie Miller, Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados BLZ Said Musa, Prime Minister of Belize BOT Festus Mogae, President of Botswana BRN Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei CMR François Xavier Ngoubeyou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cameroon CAN Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada CYP Ioannis Kasoulidis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus DMA Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica FJI Laisenia Qarase, Prime Minister of Fiji GAM Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice President of the Gambia GHA John Kufuor, President of Ghana GRD No representation GUY Bharrat Jagdeo, President of Guyana IND Jaswant Singh, Minister of External Affairs of India JAM Keith Desmond Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jamaica KEN Daniel arap Moi, President of Kenya KIR No representation LSO 1987 Pakalitha Mosisili, Prime Minister of Lesotho MWI Bakili Muluzi, President of Malawi MYS Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia MDV Fathulla Jameel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives MLT Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister of Malta MUS Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius MOZ Joaquim Chissano, President of Mozambique NAM Sam Nujoma, President of Namibia NRU René Harris, President of Nauru NZL Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand NGA Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria PNG Sir Mekere Morauta, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea SKN Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis LCA Julian Hunte, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia VCT WSM Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa SYC Jérémie Bonnelame, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles SLE Ahmed Ramadan Dumbuya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone SGP Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore SLB Allan Kemakeza, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands ZAF Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa LKA Tyronne Fernando, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka SWZ Mswati III, King of Swaziland TAN Benjamin Mkapa, President of Tanzania TON Prince ʻAho‘eitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho, Prime Minister of Tonga TTO Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago TUV Koloa Talake, Prime Minister of Tuvalu UGA Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda GBR Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom VAN Edward Natapei, Prime Minister of Vanuatu ZAM Levy Mwanawasa, President of Zambia ZWE Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe Footnotes External links Commonwealth Secretariat webpage on CHOGM 2002 2002 Category:2002 in Australia Category:Diplomatic conferences in Australia Category:2002 in international relations Category:Australia and the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Royal visits to Australia Category:2002 diplomatic conferences Category:2000s in Queensland Category:March 2002 in Australia