Rwanda membership delayed By Felix Osike
Rwanda�s admission to the Commonwealth has been delayed, pending a review of the rules for new members.
The outgoing Secretary General of the Common- wealth, Don McKinnon, said the leaders meeting at the Speke Resort Munyonyo had in principle agreed to expand the membership of the 53-nation organisation with historical ties to Britain.
Rwanda, a Belgian colony, applied to join the Commonwealth in 2003, but its application has been pending since.
�Generally the leaders support the increase in the membership of states which have no historical or constitutional linkages with the Commonwealth, but that doesn�t suggest that it can be done in 24 hours,� McKinnon told journalists at a press conference at Munyonyo yesterday.
He explained that the leaders considered the report and proposed some amendments. �They did not accept it in total,� he stated.
�The leaders are going to look at the rules for the new members. It is going to take time,� said the Commonwealth spokesman, Eduardo de Buey.
Although Uganda supports Rwanda�s bid to join the Commonwealth, sources said the Kampala summit only dealt with criteria for joining the Commonwealth.
Rwanda�s President Paul Kagame was a special guest of President Yoweri Museveni at this year�s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Madagascar, Yemen, Algeria and Sudan have also applied to join the association that brings together former British colonies.
Madagascar and Algeria are former French colonies. So far Mozambique is the only non-English-speaking country that has been admitted to the Commonwealth.
Sources said the applications for membership may be considered during the next CHOGM in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009.
Countries wishing to join must also be fully sovereign states, recognise Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth and accept the English language as the means of Commonwealth communication. They are also expected to embrace the association�s values on freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law. Published on: Saturday, 24th November, 2007 |
