Commonwealth summit concludes with agreement on climate change
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E-mail Xinhua, November 30, 2015
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) ended in Malta on Sunday with an agreement on new measures to tackle climate change and combat radicalisation.
Themed "Adding Global Value", the three-day meeting was attended by leaders from all 53 Commonwealth countries, including 31 heads of government.
Taking place on the eve of the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and French President Francois Hollande joined heads for a special session on climate change.
Noting that the 53-member-state association represent more than one quarter of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the leaders of commonwealth countries committed to working towards for "an ambitious, equitable, inclusive, balanced, rules-based and durable" climate change agreement in Paris, said the final communiqué of CHOGM.
Meanwhile, the summit had "a high level of convergence" on issues such as tackling extremism and radicalisation.
Recognizing extremism threats must be countered through strong national, regional and international action and co-operation, the commonwealth countries renewed their commitment to implement national strategies to counter threats and to support each other.
"We agreed that it is imperative to counter the use of the internet by extremist groups to radicalise and recruit fighters," their statement said, calling upon all member governments to implement fully their obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014)."
The final communiqué of CHOGM also reflected commitments on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; seeking solutions to global migration challenges; and empowering young people as partners and agents of change, amongst others.
Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat said CHOGM had achieved convergence and near unanimity on a very focused statement on climate change. He said the summit was a good augury for the success of the climate change conference that starts Monday.
Muscat was echoed by a number of heads of government from Pacific and Caribbean countries who all agreed about the success of the meeting.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, said the meeting underlined the relevance of the Commonwealth.
He said shared values helped participants triumph over their differences and make the conference the resounding success it was.
President of Kenya Kenyatta said this was a successful summit which cleared the way forward in various issues, especially climate change.
President of Nauru Baron Divavesi Waqa stressed that climate change was an issue of life and death for several countries.
Baron Divavesi Waqa added: 'People next to us may not share our same ideas, but climate change puts us all in the same canoe. "
Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth said this was a landmark summit that lived up to its aim of adding global value and he was happy by the vibrancy of the various meetings, including the fora for business, youth and women.
CHOGM was preceded by four forums, which included an inaugural Women's Forum, addressed by Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Lakshmi Puri. It concluded with a call for quotas and targets to get more women into leadership positions.
The Youth Forum highlighted the important role that young people can play in preventing violence and conflict. A new unit at the Commonwealth Secretariat will be established to counter violent extremism and advance the Commonwealth's role in international efforts in this regard.
The Business Forum was attended by more than 1,300 delegates from 75 countries. The Forum identified a number of areas where the Commonwealth can increase trade and investment across financial services, technology, infrastructure, healthcare, tourism and sustainability. Five new initiatives were launched to facilitate this.
At the summit, leaders also selected the Commonwealth's sixth Secretary-General, Dominican-born Patricia Scotland. The former UK Attorney General, who is the Commonwealth's first woman Secretary-General, will take office on April 1, 2016.
The next CHOGM will be held in the United Kingdom in the first half of 2018.
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