Civil Society Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Vijay Krishnarayan

by chrismoffat | Jun 1, 2015 | CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Secretariat, Development, Fiji, Good Governance, Human Rights, Sri Lanka, Trade and Investment, West Indies/ West Indies Federation, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Krishnarayan, Vijay. Born in Trinidad and Tobago. Educated at Oxford Polytechnic in Town and Country Planning. Volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas in Belize, with the Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology....

Interview with Sir Anand Satyanand

by chrismoffat | Jan 16, 2015 | Australia, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Foundation, Democracy, Environment, European Economic Community, Fiji, India, Judiciary, Law, New Zealand, Nuclear, Papua New Guinea, Queen, Reflections, Small States, United Kingdom

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Satyanand, Anand. 1944- . Born in Auckland, New Zealand. Graduated from the University of Auckland, 1970. Lawyer, 1970-1982. Judge in Auckland District Court, 1982-1994. Parliamentary Ombudsman, 1995-2005. 19th...

Interview with Michael Kirby

by rcraggs | Jan 8, 2015 | Australia, Barbados, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Eminent Persons Group, Health, Human Rights, Judiciary, Law, Malaysia, Sexuality, United Kingdom

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Kirby, Michael, 1939-. Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission, 1974-1975; inaugural Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission, 1975-84. Judge of the Federal Court of Australia,...

Interview with Neville Linton

by rcraggs | Dec 30, 2014 | Angola, Apartheid, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Canada, CHOGM, Civil Society, Climate Change, Cold War, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Elections, Environment, Good Governance, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Papua New Guinea, Small States, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Technical Assistance, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Linton, Neville, Dr. Political Scientist, University of Alberta; Graduate Institute of International Relations, University of the West Indies; Political Advisor in the secretariat set up to host the Non-Aligned Movement...

Interview with Chris Laidlaw

by rcraggs | Nov 22, 2014 | Apartheid, Australia, Canada, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, Fiji, Good Governance, Grenada, Guyana, New Zealand, Nuclear, Queen, Race, Small States, South Africa, Sport, Technical Assistance, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Nations, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Laidlaw, Chris. 1943- . New Zealand rugby union player, 1962-1972; New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1972-195; International Energy Authority, 1975-1977; Assistant Commonwealth Secretary General, 1978-1986; New Zealand...

Interview with Aziz Pahad

by rcraggs | Nov 2, 2014 | Apartheid, China, CHOGM, Civil Society, Cold War, Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, Good Governance, India, Mozambique, Nigeria, Nuclear, Race, Rhodesia (see also Zimbabwe), Singapore, South Africa, Sport, Uncategorized, United Kingdom, United Nations, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (18th April 2013); Part Two (5th August 2015). Biography: Pahad, Aziz. 1940- . African National Congress in London, 1966-1985; National executive Committee of the ANC, 1985- ; Returned to South Africa from exile, 1990; Deputy...

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Definitioner

Yusuf Dadoo

Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo (1909-1983) was a South African political figure and anti-apartheid activist. He was chair of the South African Indian Congress (1950-1960) and the South African Communist Party (1953-60, 1972-83), and a defendant at the 1956 Treason Trial. In 1960 he was forced into exile and operated from London as an international spokesperson for the anti-apartheid movement.

SADF (South African Defence Force)

The South African Defence Force (SADF) was the name of the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994, to be succeeded in 1994 by the South African National Defence Force. The SADF combined a conventional military strategy of securing the borders of the Republic with a mandate to counter internal threats to the state. During apartheid, this involved quelling violent opposition to minority rule.

HIPC

The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is a debt reduction programme jointly coordinated by the IMF and the World Bank and launched in 1996. The initiative provides debt relief and low-interest loans to 39 countries around the world, 33 of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa.

One China policy

The One China policy refers to a diplomatic position in which a country recognises the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legitimate representative of China, requiring them to break relations with the Tawian-based Republic of China (ROC), which also claims status as legitimate representative. This position can be held in reverse, i.e. recognising the ROC and thus breaking relations with the PRC.

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international sporting event that takes place every four years and brings together athletes from across the Commonwealth of Nations. It began in 1930 as the British Empire Games, and is overseen today by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

BMATT

The British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) is an arm of the UK Ministry of Defence and co-ordinates security co-operation programmes within developing or post-conflict countries.

laager

Laager is an Afrikaans word for ‘camp’ or defensive position, referring to a formation used by South African wagon travellers to protect their cattle and horses from raiders or predators.

Moses Anafu

Moses Anafu is a Ghanian diplomat who joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1979 as Research Officer in the International Affairs Division. He was appointed Chief Research Officer in 1987 and served as Assistant Director, Political Affairs Department from 1990 to 2000. He was the Secretary General's Special Envoy to South Africa from 1991 to 1994. Anafu has also advised the UNDP on questions of governance in Africa.

Troika

Refers to incumbent, previous, and next Chairpersons-in-Office of the Commonwealth, who, after the 2002 CHOGM, met to try to resolve the dispute over Zimbabwe’s membership of the Commonwealth.

PJ Patterson

Percival Noel James Patterson (b. 1935) is a prominent Jamaican political figure. He was leader of the People’s National Party and Prime Minister of Jamaica, 1992-2006.

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A global development network founded in 1965 that provides expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries.

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are a series of eight development goals adopted in 2000 following the United Nations Millennium Summit.

Max Gaylard

Maxwell Gaylard (b. 1946). Australian diplomat. He was Director of Political/International Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in the 1990s.

Jeremy Pope

Jeremy Pope (1938-2012). New Zealand-born activist. In 1980 he was appointed director of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division. In 1993 he co-founded the anti-corruption organisation Transparency International.

OAU

Organisation of African Unity. Founded in 1963 to act as a collective voice for African Nations, it was replaced by the African Union in 2002.

Alfred Nzo

Alfred Nzo (1925-2000). Secretary General of the ANC (1969-1991) and South African Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994-1999).

African National Congress

African National Congress. A South African political party, founded in 1912, that opposed apartheid and has been South Africa’s governing party since 1994.

ZAPU

Zimbabwe African People’s Union. A militant political organisation founded in 1961 that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia. Merged with ZANU in 1987 to form ZANU-PF.

ZANU

Zimbabwe African National Union. A militant political organisation founded in 1963 to campaign against white minority rule in Rhodesia. It won power in 1980, and in 1987 merged with ZAPU to form ZANU-PF.

World Bank

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. An international institution, founded in 1944, that funds development projects

Verwoerd (Hendrik Verwoerd)

Dr Hendrik Verwoerd (1901 –1966). Prime Minister of South Africa (1958-1966), closely associated with apartheid policies.

Verligte

(Afrikaans, literally ‘enlightened’). A liberal or reformist member of a white political party during apartheid-era South Africa.

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

UDI

Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Rhodesia’s 1965 declaration of independence without British agreement, intended to preserve white minority rule.

UDF

United Democratic Front. A South African anti-aparthied organisation, founded in 1983.

Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000). Canadian politician and Prime Minister (1968-1979, 1980-1984).

Mike Terry

Mike Terry (1947-2008). British anti-apartheid campaigner.

Oliver Tambo

Oliver Tambo (1917-1993). South African politician and anti-apartheid campaigner.

soft power

A concept used to explain an emphasis on a attracting and co-opting power as opposed to coercive or forceful power.

Millbrook Declaration

The Millbrook Declaration (1995) is a Commonwealth policy programme, announced at the end of the New Zealand CHOGM. It was designed to uphold the Harare Declaration (1991). Click here to read the Declaration in full.

Arnold Smith

Arnold Smith (1915 –1994). Canadian diplomat, the first Commonwealth Secretary-General (1965–1975).

Security Council

A body, part of the United Nations organisation, charged with upholding of global peace and security.

Salim Salim

Salim Ahmed Salim (b. 1942). Tanzanian diplomat and politician, Prime Minister (1984-1985), Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (1989-2001).

SADC

Southern African Development Community (SADC). An international organisation founded in 1992, and a successor to the Southern African Development Coordination Conference, founded in 1980. Goal to encourage socio-economic cooperation and integration among southern African states.

SACP

South African Communist party, founded in 1921.

Rubicon speech

A speech given in 1985 by South African State President P.W. Botha that disappointed those hoping for major reforms of apartheid and led to international sanctions.

Malcolm Rifkind

Sir Malcolm Rifkind (b.1946) is a British politician who served various ministerial roles in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Defence (1992-95) and Foreign Secretary (1995-97). From 2010 to 2015, Rifkind was Chair of the Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee.

Rhodesia Front

Rhodesian political party, formed in 1962, that opposed black majority rule. It was renamed the Republican front in 1981.

Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal)

Shridath Surendranath 'Sonny' Ramphal (b. 1928). Guyanese politician, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990).

PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress)

The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) is a left-wing Black Nationalist political movement in South Africa, founded by ex-African National Congress activist Robert Sobukwe in 1959. During the anti-apartheid struggle, the PAC represented a radical perspective focused on black power as against than the ANC’s multi-racial openness.

Aziz Pahad

Aziz Pahad (b. 1940). South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs (1994-).

Old Commonwealth

An informal term describing the countries of the pre-1945 Commonwealth: Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Non-aligned movement

An international organisation of countries that are not aligned with any manjor world power, founded in 1961.

Joshua Nkomo

Joshua Nkomo (1917-1999). Zimbabwean nationalist and leader of ZAPU.

Nkomo (Joshua Nkomo)

Joshua Nkomo (1917-1999). Zimbabwean nationalist and leader of ZAPU.

Negotiating Concept

The 'Negotiating Concept' document was a proposal presented by the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group in 1986, suggesting that the South African government release political prisoners and lift bans on anti-apartheid political organisations, and that anti-apartheid groups should suspend the use of violence and enter negotiations with the government.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. A military alliance formed in 1949, originally to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union.

Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe (b.1924). Zimbabwean resistance leader and politician. Served as Prime Minister (1980-1987) and President (1987-) of Zimbabwe.

Sydney Mufamadi

Sydney Mufamadi (b.1959). South African politician, who served as a minister in the governments of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki (1994-2008).

MDC

Movement for Democratic Change. The leading Zimbabwean opposition party, founded in 1999.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)

Movement for Democratic Change. The leading Zimbabwean opposition party, founded in 1999.

Abdul Minty

Abdul Minty (b. 1939). South African diplomat.

Bob Menzies

Sir Robert Menzies (1894-1978). Australian politician, served as Prime Minister from 1939 to 1941, and from 1949 to 1966.

Don McKinnon

Sir Donald McKinnon (b. 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister for the National Party (1990-96), Foreign Minister (1990-99) and Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations (2000-08).

Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mbeki (b.1942). South African politician. He has served as an African National Congress negotiator in the 1980s and 1990s, and as South African Deputy President (1994-1999) and President (1999-2008).

Margaret Thatcher Foundation

An organisation that promotes the ideas of Margaret Thatcher, founded in 1991.

Michael Manley

Michael Manley (1924-1997). Jamaican politician, twice served as Prime Minister (1972-1980, 1989-1992). A member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela (b. 1918). South African anti-apartheid campaigner and politician, served as South Africa’s first post-apartheid President (1994-1999).

Moni Malhoutra (Manmohan Malhoutra)

Manmohan Malhoutra (b. 1937). Indian diplomat, served in the Secretariat of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1973 then joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, in 1974, to run the International Affairs Division.

John Major

John Major (b.1943). British politician, served, amongst other ministerial positions, as Foreign Secretary (1989) and Prime Minister (1990-1997).

Madiba

The Xhosa clan name of Nelson Mandela, often used to refer to him respectfully.

Lancaster House

A London mansion house, frequently used as the venue for decolonisation negotiations between the 1940s and 1970s. It was the site of the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979, for instance, which brought an end to white rule in Rhodesia.

Joe Slovo

Joe Slovo (1926-1995). South African politician, who served as Minister of Housing from 1994 to 1995. He was married to Ruth First.

International Solidarity Movement

Governments and associations outside of South Africa that campaigned for the end of apartheid.

John Howard

John Howard (b.1939). Prime Minister of Australia (1996-2007).

Edward Heath

Edward Heath (1916 –2005). British politician and Prime Minister (1970-1974).

Harare Declaration

The Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991 set out the Commonwealth's principles and values, including membership criteria. Click here to read the Declaration in full.

Gleneagles Agreement

The Gleneagles Agreement was approved by Commonwealth leaders in Gleneagles, Scotland in 1977, supporting an international campaign against apartheid. Click here to read the Agreement in full.

Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991). Indian politician, served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989.

G20

Inaugurated in 1999, the Group of Twenty brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies.

The group of 7 nations deemed the most industrialised, first formed in 1975 originally with 6 members.

Front Line States

A group of southern African states formed in 1970, which campaigned for democratic majority rule in South Africa.

Malcolm Fraser

Malcolm Fraser (b. 1930). Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983). Fraser also served as Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.

European Union. International organisation of European states. Known as the European Economic Community before 1993.

EPG

Eminent Persons Group. A group of well-known individuals chosen by the Commonwealth to research a specific issue. The 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting appointed an EPG to report on apartheid in South Africa, published in 1986 as Mission to South Africa. A second EPG was appointed in 2009 and tasked to produce a report on Commonwealth reform for 2011.

Edinburgh Games

The 1986 Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, boycotted by a large number of African, Asian and Caribbean states due to Thatcher’s refusal to support a sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa.

Dominions

States that were under British sovereignty, but which became increasingly autonomous, especially from the 1930s, and are now independent nations. Former dominions include Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.

CMAG

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. Established by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1995, the CMAG upholds the terms of the Harare Declaration.

CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Every two years Commonwealth heads of government meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, with the aim of promoting common initiatives.

CARICOM

Caribbean Community. In 1972, Commonwealth Caribbean leaders at the Seventh Heads of Government Conference agreed to transform the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) into a Common Market and establish the Caribbean Community, of which the Common Market would be an integral part. The treaty establishing the Caribbean Community was signed at Chaguaramas on 4 July 1973.

COSATU

The Congress of South African Trade Unions. A South African federation of trade unions, founded in 1985.

Buthelezi

Mangosuthu Buthelezi (b. 1928). South African politician, founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975, and served as South African Minister of Home Affairs from 1994 to 2004.

Pik Botha

Roelof Botha (b. 1932).South African politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1977-1994).

British Commonwealth

The term used to describe the Commonwealth until 1949, reflecting British pre-eminence within it.

Black Consciousness Movement

A South African anti-apartheid movement informed by Christianity, that emerged in the 1960s.

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting organisation semi-autonomous from the British government, originally founded in 1922.

Bandung

The 1955 conference in Bandung, Indonesia, was a major meeting of Asian and African nations that condemned colonialism.

Hastings Banda

Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898-1997). Malawian politician, served as Prime Minister (1964-1966) and President (1966-1994).

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Formed in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic organization of Southeast Asian countries.

Apartheid

A system of legally enforced racial segregation implemented and upheld by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 – 1994

Anti-Apartheid News

Newsletter of the British-based Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Anglo-Boer War

The war between Britain and Afrikaner settlers fought in southern Africa between 1899 and 1902, culminating in a costly British victory.

ANC

African National Congress. A South African political party, founded in 1912, that opposed apartheid and has been South Africa’s governing party since 1994.

African Union

The successor organisation to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) from 2002. It aims to promote greater cooperation and unity between member states.

Abacha (Sani Abacha)

General Sani Abacha (1943-1998). Nigerian army general and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.

AAM

The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British activist organisation founded in 1959 to oppose white minority rule in South Africa. It continued to run until 1994, supporting economic and academic sanctions of South Africa and cooperating with other international organisations like the UN.

Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM)

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher (1926-2013). British politician and Prime Minister (1979-1990).

Mrs Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher)