Human Rights Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Amitav Banerji

by evanamusoke | Feb 3, 2016 | Apartheid, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Diplomacy, Elections, Good Governance, Human Rights, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Queen, Sexuality, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United Nations, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Banerji, Amitav. 1953-. Born in India. Educated at Georgetown University (BA) and Delhi School of Economics (MA). Joined Indian Foreign Service in 1975. Private Secretary to the Indian Foreign Minister, 1979-1982. Joined...

Interview with Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin

by chrismoffat | Jul 23, 2015 | ASEAN, Canada, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Development, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Law, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Ariffin, Noor Farida. 1947- . Born in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia. Educated in law at the Inns of the Courts, London, 1970. Joined the Judicial and Legal Service, Malaysia, in 1971, where she served for 25 years. Director...

Interview with Madhuri Bose

by chrismoffat | Jul 13, 2015 | Bangladesh, Cameroon, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Development, Education, Elections, Human Rights, India, Kenya, Mozambique, United Nations

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Bose, Madhuri. Educated at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. Positions with the Centre for Human Rights, Geneva, late 1970s, and with the International Labour Organisation, United...

Interview with Kamal Hossain

by chrismoffat | Jul 13, 2015 | Bangladesh, Cameroon, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Human Rights, India, Nigeria, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Pakistan, South Africa, Technical Assistance, United Kingdom

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Hossain, Dr Kamal. 1937- . Educated at the University of Notre Dame (AB, 1955) and the University of Oxford (BA, 1957; BCL, 1958; DPhil, International Law, 1964). Member of Parliament, Bangladesh, 1972-75. Chairman of the...

Interview with Max Gaylard

by chrismoffat | Jun 29, 2015 | Apartheid, Australia, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Diplomacy, Elections, Human Rights, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Small States, South Africa, Technical Assistance, United Nations, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (7 May 2014); Part Two (6 August 2014). Biography: Gaylard, Maxwell. 1946- . Born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. Educated at the University of Queensland and the Australian National University. Served in the Australian...

Interview with Hugh Segal

by chrismoffat | Jun 15, 2015 | Apartheid, Canada, CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretariat, Eminent Persons Group, Human Rights, Queen, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom

Download interview transcripts: Part One (18 March 2013); Part Two (22 May 2015) Biography: Segal, Hugh. 1950- . Educated at the University of Ottawa. Senior Aide to Ontario Premier Bill Davis in the 1970s and 80s. Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney,...

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Definitioner

Shelley Whiting

Shelley Whiting is a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who was appointed her country's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in 2012. Whiting had previously served with Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and as Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina (2003-06).

Mohamed Nasheed

Mohamed Nasheed (b.1967) is a Maldivian politician and human rights activist who served as his country’s President from 2008 to 2012. Nasheed, one of the founders of the Maldivian Democratic Party, resigned from the Presidency in 2012 following threats from opposition forces in the police and military.

Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper (b.1959) is a Canadian politician who was elected Prime Minister of Canada in 2006. He is Leader of the Conservative Party, which was formed in 2003 after a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance.

Canadian International Development Agency

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was the primary organisation administering Canada’s foreign aid programmes in developing countries. It was established in 1968 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and reported to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister for International Cooperation. In 2013, CIDA was dissolved by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and its functions incorporated into the Department of Foreign Affairs.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)

Royal Commonwealth Society

The Royal Commonwealth Society is an international educational charity based in London, functioning additionally as a private members’ club. Its main aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas on public affairs in an international frame, and it supports and promotes the modern Commonwealth of Nations. It was founded in 1868 as the Colonial Society.

John Baird

John Baird (b.1969) is a Canadian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Stephen Harper from 2011 to 2015. He was previously Minister of the Environment (2010-11) and Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (2008-10).

Lord Howell

David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, (b.1936) is a British politician who has served a variety of ministerial positions in Conservative governments since Margaret Thatcher. He was Secretary of State for Energy (1979-81), Secretary of State for Transport (1981-83), and Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2010-12). Since 2000, he has been Chairman of the British Institute for Energy Economics.

Kamla Persad (Kamla Persad-Bissessar)

Kamla Persad-Bissessar (b.1952) is a politician in Trinidad and Tobago who was elected Prime Minister of her country in 2010. Persad-Bissessar is the political leader of the United National Congress, and in 2001 served as Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jim Wright

James R Wright is a Canadian diplomat who served as Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2006 to 2011. Wright was previously Political Director and Assistant Deputy Minister for the International Security Branch (2005-6) and Global and Security Policy Branch (2000-04).

Daisy Cooper

Daisy Cooper (b.1981) is a British civil servant and political campaigner who served as Strategic Planning Officer for the Commonwealth Secretariat (2006-10), Strategic and Technical Advisor to the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (2010-11) and Director of the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau (2011-13), formerly the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit. Cooper has worked for the Voluntary Service Overseas (2013) and the Hacked Off Campaign for a Free and Accountable Press (2013- ). In 2010 she was a Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Suffolk, England.

Patricia Francis

Patricia Francis is a Jamaican civil servant and former management consultant who served as Executive Director of the International Trade Centre in Geneva from 2006 to 2013. Francis was previously President of Jamaica Promostion Corporation, a member of Jamaica’s Cabinet Committee for Development and chaired the OECD’s Caribbean Rim Investment Initiative. In 2010-11, she was a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

Institute of Democratic Governance

The Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) is a leading research and advocacy organisation established in Accra, Ghana, in 2010. Its primary focus is the question of sustainable development in Ghana and the rest of Africa, and the organisation supports research into good governance, civil society, human rights and strategic partnerships between state and non-state actors.

Emmanuel Akwetey

Dr Emmanuel O Akwetey is a Ghanaian academic and political commentator who served as founding Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) in Ghana. IDEG was established in 2000. Akwetey was a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (2010-11) and has also worked with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the UNDP.

Asma Jahangir

Dr Asma Jilani Jahangir (b.1952) is a Pakistani lawyer and activist who was a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir played a prominent role in the Lawyers’ Movement against the actions of President Pervez Musharraf and, in 2010, was elected President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She was a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (2010-11), and serves the United Nations as Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions.

Ronald Sanders

Sir Ronald Sanders (b.1948) is a Caribbean political figure and diplomat who has served as Public Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Guyana (1973-76), Deputy Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations (1981-82), and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom for Antigua and Barbuda (1983-87,1995-2004). He was part of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (2010-11) and has held senior positions in UNESCO (1983-87) and as Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation.

Portcullis House

Portcullis House is a British government building that opened in 2001 and provides offices for UK Members of Parliament and their staff. It is located directly beside the Palace of Westminster in London.

Five Eyes alliance

The ‘Five Eyes’ alliance refers to an intelligence grouping established in 1941 by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement on cooperation in signals intelligence. It includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is the federal and national police force of Canada. It was established in 1920 and is headquartered in Ottawa.

CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is the Canadian government agency responsible for collecting, analysing and reporting intelligence on Canada’s national security situation, as well as conducting security operations inside the country and abroad. It was established in 1984 by an Act of Parliament and is headquartered in Ottawa.

Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre

The Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre is a Canadian security initiative that facilitates sharing and analysis between law enforcement and intelligence bodies in the country, including the Border Services Agency, the Security Intelligence Service, the Department of National Defence, and so on. It was established as part of the government’s National Security Policy in 2004.

ITAC (Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre)

Marjory LeBreton

Marjory LeBreton (b.1940) is a Canadian political figure who served as Leader of the Government in the Canadian Senate from 2006 to 2013. She was appointed Conservative Senator from Ontario in 1993 and was Minister of State for Seniors from 2007 to 2010.

Inter-Parliamentary Union

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is a global organisation for the parliaments of sovereign states, serving as a forum for multilateral political negotiations. Established in 1889 in Geneva, it was originally intended to help arbitrate conflicts; the IPU now fulfils a range of functions to facilitate dialogue between its 163 member states.

IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union)

Don Oliver

Donald H Oliver (b.1938) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as Conservative Senator for Nova Scotia from 1990 to 2013. Oliver was the Conservative Party’s Director of Legal Affairs from 1972 to 1988.

USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the American government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid, with a specific focus on the eradication of poverty. USAID was established by John F Kennedy in 1971 and its work is funded by Congress.

AusAID

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) was the main government agency responsible for managing Australia’s overseas aid program from 1974 to 2013. In 2013, it was integrated into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, after the Abbott Government announced it wished to align aid work with diplomatic policy.

Charlottetown Accord

The Charlottetown Accord was an agreement proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992 to amend the Constitution of Canada and secure the support of the Quebec government for that document. Proposing a number of major reforms to Federal institutions like the Supreme Court and Canadian Senate, the Accord also recognised Quebec as a distinct society and devolved much authority to the provinces. It was defeated in a national referendum on 26 October 1992.

International Development Research Centre

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Canadian government organisation that promotes research into developing countries with the aim of supporting growth in scientific and technical knowledge, as well as economic and social advancement. The IDRC was established by the Canadian Parliament in 1970, and reports to the government through the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

IDRC (International Development Research Centre)

Treaty of Rome

The Treaty of Rome is an international agreement signed in 1957 that led to the founding of the European Economic Community (EEC) the following year. The Treaty’s original signatories were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, though the body has grown and the terms of cooperation adapted through subsequent treaties in Maastricht (1993) and Lisbon (2009), establishing the present-day European Union.

Lord Elgin

James Bruce (1811-1863), the Earl of Elgin, was a British colonial administrator and diplomat who served as Governor of Jamaica (1842-46), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847-1854) and High Commissioner to China (1857-60). He died in 1863, acting as Viceroy of India, a position he had taken up a year earlier.

Colombo Plan

The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific is a regional organisation that was established in 1950 out of a Commonwealth Conference of Foreign Ministers in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It includes around 27 member countries and activities are coordinated by a Consultative Committee, a Council and a Secretariat. The Colombo Plan focuses primarily on human resources development and technical assistance.

Organisation of American States

The Organisation of American States (OAS) was established in 1948 as an inter-continental body promoting regional cooperation and collaboration. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the OAS includes 35 member states. In 2015, the Uruguayan lawyer and politician Luis Almagro was appointed Secretary General.

La Francophonie

The Organisation international de la Francophonie (OIF), also known as La Francophonie, is an international organisation linking countries and regions that share French as first or customary language or where there is some affiliation with French culture. La Francophonie includes 57 member states, as well as three associate members and twenty observers.

International Development Agency

The International Development Association (IDA) was established in 1960 as a member of the World Bank Group, headquartered in Washington, DC. As an international financial institution, it offers loans and grants to developing countries in line with its mission to reduce world poverty and provide affordable development financing.

DFID (Department for International Development)

The Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department in charge of administering overseas aid, defining its object as the elimination of world poverty and the promotion of sustainable development.

Trevor Manuel

Trevor Manuel, b.1956, is a South African politician who served as Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2009 and Minister in the Presidency for the National Planning Commission from 2009 to 2014.

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd, b.1957, was twice Prime Minister of Australia (2007-10, 2013), leading a Labor Party government. He has also acted as Minister for Foreign Affairs (2010-12) under the leadership of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Abdullah Badawi

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (b.1939) is a Malaysian politician who succeeded Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to become the 5^th Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving this office between 2003 and 2009. Until 2006, he also acted as Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement, replacing Fidel Castro in this post in 2003. From 2009-11, Badawi served as Chair of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

Abdul Badawi (Abdullah Badawi)

Statute of Westminster

The 1931 Statute of Westminster was an Act of British Parliament recognising the legislative independence of the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire. After it was passed, the British government could no longer make ordinary laws for its Dominions – Canada, the Irish Free State, the Union of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland – other than at the Dominion’s request. Click here to view the original document in full.

La Francophonie

La Francophonie is an international organisation created in 1970 that represents countries whose first language is French, or that have a significant proportion of French speakers, or where there is a notable affiliation to French culture.

Jean Chrétien

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (b. 1934). Canadian politician. As leader of the Liberal Party, he was Prime Minister of Canada, 1993-2003.

Chrétien (Jean Chrétien)

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (b. 1934). Canadian politician. As leader of the Liberal Party, he was Prime Minister of Canada, 1993-2003.

Canadian International Development Agency

Canadian International Development Agency. Established in 1968, it was responsible for administering foreign aid to developing countries. In 2013 it was merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs, becoming Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

soft power

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

Kamalesh Sharma

Kamalesh Sharma (b. 1941). Indian diplomat, Commonwealth Secretary-General from 2008-2016.

Hugh Segal

Hugh Segal (b. 1950). Canadian politician and a member of the 2010 Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

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.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). President of USA (1981-1989).

Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal)

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

Prince Philip

Prince Philip (b. 1921). Husband of Elizabeth II since 1947.

Mike Pearson (Lester Pearson)

Lester Bowles 'Mike' Pearson (1897-1972) was a Canadian diplomat and politician, serving as Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948-1957) and Prime Minister (1963-1968). In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for organising a UN Emergency Force to respond to the Suez Canal Crisis, an initiative now considered the beginning of modern peacekeeping.

Old Commonwealth

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

NATO

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

NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trilateral trade agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States and designed to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to economic cooperation. NAFTA came into force in 1994.

Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney (b. 1939). Canadian politician, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1983-93) and Prime Minister of Canada (1984-93).

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).

John Major

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

Michael Kirby

Michael Kirby (b.1939) is an Australian jurist who served as a Justice on the High Court of Australia between 1996 and 2009. He was President of the International Commission of Jurists (1995-98) and from 2009 to 2011 was a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

Inkatha Freedom Party

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is a South African political party which was founded in 1975 by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Though originally associated with the ANC in the anti-apartheid struggle, conflicts developed over Buthelezi’s loyalties to the Zulu tribe and his political and economic ties with the South African state. Relations between the IFP and the ANC were characterised by conflict and outbreaks of violence from the late 1980s to the 1994 elections. The feud continues in post-apartheid South Africa.

Ted Heath (Edward Heath)

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

Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard (b.1961) is an Australian politician who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013.

Front Line States

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

EEC

European Economic Community. An international organisation of European states, founded in 1957. Renamed the European Union in 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.

John Diefenbaker

John Diefenbaker (1895-1979). Canadian Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963.

Commonwealth Secretariat

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

ComSec (Commonwealth Secretariat)

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

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

A Commonwealth organisation that promotes good governance. Founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, and renamed in 1948.

Commonwealth of Learning

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an international organisation promoting and developing learning and distance education resources in association with Commonwealth member states. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the COL was founded at the 1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It has since become one of the world leaders in distance education provision. .

CMAG

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

Commonwealth Day

The second Monday in March, marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey and a message delivered by Elizabeth II.

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.

British Commonwealth

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

Tony Blair

Tony Blair (b. 1953). British politician, served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007.

Apartheid

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

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.

Mrs Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher)

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

Interview with Amitav Banerji

Interview with Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin

Interview with Madhuri Bose

Interview with Kamal Hossain

Interview with Max Gaylard

Interview with Hugh Segal

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