Harare Commonwealth Declaration
The Heads of Government of the countries of the Commonwealth, meeting in Harare, reaffirm their confidence in the Commonwealth as a voluntary association of sovereign independent states, each responsible for its own policies, consulting and co-operating in the interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding and world peace.
24. Members of the Commonwealth include people of many different races and origins, encompass every state of economic development, and comprise a rich variety of cultures, traditions and institutions.
3. The special strength of the Commonwealth lies in the combination of the diversity of its members with their shared inheritance in language, culture and the rule of law. The Commonwealth way is to seek consensus through consultation and the sharing of experience. It is uniquely placed to serve as a model and as a catalyst for new forms of friendship and co-operation to all in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations.
4.
Its members also share a commitment to certain fundamental principles. These were set out in a Declaration of Commonwealth Principles agreed by our predecessors at their Meeting in Singapore in 1971. Those principles have stood the test of time, and we reaffirm our full and continuing commitment to them today. In particular, no less today than 20 years ago:
5.
we believe that international peace and order, global economic development and the rule of international law are essential to the security and prosperity of mankind;
we believe in the liberty of the individual under the law, in equal rights for all citizers regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief, and in the individual's inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which he or she lives;
we recognise racial prejudice and intolerance as a dangerous sickness and a threat to healthy development, and racial discrimination as an unmitigated evil;
we oppose all forms of racial oppression, and we are committed to the principles of human dignity and equality;
we recognise the importance and urgency of economic and social development to satisfy the basic needs and aspirations of the vast majority of the peopies of the worid. and seek the progressive removal of the wide disparities in living standards amongst
our members.
In Harare, our purpose has been to apply those principies in the contemporary situation as the Commonwealth prepares to face the challenges of the 1990s and beyond.
6.
Internationally, the worid is no longer locked in the iron grip of the Cold War. Totalitarianism is giving way to democracy and justice in many parts of the worid. Decolonisation is largely complete. Significant changes are at last under way in South
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