Commonwealth: Row erupts over emergency coronavirus summit

A furious row has broken out at the top of the Commonwealth over attempts by the organisation's Secretary-General to hold an emergency virtual summit to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic.

Baroness Scotland invited all 54 heads of government to Wednesday's summit at extremely short notice and against the wishes of some member states who saw it as ill-prepared and the wrong forum.

In a blunt letter to Lady Scotland, the UK government said the summit was "not appropriate" and it was "disappointed" that it had not been consulted.

In response, a Commonwealth Secretariat spokesman insisted the virtual meeting was being held at the "express request" of an "overwhelming majority" of member states.

International summits normally take months to plan but Lady Scotland sent out the invitations for tomorrow's summit only late last Thursday evening.

She did so even though there was no agreement to hold a virtual leaders' meeting when Commonwealth High Commissioners in London discussed the proposal on 26 May.

One senior Commonwealth diplomat said there was "consternation" that Lady Scotland had called the meeting without consulting.

"Many member states were unhappy at the fact that their leaders were given less than one week's notice: they regarded that as discourteous," they said.

Wednesday's summit is scheduled to start at 1100 BST and last for three hours, stretching across 20 time zones, which means some of those attending will have to get up very early or stay up very late.

Commonwealth sources said they expected most heads of government would not attend and would instead send a diplomat or junior minister.

One source suggested that so far only eight out of 54 heads of government had agreed to take part. Boris Johnson will not attend and will send his Commonwealth Envoy, Philip Parham, instead.

As such, Wednesday's meeting will not be a Commonwealth summit with formal or decision-making status.

Diplomatic sources emphasised the Commonwealth was an intergovernmental organisation with proper meetings convened and organised by the chair-in-office.

The row came as Lady Scotland's current contract was expected this week to be extended temporarily until the next physical meeting of Commonwealth leaders, the date of which is uncertain but is likely to be next year.

Some of Lady Scotland's supporters have been lobbying for her to get an automatic second four-year term, something that Commonwealth member states have already rejected twice.

It has been reported that the future of Lady Scotland's leadership could be raised at the virtual summit, even though it is not on the formal agenda.

In his letter to Lady Scotland, dated 22 June and seen by the BBC, the Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad said the UK government - which currently chairs the Commonwealth - was "surprised" at Lady Scotland's decision to convene a summit at short notice.

"The consultation which the Secretariat convened on 26 May showed that there was no agreement among member states to hold a 'virtual leaders meeting'," he wrote.

"As you noted in your letter, member states raised a number of concerns and questioned what a meeting of Heads would be designed to achieve. The Secretariat concluded the 26 May consultation saying that it would consult member states further. However, as far as we are aware, no such consultation has taken place."

The letter added: "As chair-in-office, we were disappointed not to have been consulted - not least because we have been working closely with the Secretariat, alongside other member states, to develop a Commonwealth statement on Covid-19.

"In our view, it is not appropriate for the secretary-general to convene a meeting of heads of government in these circumstances."

International diplomatic sources said there was no point the Commonwealth having a summit to discuss the pandemic unless they had something specific to discuss and decide.

But a Commonwealth Secretariat spokesperson said: "This meeting is being held at the expressed request of member states.

"When recently consulted the overwhelming majority of member states responding indicated that they wanted a meeting. Many letters from heads of government have been received since the Covid-19 crisis began, calling for a leaders meeting."

The statement continued: "Many Commonwealth member states are facing unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19 global health emergency and its economic and social ramifications, combined with the coming hurricane season and the long-term threat of climate change.

"The Commonwealth will not be silent on these important issues and always sought to be a voice for small states.

"We are advocating that there needs to be a robust, multilateral approach to address the challenges small island developing countries are facing, especially in light of their specific vulnerabilities."

A UK government spokesperson said: "Decisions on appointing secretaries-general are a matter for all Commonwealth heads of government collectively. These decisions must be taken by consensus and have typically been made at Commonwealth heads of government meetings.

"As the current chair-in-office, the UK is working with other Commonwealth countries on the process of appointing a secretary-general for the next four-year term."