PM Transcripts

6
PRIME MINISTER
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING, MP
COMMONWEALTH DAY 1993
Commonwealth Day is an occasion to reflect on the continuing relevance to Australia and
the international community of the Commonwealth of Nations..
This year Commonwealth Day has taken as its theme the importance of human values, It
is appropriate that it should do so. The Commonwealth brings together 50 countries
representing a quarter of the world's population. Its special character and enduring
stre'ngth lie in the mutual respect held by Commonwealth member states for human
values, and for each other's sovereignty, traditions and culture. Respect for democracy
and the rule of law, for fundamental human rights, and for good governance are important
principles uniting the peoples of the Commonwealth in their diversity.
At their most recent-meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1991, Commonwealth Heads of
Government reaffirmed that the Commonwealth's principles, including its human values,
were as relevant as ever before. In Cyprus~ in October this year, Heads of Government
will again have these values in mind when considering the way forward for the
Commonwealth into the 1990s. The commitments by the Heads oi Government, will, I
am confident, enable the Commonwealth to remain relevant to its member states for now
and well into the future.
8 March 1993
CANBERRA
' 7022