The strengthening of democracy and the promoting of development among Commonwealth Member Nations continue to be challenges for the Commonwealth, said Mr Don McKinnon, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth in a speech to mark the Commonwealth Day today, March 12.

He said that the democratically elected government in Fiji was overthrown by the army, and Fiji was immediately suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth. "Our priority now is not to isolate Fii, but to engage and see it come in from the cold." Don McKinnon said that they are taking the same approach with Pakistan, "we will continue to press for a separation of the roles of President and Army Chief-of-Staff in Pakistan."

The Secretary General said that the Commonwealth is a family of nations, "freely and equally associated. It is a powerful force for peace and democratic stability; it fights poverty and injustice; it promotes human and economic development.

"The Commonwealth is home to rich and poor, and people of every colour and creed. It is also an organisation that has striven hard to make democracy a way of life."

There are altogether 53 member countries in the Commonwealth, and this year's Commonwealth Day theme - "Respecting Difference, Promoting Understanding", is really a call for unity within the Commonwealth.

The Secretary General stressed that, "Our Commonwealth challenge is to find out not just why, but how to build communities, everywhere. Nigeria, for instance, is home not just to the three major tribes of Hausa, Fulani and Yoruba, but also to some 250 ethnic groups and two main faiths, Christianity and Islam. Or take a place like Gyana, with its people of African and Indian descent. Meanwhile multicultural Canada and Britain are home to Muslim and Hindu populations, among which many people were born outside their shores.

"Respect and understanding need to be at the core of these and all our diverse Commonwealth societies," he said.