October 10

Secretary General meeting with Executive Committee Chair and Civil Society Focal Point, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London

Travel to the United Kingdom was motivated by the UK’s recent assumption of the chairmanship of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Community of Democracies (CoD). The visit of the Secretary General (SG) began at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and provided the opportunity  to discuss issues of interest and areas of collaboration with the EC Chair and the Civil Society Focal Point for the United Kingdom, Ms. Rowan Popplewell of BOND.

The SG provided a brief summary of current and upcoming activities of the CoD, including recent meetings held in New York and Washington DC, and upcoming issues to be discussed at the face-to-face meeting of the Executive Committee on November 15th.

The Civil Society Focal Point mentioned recent civil society meetings held in London with the ISC Chair and draft recommendations regarding the renewal processes.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisorof the Community of Democracies; Richard Jones, Head of the Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO;  Sandip Rama, Democracy and Civil Society, Human Rights Policy Unit, FCO; Ellen Bridge, Assistant Democracy and Civil Society Desk Officer, Human Rights Policy Unit, FCO; Rowan Popplewell,Civil Society Focal Point for the United Kingdom.

Meeting with Chloe Smith, MP, Minister for the Constitution and Parliamentary Secretary, London

The SG expressed appreciation for past and current support to the CoD by the United Kingdom and addressed the Minister’s questions about the Five Year Strategic Plan, including ideas for specific actions to be undertaken under each of the Strategic Objectives;  a recent CoD visit made to The Gambia and possible follow-up actions; and the upcoming Governing Council (GC) meeting to be held in London in the month of January 2019, including ideas for valuable discussions and dialogue between member states.

The Minister spoke about areas of work in her portfolio, highlighting the National Democracy Week recently held in the month of July. She also discussed ideas for the upcoming GC meeting under the EC Chairmanship of the UK, including topics of foreign interference in and accessibility of elections, as well as her possible participation in the GC meeting. 

Participants: Chloe Smith, MP, Minister for the Constitution; Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisorof the CoD; Richard Jones, Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO;  Sandip Rama, Democracy and Civil Society, Human Rights Policy Unit, FCO.

Event: Civic Activism in the Developing World – Carnegie Civic Research Network, London

The Secretary General participated in a roundtable conversation held in the DFID headquarters with civil society actors and academics on civil society activism in the framework of research conducted on the mobilization of conservative civil society, carried out by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Presentations on challenges and developments in civil society were provided by civil society actors and academics from Tunisia, Egypt, Taiwan, India, Poland, Georgia, Brazil, Thailand, Ukraine and Turkey.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez,CoDSenior Advisor;Thomas Carothers, Vice President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Richard Youngs, Senior Fellow of Carnegie Europe; Richard Jones, Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO; Sandip Rama, Democracy and Civil Society, Human Rights Policy Unit, FCO; Ellen Bridge, Assistant Democracy and Civil Society Desk Officer, Human Rights Policy Unit, FCO.

October 11

Meetings at the National Assembly for Wales (Senedd), Cardiff

 On Thursday October 11th, the Secretary General, accompanied by the EC Chair, participated in meetings with Members of the National Assembly for Wales.

The SG was first received by Ann Jones, Assembly Member (AM) and Deputy Presiding Officer.

The SG was then given the opportunity to observe the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee hearing at which the Welsh Government addressed inquiries on housing safety , and had additional meetings with the Chair, AM John Griffiths, who spoke about best practices in the Welsh Assembly of bringing government closer to the people.

The visit to the Welsh Assembly ended with a meeting with Mick Antoniw (AM), Chair of the Constitutional & Legislative Affairs Committee, who spoke about access to justice issues, importance in the quality of education and checks and balances as main areas of focus of the Committee.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisorof the CoD;Richard Jones, Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO;Ann Jones, Deputy Presiding Officer; John Griffiths Chair of Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee; Mick Antoniw,Chair of Constitutional & Legislative Affairs Committee; Enfys Roberts, International Relations Officer, National Assembly for Wales.

Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, Cardiff

The visit to Wales concluded with meeting Jeff Lloyd, Head of Constitution in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales.

During the meeting, Mr. Lloyd outlined the relationship of the State Secretary’s Office with the Welsh Government and provided a comprehensive explanation of the devolution process in the United Kingdom, centering on Wales, including specific areas which have been devolved from the central government and the current state of this process.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisor of the Community of Democracies;Richard Jones, Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO; Jeff Lloyd, Head of Constitution, Office of the Secretary of State for Wales.