2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHOGM
Host country	Samoa
Dates	25–26 October 2024
Cities	Apia and Mulifanua (retreat)
Chair	Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of Samoa
Follows	2022
Precedes	2026
Website	https://samoachogm2024.ws
Key points
Election of Secretary-General, Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration (climate change and small states), Commonwealth Principles on Freedom of Expression and the Role of the Media

The 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Samoan: 2024 Fonotaga a Ulu o Malo o le Taupulega), also known as CHOGM 2024, was the 27th meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth of Nations. The meeting was held in Samoa from 25–26 October 2024 and was preceded by ministerial meetings, fora and side events which had begun on 21 October 2024.

The meeting was the first full Commonwealth summit held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the first presided over by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth. It was also the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State. The King's trip to the South Pacific, which included a tour of Australia prior to the Commonwealth summit in Samoa, was his first major overseas trip since his cancer diagnosis in early 2024.

Theme

The summit’s theme was “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth". The stated aim of the meeting was to strengthen "resilient democratic institutions upholding human rights, democracy, and the rule of law". It also claimed to seek to combat climate change, in particular with regard to its impact on small states and island states.

Election of Secretary-General

There was an election for a new Commonwealth Secretary-General as incumbent Patricia Scotland had indicated in 2022 that she would only serve another two years. Ghanian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Gambian foreign minister Mamadou Tangara, and Senator Joshua Septiba of Lesotho announced their candidacies for the position. All three candidates called for financial reparations or “reparative justice” for countries that have been harmed by slavery or colonialism. Botchwey was chosen as the next secretary-general on 26 October.

Climate change

Leaders attending an executive session of CHOGM at Maota Fono

In his opening address, the King referred to “the existential threat of climate change” as an “urgent challenge”.

Ocean Declaration

Commonwealth leaders adopted the 'Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration for One Resilient Common Future', which called on all 56 Commonwealth nations to protect the ocean in the face of rising sea levels, pollution and over-exploitation. It called for recognizing maritime boundaries as fixed, even if rising sea levels cause islands to be submerged. According to Reuters, this would mean resources such as fishing grounds would continue to belong to an island state even if it became submerged and its people relocated.

The declaration also called for protecting oceans, restoring degraded marine ecosystems by 2030, finalising the global plastic pollution treaty, ratifying the high-seas biodiversity treaty, developing coastal climate adaptation plans, and strengthening support for sustainable "blue economies".

Australia–Britain partnership

A 'Climate and Energy Partnership' was agreed between Australia and Britain, intended to focus on accelerating renewable energy development by co-operating on such technology as green hydrogen and offshore wind power generation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the partnership would “ensure we maximise the economic potential of the net zero transition, and build on our long-standing cooperation on international climate action and shared commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.”

Slavery reparations

In August, former Jamaican prime minister PJ Patterson, told the media that reparations for slavery was one of the agenda items to be discussed at the summit. However, the United Kingdom insisted that reparations was not on the agenda, and that the UK was not considering making any reparation payments. The British government also said there would be no apology for Britain's role in the Atlantic slave trade made at the summit. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, of Caribbean descent, previously expressed a desire for reparations in 2018.

In his speech at the beginning of the summit, the King addressed the issue: "I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate. It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history, to guide us toward making the right choices in future." The King would have been unable to issue an apology for Britain's role in the slave trade without being advised to do so by the government.

At the conclusion of the summit, a joint communiqué was issued. It affirmed that Commonwealth states "agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity” and that they would hold conversations to address the “harms” of slavery, particularly those afflicted on women and girls, who “suffered disproportionately from these appalling tragedies in the history of humanity”. The statement also said that it recognised that most Commonwealth states in both the Atlantic and Pacific “share common historical experiences in relation to this abhorrent trade, chattel enslavement, the debilitation and dispossession of Indigenous people”. It referred to what it called the “enduring effects” of this history and the practice of 'blackbirding', in which Pacific Islanders were exploited in Australia and other colonies.

Absences

Instead of attending the Commonwealth summit, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi attended the 16th BRICS summit, chaired by Vladimir Putin, which was scheduled for the same week in Kazan, Russia. According to The Independent, this is an indication that the two countries "place greater weight on maintaining relations with China and Russia than on the more diffuse attractions of CHOGM". In the absence of Prime Minister Modi, India's delegation to the 2024 CHOGM was led by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju. South Africa's delegation was led by Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Thandi Moraka.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was also absent from the meeting, due to facing a leadership challenge.