I warmly welcome Malta's initiative at the High Level Group to get us all to focus on how the Commonwealth can bridge the digital divide. Bridging the digital divide is also a step towards my fourth goal, which is that we must build a Commonwealth of rights. The greatest weapon we have to fight against dictatorship and tyranny is knowledge. Rulers who govern by fear need to keep people in ignorance because knowledge is power. And people who are scared cannot be expected to display the creativity and innovation in the workplace, which are essential for a knowledge-based economy.
Free markets require a free people.
Respect for human rights is not a luxury of growth, but the condition of that growth. If the Commonwealth is to meet the challenges of the coming century, it must be a focus of action in support of democracy, human rights and good governance. They are the values we agreed at Harare in 1991 and they are the values, which will matter, most in the new global order. There is more we can do. CMAG has played a valuable role.