To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to amend the Harare Declaration. [34621]

None. The commitments contained in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration are as valid today as they were in 1991 when they were agreed by Commonwealth Heads of Government. At the most recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which took place in Edinburgh in October 1997, Heads of Government reaffirmed their commitment to the fundamental values of the Commonwealth, as set out in the Harare Declaration. They agreed that compliance with those values would be one of the conditions for countries applying to join the Commonwealth. And they agreed a wider remit for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which is tasked to address serious and persistent violations of the Harare principles.