A new Secretary General: Issues facing the Commonwealth in 2025

Philip Loft

What does the Secretary General do? skip to link
What are the new Secretary General’s priorities? skip to link
Climate change, aid, and small states skip to link
Partial suspension of Gabon skip to link
Reparatory justice and enslavement skip to link
LGBT+ rights skip to link
Republican movements skip to link
Canada and the United States skip to link
Further reading skip to link

The Commonwealth is an association of 56 states, the majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. It has a population of 2.7 billion people.

In April 2025 Shirley Botchwey, the Ghanaian Foreign Minister, succeeds Baroness Patricia Scotland as Commonwealth Secretary General. Ms Botchwey is the second woman to hold the role, and the second from an African state.

This Insight describes the new Secretary General’s priorities and issues facing the association in 2025.

What does the Secretary General do?

While King Charles III is the head of the Commonwealth, it is the Secretary General who is responsible for its day to day work (PDF), promoting the values of the Commonwealth charter, and exercising their “good offices for peace” to mediate tensions in member states. The Secretary General is chosen by consensus by Commonwealth leaders.

The Secretariat’s budget is small—around £41 million in 2022/23—but has significant convening power and ability to raise issues internationally.

What are the new Secretary General’s priorities?

In an interview with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in July 2024, Ms Botchwey said she wanted to improve democratic, economic and climate resilience. She proposed six priority areas:

Democracy, Commonwealth values and realising the democratic dividend
Trade and investment
Youth, education, skills, innovation and start ups
Climate change
Small island developing states and small states
Managing resources for an effective commonwealth institution.

Of the six, she wants improving climate resilience to be her legacy.

The Labour government has said collaboration on climate change, education, and economic growth are its priorities for the Commonwealth.

Climate change, aid, and small states

Commonwealth members are affected differently by climate change. The 33 small island states of the Commonwealth are among the most vulnerable to sea-level rise and climatic changes, and face challenges in accessing necessary finance to adapt to, and mitigate the effects, of climate change.

Following the announced reductions in UK and US aid spending in 2025, Sue Onslow and Olivia Lwabukuna, writing for the Commonwealth Journal, argued it is time for the Commonwealth to “step up” to promote skills development, advance human rights, and support debt relief.

UK bilateral aid to Commonwealth states has already fallen from £2.1 billion in 2015 to £573 million in 2023.

In 2024, Ms Botchwey said she would advocate for small states in the Commonwealth and for a “renewables revolution”.

The UK has previously supported the Commonwealth climate finance access hub for small states and in 2024 its investment action plan.

Partial suspension of Gabon

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG, consisting of foreign ministers) can suspend members for breaching the Commonwealth Charter (PDF).

In 2023, Gabon was suspended from participation in the Councils of the Commonwealth, ministerial meetings, and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM). This followed the military’s seizure of power in a coup in 2023.

The Commonwealth has been providing support for a return to democracy and has called for “credible elections” by August 2025. The UK backed the suspension and in October 2024 said it “recognised the progress” in Gabon.

Reparatory justice and enslavement

In 2013 Caribbean governments launched a 10-point plan for reparatory justice for the legacy of enslavement and empire. At the 2024 CHOGM, leaders noted calls for “reparatory justice” and “agreed to continue playing an active role in bringing about such inclusive conversations addressing these harms”.

In September 2024, Ms Botchwey said that she supported financial reparations as well as those made in kind, but it would be a decision for Commonwealth heads:

Financial reparations is good. However, the conversation is now moving to other reparations in kind and so either way it is fine but I stand for reparations. Whether or not the Commonwealth has a role to play will depend on the heads of government who will give this Secretary General her marching orders that we want you involved in the conversation of reparations […]

In November 2024 the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said “there was no discussion about reparation and money” at CHOGM but he intends for a dialogue with Caribbean governments on education, technology, health, and climate change.

LGBT+ rights

While globally there has been a trend towards decriminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts, 29 members of the Commonwealth continue to criminalise them (though their enforcement varies).

Uganda and Ghana are among the African states who have strengthened laws against consensual same-sex relations in recent years. The UK raised its opposition with the Ugandan and Ghanaian governments in 2024.

As Secretary General, Baroness Scotland was criticised for not publicly condemning the legislation in Uganda and Ghana. In 2015 she planned to “build consensus and trust” on protecting LGBT+ rights.

In 2024, Ms Botchwey told a meeting of the Chatham House think tank, in response to a question on what she would do to protect religious and sexual minorities, that the Secretary General “must engage” with local governments, and would start discussions “quietly” and “speak up” if needed.

Through the CMAG, she would then “take decisions”.

Republican movements

King Charles is head of state in 14 Commonwealth states, known as Commonwealth realms.

Caribbean states are considered most likely to seek to become republics. However, these moves have been slow. In 2021, Barbados removed the Monarch as head of state, the first realm to do so since Mauritius in 1992.

Following the King’s accession in 2022, governments in Belize, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and Bahamas have signalled a wish to become republics.

Jamaica’s parliament is considering legislation to allow a referendum on becoming a republic in 2025.

Speaking at the 2022 CHOGM, the then Prince Charles said it was for each Commonwealth member to choose its own constitutional arrangements.

Canada and the United States

In 2025, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called for a “Commonwealth summit” to discuss US tariffs against Canada. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Canada is a “close ally” and the UK would “work to strengthen” relations.

Recent changes in American policy direction under President Donald Trump are also likely to affect the 12 other Commonwealth states in the Americas.

President Trump has suggested he is open to joining the Commonwealth as an “associate member”.

A 2007 review of Commonwealth membership “firmly” supported only one type of membership (PDF); that being full membership. All Commonwealth leaders must agree for new members to join.

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