Membership Criteria
Kampala saw the completion of a review of the Commonwealth's membership criteria, launched at the 2005 CHOGM in Valletta, with the publication of the report of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership. It had already been announced that no new members would be admitted until the 2009 CHOGM. In this context, Rwanda was discussed at great lengths, with Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, invited as to Kampala as neighbour Uganda's guest.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) reimposed the suspension on Pakistan that had been lifted in 2005 on the eve of the CHOGM. Opposed vehemently by Sri Lanka, the move seemed to indicate a more assertive role for CMAG since the premature lifting of the suspension on Pakistan two years earlier. Since Pakistan's suspension and Zimbabwe's withdrawal, CMAG had seen little use, and the more commanding chairmanship of Malta's Michael Frendo marked a change in tone. The new CMAG, elected at the CHOGM, saw Canada, Lesotho, and Tanzania replaced by Namibia, New Zealand, and Uganda.
Read more about this topic: Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting 2007
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