CPC Workshop C: A Look Ahead to CHOGM 2026: Championing the Human Factor from a Gender and Accessibility lens
Regarding Human Rights, Commonwealth member states are
“committed to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, for all without discrimination on any grounds as the foundations of peaceful, just and stable societies”.
The Commonwealth Charter also asserts that the Commonwealth is
“implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds”.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is the largest summit of the Commonwealth, where leaders from the Commonwealth's 56 member countries gather to discuss critical global issues and reaffirm their commitment to the Commonwealth’s shared values.
Ahead of CHOGM, Members of Parliament, activists focusing on youth, human rights, disability, and gender, and representatives from society and business meet at the Commonwealth Women, Youth, Peoples and Business Forums to ensure the voices and experiences of women, young people, businesses, and other organisations are heard and fed into the Commonwealth Communique.
At their June 2022 meeting in Rwanda, the Commonwealth Heads of Government affirmed and strengthened their commitment to accelerate gender equality by adopting the Commonwealth Declaration for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for 2022–2030.
The declaration seeks to continue to encourage member states to take
“achievable, comprehensive and meaningful actions … to strengthen their contribution to global efforts to achieve gender equality”.
Similarly, at the 2024 CHOGM, Heads of Government
“reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring, protecting and promoting the full realisation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons with disabilities”.
The CPA in its capacity as an accredited organisation of the Commonwealth has had the opportunity to use CHOGM as a platform to promote the advancement of democracy, human rights, good governance and gender equality.
The CPA has contributed, planned and successfully delivered sessions on Women in Leadership at the Women’s Forums held in 2018, 2022 and 2024. The Association held a side-event session on Intersectional Political Leadership in the margins of the 2024 Women’s Forums as well as an accessibility-themed side event on Empowering Underrepresented Voices, held in Apia, Samoa.
The CPA Headquarters Secretariat will also be partnering with several Commonwealth Associated Organisations to deliver a side event at the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Fiji in February 2026 ahead of the next CHOGM, and will continue to pursue avenues in which it can contribute to discussions at CHOGM itself.
In preparation for the 2026 CHOGM that will be hosted by the government of Antigua and Barbuda, this session will examine the significance of inclusion and representation of marginalised groups. It will also look at how gender equality, accessibility and human rights can be further embedded into CHOGM outcome documents and policy, ensuring that the inclusion of those often underrepresented or marginalised is not an afterthought.
Attendees of the workshop will have the opportunity to learn about key discussions and outcomes of previous CHOGMs and forums and will explore and discuss their priorities for CHOGM alongside their parliamentary colleagues. Discussions will be reported by rapporteurs and fed into a report on the various cross-cutting themes of Gender, Accessibility and LGBT+.
To read and download the Research Briefing for this workshop please click here.
