Marlborough House Conversation for Small States at CHOGM 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda: “Small states must help shape a fairer multilateral order”, says former New Zealand Prime Minister the Rt Hon Helen Clark
The Rt Hon Helen Clark and the Hon Bill Blair, High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom, joined the Commonwealth Secretariat as special guests for a Marlborough House Conversation in the lead-up to CHOGM 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda.
The discussion focused on the question: “What space is there for Commonwealth small states in a fairer multilateral world order where middle powers are also increasingly assertive?”
Rt Hon Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, stressed that small states must be given genuine space to help shape a fairer and revitalised international system. She currently chairs the Global Leadership Foundation and previously served as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Hon Shirley Botchwey, opened the event. She welcomed Ms Clark back to the Commonwealth family and underlined her determination that the organisation will serve as a vehicle for transforming the prospects of its small states.
In her remarks, Secretary-General Botchwey stated:
“We must change the narrative around small states. We cannot speak only of vulnerability. Commonwealth small states are often the clearest voices in global affairs: they understand interdependence because they live it. In the Commonwealth, 56 nations — large and small, developed and developing, island and continental — speak with an equal voice. That is not a procedural detail; it is a political principle. Our task now is to turn that principle into influence, and I am determined that the Commonwealth will be an instrument for the transformation of its small states.”
The Conversation was moderated by HE Karen-Mae Hill OBE, High Commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Kingdom. Antigua and Barbuda will host the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and assume the role of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office.
Small states form a vital part of the Commonwealth, making up 33 of its 56 member countries. Speakers observed that while the existing multilateral system has served the world for decades, it is under increasing pressure. Institutions designed for a different era are struggling to keep pace, cooperation is receding, the heaviest climate impacts fall on those least responsible for the crisis, and many countries feel that decisions shaping their futures are made elsewhere. Despite their size, small states frequently make a disproportionately large contribution to multilateral efforts, especially on climate, oceans, and environmental issues.
The panel examined how the Commonwealth’s model of consensus-based decision-making among 56 diverse nations — each with an equal voice — could help inform a revitalised, values-based global order grounded in international law. In such a system, small and vulnerable states would act as active participants and shapers rather than passive bystanders.
Rt Hon Helen Clark said:
“The multilateral system was built on the promise that every nation, whatever its size, has a stake and a say in our shared future. That promise is fraying. As power shifts and middle powers rightly seek a greater role, we must ensure the answer is not simply a slightly larger club of the powerful. Small states bring moral clarity, hard-won experience and outsized leadership on climate, on oceans and on peace. A revitalised multilateralism must make room for them, not as an act of charity, but because the system will be stronger and more legitimate for it.”
Commonwealth Contents
- 25 Commonwealth Small Island Developing States
- King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP)
- Commonwealth Fund Grant Programs – Overview
- Fellowships Offered by Commonwealth Fund
- Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowships
Hon Bill Blair added:
“Canada believes that a rules-based international order only works if it works for everyone. Middle powers have a responsibility not to replicate the patterns of dominance we seek to change, but to open doors and build coalitions with small states as genuine partners. The Commonwealth shows what that partnership can look like in practice.”
HE Karen-Mae Hill concluded:
“As Antigua and Barbuda prepares to welcome Commonwealth leaders to CHOGM 2026, this conversation could not be more timely. Small states are not asking for a seat at the margins of a new world order; we are asserting our place at its heart. I look forward to a time when the contribution of small states to multilateralism is fully recognised and supported, building on the Commonwealth’s decades of championing the voices of small states.”
The Marlborough House Conversation forms part of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s programme of dialogue ahead of CHOGM 2026. The meeting will be hosted by Antigua and Barbuda in November under the theme “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth.” It will bring together leaders from across the Commonwealth to advance shared prosperity for its 2.7 billion people.