Malta has been appointed to a body tasked with assessing “violations of Commonwealth values”.

In a statement on Tuesday, the office of Prime Minister Robert Abela said Malta was honoured to serve on the Commonwealth’s ministerial action group.

The OPM said that Abela met with Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland earlier this week.

The meeting was held during the UN’s Climate Change Conference, COP27, which is being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.  

The Commonwealth is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire.  

Its so-called ministerial action group assesses violations of its core values and recommends measures to restore democracy and constitutional rule in member countries.

Its activities, composition and remit are reviewed every two years. Kenya currently chairs the group, with Australia as vice-chair) and Barbados, Belize, Ghana, Malaysia, Namibia, Samoa and the United Kingdom as members. 

Established in the mid-90s, the action group has in the past scrutinised and even suspended Commonwealth members for egregious rule of law violations, though it has not taken any such major decisions for well over a decade.