Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States, on Tuesday delivered the 2025 Patsy Robertson Memorial Lecture at Marlborough House in London.
The lecture followed a Thanksgiving service at the Queen’s Chapel commemorating Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal’s life and legacy to the Commonwealth, which he served as its second and longest-serving Secretary-General from 1975 to 1990. The present Secretary-General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, was among the dignitaries who introduced Sanders and paid tribute to Ramphal’s leadership
Sanders began by recalling Ramphal’s role in condemning Southern Rhodesia’s white-minority regime in 1977 and facilitating Zimbabwe’s transition to majority rule in 1980 despite significant opposition from the British government.
He then highlighted the 1988 Eminent Persons Group report, convened under Ramphal’s chairmanship. It demanded Nelson Mandela’s unconditional release and endorsed targeted economic sanctions, noting that “economic pressure will be needed before the white minority yields its monopoly of power”.
Turning to development and environmental stewardship, Sanders noted Ramphal’s unique distinction as the only person to serve on all four major international commissions of the 1980s, including the Commission on Environment and Development. Its 1989 report issued an early warning of sea-level rise, now threatening small island states across the Commonwealth.
Sanders also detailed Ramphal’s institutional reforms at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. He pointed to the two-day retreats introduced at the 1982 Ottawa summit, which yielded the Declaration on Debt Relief and Development, and the 1985 Nassau gathering, which combined sanctions on South Africa with new environmental pledges for vulnerable nations.
He invoked Ramphal’s principle that “while the Commonwealth cannot negotiate for the world, it can help the world to negotiate,” urging member states to revive these retreats as forums for candid, solution-driven dialogue
Looking to the present, Sanders warned that “three decades on from Sonny’s tenure, the Commonwealth confronts fresh trials—each striking at the values he cherished. Our world needs enlightened, collective action now more than ever.”
His remarks drew a sustained standing ovation, underscoring that Ramphal’s principles remain essential to the Commonwealth’s mission amid today’s challenges.
