Commonwealth leaders meeting in Australia have postponed a decision on the contentious issue of how to respond to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
During the first session of the four-day meeting, deep differences became apparent and it was decided that the matter would be discussed in private tomorrow.
The Commonwealth is split over whether to suspend Zimbabwe, where the run-up to presidential elections on 9-10 March has been marred by political violence. No decision on suspension is expected before the elections.
This morning, Britain’s Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair bowed to African opposition against imposing immediate sanctions on Zimbabwe but urged the Commonwealth to strongly condemn the political violence.
Commonwealth leaders began the four-day summit in Australia today urging some of the world's poorest nations to join the "fight against terrorism," racism and religious intolerance.
They also called on the world's rich nations to adopt more humane globalization policies to reduce the gap between rich and poor, which provides fertile ground for political instability.
The 54-nation Commonwealth represents 1.7 billion people, about one third of the world's population, but includes some of the poorest nations on earth like Bangladesh and Tuvalu.