Commonwealth of Nations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commonwealth of Nations
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 The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2008.
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| Headquarters | Marlborough House, London, UK | |||
| Official language | English | |||
| Membership | 53 sovereign states | |||
| Leaders | ||||
| - | Head of the Commonwealth | Queen Elizabeth II | ||
| - | Secretary-General | Kamalesh Sharma Appointed 24 November 2007 and took office 1 April 2008 | ||
| Establishment | ||||
| - | Balfour Declaration | 18 November 1926 | ||
| - | Statute of Westminster | 11 December 1931 | ||
| - | London Declaration | 28 April 1949 | ||
| Area | ||||
| - | Total | 31,462,574 km² 12,147,768 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||
| - | 2005 estimate | 1,921,974,000 | ||
| - | Density | 61.09/km² 158.2/sq mi |
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| Website thecommonwealth.org |
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The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies (the exceptions being the United Kingdom itself and Mozambique).
No one government in the Commonwealth, British or otherwise, exercises power over the others, as in a political union. Rather, the relationship is one of an international organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, and co-operate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration.[1] These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace,[2] and are carried out through multilateral projects and meetings, as well as the quadrennial Commonwealth Games. The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II, known for this purpose as Head of the Commonwealth. This position, however, does not imbrue her with any political or executive power over any Commonwealth member states; the position is purely symbolic, and it is the Commownealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the organization.
Elizabeth II is also the Head of State, separately, of sixteen members of the Commonwealth, collectively called the Commonwealth realms. As each realm is an independent kingdom, Elizabeth II, as monarch, holds a distinct title for each, though, by a Prime Ministers' Conference in 1952, all include the style Head of the Commonwealth at the end; for example: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Beyond the realms, the majority of the members of the Commonwealth have their own, separate heads of state: thirty-two members are republics, and five members have distinct monarchs: the Sultan of Brunei; the King of Lesotho; the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia; the King of Swaziland; and the King of Tonga.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origins
Although performing a vastly different function, the Commonwealth is the successor of the British Empire. In 1884, whilst visiting Adelaide, South Australia, Lord Rosebery described the changing British Empire, as some of its colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations"[citation needed].
Conferences of British and colonial Prime Ministers had occurred periodically since 1887, leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in the late 1920s.[3] The formal organisation of the Commonwealth developed from the Imperial Conferences, where the independence of the self-governing colonies and especially of dominions was recognised. The Irish Oath of Allegiance, agreed in 1921, included the Irish Free State's adherence to and membership of the group of nations forming the British Commonwealth of Nations. In the Balfour Declaration at the Imperial Conference in 1926, Britain and its dominions agreed they were equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. This relationship was eventually formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931.
[edit] Remaining members gain independence
After World War II, the Empire was gradually dismantled, partly owing to the rise of independence movements in the then-subject territories and partly owing to the British Government's straitened circumstances resulting from the cost of the war. The word "British" was dropped in 1949 from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect the changing position.[4] Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar, 1948), and Aden (1967) are the only former colonies not to have joined the Commonwealth upon post-war independence. Among the former protectorates and mandates, Egypt (independent in 1922), Iraq (1932), Transjordan (1946), Palestine (became in part, the state of Israel in 1948), Sudan (1956), Kuwait (1961), Bahrain (1971), Oman (1971), Qatar (1971), and the United Arab Emirates (1971) never became members of the Commonwealth. The Republic of Ireland left the Commonwealth upon becoming a republic in 1949. However, the Ireland Act 1949 passed by the Parliament of Westminster gave citizens of the Republic of Ireland a status similar to that of other citizens of the Commonwealth in UK law.
[edit] Members with heads of state other than the British Sovereign
The issue of countries with constitutional structures not based on a shared Crown, but who wished to remain members of the Commonwealth, was resolved in April 1949 at a Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London. Under this London Declaration, India agreed that, when it became a republic, in January 1950, it would accept the British Sovereign as a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and, as such, Head of the Commonwealth".
The other Commonwealth countries in turn recognised India's continuing membership of the association. (At Pakistan’s insistence, India was not regarded as an exceptional case and it was assumed that other states would be accorded the same treatment as India.)
The London Declaration is often seen as marking the beginning of the modern Commonwealth. Following India's precedent, other nations became republics, or constitutional monarchies with monarchs different from the British.
[edit] Old, New and White Commonwealth
As the Commonwealth grew, Britain and pre-1945 Dominions (a term formally dropped in the 1940s) became informally known as the "Old Commonwealth", particularly since the 1960s when some of them disagreed with poorer, African and Asian (or New Commonwealth) members about various issues at Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings. Accusations that the old, "White" Commonwealth had different interests from African Commonwealth nations in particular, and charges of racism and colonialism arose during heated debates about Rhodesia in the 1960s and 1970s, the imposition of sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa in the 1980s and, more recently, about whether to press for democratic reforms in Nigeria and then Zimbabwe.[citation needed] The term New Commonwealth is also used in the United Kingdom (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) to refer to recently decolonised countries, which are predominantly non-white and underdeveloped. It was often used in debates about immigration from these countries.[citation needed]
In recent years, the term "White Commonwealth" has been used in a derogatory sense to imply that the wealthier, white nations of the Commonwealth had different interests and goals from the non-white, and particularly the African members. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has used the term frequently to allege that the Commonwealth's attempts to force political changes in his country are motivated by racism and colonialist attitudes and that the White Commonwealth dominates the Commonwealth of Nations as a whole.[citation needed]
[edit] Membership
[edit] Membership criteria
The criteria for membership of the Commonwealth of Nations have developed over time from a series of separate documents. The Statute of Westminster 1931, as the fundamental founding document of the organisation, laid out that membership required dominionhood. The 1949 London Declaration ended this, allowing republican and indigenous monarchic members on the condition that they recognised the British monarch as the 'Head of the Commonwealth'.[5] In the wake of the wave of decolonisation in the 1960s, these constitutional principles were augmented by political, economic, and social principles. The first of these was set out in 1961, when it was decided that respect for racial equality would be a requisite of membership, leading directly to the withdrawal of South Africa's re-application (which they were required to make under the formula of the London Declaration upon becoming a republic). The fourteen points of the 1971 Singapore Declaration dedicated all members to the principles of world peace, liberty, human rights, equality, and free trade.[2]
These criteria were unenforceable for two decades,[6] until, in 1991, the Harare Declaration was issued, dedicating the leaders to applying the Singapore principles to the completion of decolonisation, the end of the Cold War, and the fall of Apartheid in South Africa.[7] The mechanisms by which these principles would be applied were created, and the manner clarified, by the 1995 Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme, which created the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which has the power to rule on whether members meet the requirements for membership under the Harare Declaration.[8] Also in 1995, an Inter-Governmental Group was created to finalise and codify the full requirements for membership. Upon reporting in 1997, as adopted under the Edinburgh Declaration, the Inter-Governmental Group ruled that any future members would have to have a direct constitutional link with an existing member.[9]
In addition to this new rule, the former rules were consolidated into a single document. These requirements, which remain the same today, are that members must:
- accept and comply with the Harare principles.
- be fully sovereign states.
- recognise the monarch of the Commonwealth realms as the Head of the Commonwealth.
- accept the English language as the means of Commonwealth communication.
- respect the wishes of the general population vis-à-vis Commonwealth membership.[9]
These requirements are undergoing review, and a report on potential amendment is to be presented to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007.[10] New members will not be admitted at the 2007 CHOGM, with 2009 set as the earliest date of entry.[11]
[edit] Members
Countries whose membership is suspended are shown in Bold text.
| Country | Joined | Capital | Population | Land area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Antigua and Barbuda |
1981 | St. John's | 81,000 | 442 |
 Australia |
1931 | Canberra | 21,134,563 | 7,741,220 |
 Bahamas |
1973 | Nassau | 319,000 | 13,878 |
 Bangladesh |
1972 | Dhaka | 139,215,000 | 143,998 |
 Barbados |
1966 | Bridgetown | 287,000 | 430 |
 Belize |
1981 | Belmopan | 264,000 | 22,966 |
 Botswana |
1966 | Gaborone | 1,769,000 | 581,730 |
 Brunei |
1984 | Bandar Seri Begawan | 366,000 | 5,765 |
 Cameroon |
1995 | Yaounde | 16,038,000 | 475,442 |
 Canada |
1931 | Ottawa | 33,039,967 | 9,970,610 |
 Cyprus |
1961 | Nicosia | 826,000 | 9,251 |
 Dominica |
1978 | Roseau | 79,000 | 751 |
 Fiji1 |
1970 1997 |
Suva | 841,000 | 18,274 |
 Gambia |
1965 | Banjul | 1,478,000 | 11,295 |
 Ghana |
1957 | Accra | 21,664,000 | 238,533 |
 Grenada |
1974 | St. George's | 102,000 | 344 |
 Guyana |
1966 | Georgetown | 750,000 | 214,969 |
 India |
1949 | New Delhi | 1,087,124,000 | 3,166,414 |
 Jamaica |
1962 | Kingston | 2,639,000 | 10,991 |
 Kenya |
1963 | Nairobi | 33,467,000 | 580,367 |
 Kiribati |
1979 | Tarawa | 97,000 | 726 |
 Lesotho |
1966 | Maseru | 1,798,000 | 30,355 |
 Malawi |
1964 | Lilongwe | 12,608,000 | 118,484 |
 Malaysia |
1957 | Kuala Lumpur (legislative) Putrajaya (executive) |
27,356,000 | 329,847 |
 Maldives |
1982 | Malé | 321,000 | 298 |
 Malta |
1964 | Valletta | 400,000 | 316 |
 Mauritius |
1968 | Port Louis | 1,233,000 | 2,040 |
 Mozambique |
1995 | Maputo | 19,424,000 | 801,590 |
 Namibia |
1990 | Windhoek | 2,009,000 | 824,292 |
 Nauru² |
1968 | Yaren (unofficial) | 13,000 | 21 |
 New Zealand |
1931 | Wellington | 4,109,000 | 270,534 |
 Nigeria³ |
1960 1999 |
Abuja | 128,709,000 | 923,768 |
 Pakistan4 |
1949 1989 2004 |
Islamabad | 161,488,000 | 880,940 |
 Papua New Guinea |
1975 | Port Moresby | 5,772,000 | 462,840 |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1983 | Basseterre | 42,000 | 261 |
 Saint Lucia |
1979 | Castries | 159,000 | 539 |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
1979 | Kingstown | 118,000 | 388 |
 Samoa |
1970 | Apia | 184,000 | 2,831 |
 Seychelles |
1976 | Victoria | 80,000 | 455 |
 Sierra Leone |
1961 | Freetown | 5,336,000 | 71,740 |
 Singapore |
1965 | Singapore | 4,680,600 | 704 |
 Solomon Islands |
1978 | Honiara | 466,000 | 28,896 |
 South Africa5 |
1931 1994 |
Pretoria (executive) Bloemfontein (judicial) Cape Town (legislative) |
47,208,000 | 1,221,037 |
 Sri Lanka |
1948 | Sri Jayawardhanapura Kotte |
20,570,000 | 65,610 |
 Swaziland |
1968 | Mbabane | 1,034,000 | 17,364 |
 Tanzania |
1961 | Dodoma | 37,627,000 | 945,087 |
 Tonga |
1970 | Nukuʻalofa | 102,000 | 747 |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
1962 | Port of Spain | 1,301,000 | 5,130 |
 Tuvalu |
1978 | Funafuti | 10,000 | 26 |
 Uganda |
1962 | Kampala | 25,827,000 | 241,038 |
 United Kingdom |
1931 | London | 60,609,155 | 242,900 |
 Vanuatu |
1980 | Port Vila | 207,000 | 12,189 |
 Zambia |
1964 | Lusaka | 11,479,000 | 752,618 |
| Total | 1,921,974,000 | 31,462,574 |
1 Left 1987, rejoined 1997, suspended since 2006.
2 Special member status 1968 to 1999, again since 2006.
3 Suspended between 1995 and 1999.
4 Left in 1972, rejoined in 1989, was suspended in 1999, re-admitted in 2004 and suspended again in 2007. Suspension lifted in May 2008.
5 Left 1961, rejoined 1994.
[edit] Member information
The Commonwealth comprises fifty-three of the world's countries and has a combined population of 1.9 billion people, almost a third of the world population and over twice as many as the whole of the Americas (North and South) put together. Of that figure, 1.4 billion people live in the Indian subcontinent, and 93% live in Asia and Africa combined.
The total GDP is about US$7.8 trillion (about 16% of the total world economy).[citation needed] The land area of the Commonwealth nations is about 31.5 million km² (12.1 million square miles), or about 21% of the total world land area.
The five largest Commonwealth nations by population are India (1.1 billion), Pakistan (165 million), Bangladesh (148 m), Nigeria (137 m), and the United Kingdom (60 m). Tuvalu is the smallest member, with only 11,000 people.
The three largest Commonwealth nations by area are Canada at 3.8 million square miles, Australia at 3.0 million square miles, and India at 1.2 million square miles.
The largest military spenders are the United Kingdom at GBP£33.4 billion (US$66.8 billion), India at GBP£10.6 billion (US$26.250 billion), and Australia and Canada at GBP£5.3 billion (US$10.5 billion) respectively.[citation needed] The Commonwealth of Nations is not a military alliance. See: List of countries by military expenditures.
Nauru joined as a "Special Member", but was a full member from May 1999 to January 2006 when it reverted back. [12]
Membership is open to countries that accept the association's basic aims and have a present or past constitutional link to a Commonwealth member. Not all members have had direct constitutional ties to Britain: some South Pacific countries were formerly under Australian or New Zealand administration, while Namibia was governed by South Africa from 1920 until independence in 1990. Cameroon joined in 1995 although only a fraction of its territory had formerly been under British administration through the League of Nations mandate of 1920–46 and United Nations Trusteeship arrangement of 1946–61. There is only one member of the present Commonwealth that has never had any constitutional link to the British Empire or a Commonwealth member: Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, was admitted in 1995 on the back of the triumphal re-admission of South Africa and Mozambique's first democratic elections, held in 1994. The move was supported by Mozambique's neighbours, all of whom were members of the Commonwealth and who wished to offer assistance in overcoming the losses incurred from the country's opposition to white minority regimes in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. In 1997, amid some discontent, Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that Mozambique's admission should be seen as a special case and not set a precedent.[citation needed] Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) joined in 1972 in its own right after breaking away from Pakistan (formerly West Pakistan), which was a member until it left later in the same year.
[edit] Non-members
[edit] Applicants
Rwanda (since 2003), Sudan, Algeria, Madagascar and Yemen have applied to join the Commonwealth, and there was some interest expressed by Israel (being formerly administered by the United Kingdom) and the Palestinian National Authority.[13]
Other eligible applicants could come from any of the remaining inhabited British overseas territories, Crown dependencies, Australian external territories and Associated States of New Zealand if any become fully independent.[14] Many such jurisdictions are already directly represented within the Commonwealth, particularly through the Commonwealth Family.[15]
A delegation led by the current President of Somaliland, Dahir Riyale Kahin, was invited to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda in 2007. Presently, Somaliland's independence is not internationally recognised, but its history as a British colony would mean that it would be able to apply for re-entry into the Commonwealth, should it ever achieve international recognition.
[edit] Suspensions
In recent years the Commonwealth has suspended several members "from the Councils of the Commonwealth" for failure to uphold democratic government. Suspended members are not represented at meetings of Commonwealth leaders and ministers, although they remain members of the organisation.
Fiji, which was not a member of the Commonwealth between 1987 and 1997 as a result of a republican coup d'état, was suspended in 2000–2001 after a military coup. Fiji was suspended once again following the military coup of December 2006.[16]
Nigeria was suspended between 1995 and 1999.
Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over concerns with the electoral and land reform policies of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government, before withdrawing from the organization in 2003. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland came close to being admitted as a full commonwealth member, but prospects for this were suspended, indefinitely, following Southern Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence in 1965.
Pakistan was first suspended between 1999 and 2004. On 12 November 2007, in response to the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency, the Commonwealth gave Pakistan a 10-day deadline to restore its constitution and lift other emergency measures or face another suspension from the 53-nation grouping.[17] On 22 November 2007, after the 10-day deadline had expired, Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth for violating its key principles, on the grounds of President Musharraf's refusal to give up his role as head of the army, restore an independent judiciary and lift the state of emergency in the country.[18] After general elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008, Pakistan was invited to rejoin the Commonwealth.[citation needed]. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which addresses serious or persistent violations of the Commonwealth’s values and principles, said on 12 May 2008 that it had lifted Pakistan’s suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth with immediate effect..[19]
[edit] Withdrawal
As membership is purely voluntary, member governments can choose at any time to leave the Commonwealth. Pakistan left in 1972 in protest at the Commonwealth's recognition of breakaway Bangladesh, but rejoined in 1989. Zimbabwe left in 2003 when Commonwealth Heads of Government refused to lift the country's suspension on the grounds of human rights violations and deliberate misgovernment.
[edit] Other termination
Although Heads of Government have the power to suspend member states from active participation, the Commonwealth has no provision for the expulsion of members. However, Commonwealth realms that become republics automatically cease to be members, unless (like India in 1950) they obtain the permission of other members to remain in the organisation as a republic. The Irish Free State left the Commonwealth when it declared itself republic, on 18 April 1949, after passing the Republic of Ireland Act 1948; because it preceded India's London Declaration, remaining in the Commonwealth was not an option.[citation needed]
South Africa was prevented from continuing as a member after it became a republic in 1961, due to hostility from many members, particularly those in Africa and Asia as well as Canada, to its policy of apartheid. The South African government withdrew its application to remain in the organisation as a republic when it became clear at the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference that any such application would be rejected. South Africa was re-admitted to the Commonwealth in 1994, following the end of apartheid earlier that same year.
The Maldives left the Commonwealth in 1965 after declaring their independence from the United Kingdom; they were re-admitted to the Commonwealth on 9 July 1982.
The declaration of a republic in the Fiji Islands in 1987, after military coups designed to deny Indo-Fijians political power in Fiji, was not accompanied by application to remain. Commonwealth membership was held to have lapsed until 1997, after racist provisions in the republican constitution were repealed and reapplication for membership made.
Hong Kong was not a member but participated in certain elements as a British colony; these ceased after the 1997 handover of British rule to China.
[edit] France
France secretly considered membership in the 1950s, under the leadership of Prime Minister Guy Mollet. In the context of nationalisation of the Suez Canal, colonial unrest, and increasing tensions between British-backed Jordan and French-backed Israel, Mollet saw a union between Britain and France as a possible solution. A British Government document of the time reported "That the French would welcome a common citizenship arrangement on the Irish basis". The request was turned down by the British prime minister Anthony Eden, along with a request for Commonwealth membership, and a year later France signed the Treaty of Rome with Germany and the other founding nations of the Common Market, later to become the EU. [20][21]
[edit] Objectives and activities
The Commonwealth's objectives were first outlined in the 1971 Singapore Declaration, which committed the Commonwealth to the institution of world peace; promotion of representative democracy and individual liberty; the pursuit of equality and opposition to racism; the fight against poverty, ignorance, and disease; and free trade.[2] To these were added opposition to discrimination on the basis of gender by the Lusaka Declaration of 1979 (which mostly concerned racism),[22] and environmental sustainability by the Langkawi Declaration of 1989.[23] These objectives were reinforced by the Harare Declaration in 1991.
The Commonwealth's current highest-priority aims are on the promotion of democracy and development, as outlined in the 2003 Aso Rock Declaration,[24] which built on those in Singapore and Harare and clarified their terms of reference, stating: "We are committed to democracy, good governance, human rights, gender equality, and a more equitable sharing of the benefits of globalisation."[25] The Commonwealth website lists its areas of work as: Democracy, Economics, Education, Gender, Governance, Human Rights, Law, Small States, Sport, Sustainability, and Youth.[26]
The Commonwealth has long been distinctive as an international forum where highly developed economies (such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and New Zealand) and many of the world's poorer countries seek to reach agreement by consensus. This aim has sometimes been difficult to achieve, as when disagreements over Rhodesia in the late 1960s and 1970s and over apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s led to a cooling of relations between the United Kingdom and African members.
Through a separate voluntary fund, Commonwealth governments support the Commonwealth Youth Programme, a division of the Secretariat with offices in Gulu (Uganda), Lusaka (Zambia), Chandigarh (India), Georgetown (Guyana) and Honiara (Solomon Islands).
The organisation is celebrated each year on Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March.
[edit] Structure
[edit] Head of the Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, a title which is de facto annexed to the sovereign of the United Kingdom[27]. Some members of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth realms, also recognise the Queen as their head of state. However, the majority of members are republics, and a handful of others are indigenous monarchies.
[edit] Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
The main decision-making forum of the organisation is the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where Commonwealth presidents or prime ministers assemble for several days to discuss matters of mutual interest. CHOGM is the successor to the Prime Ministers' Conferences and earlier Imperial Conferences and Colonial Conferences dating back to 1887. There are also regular meetings of finance ministers, law ministers, health ministers, etc.
[edit] Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation and cooperation among member governments and countries. It is responsible to member governments collectively.
Based in London, the Secretariat organises Commonwealth summits, meetings of ministers, consultative meetings and technical discussions; it assists policy development and provides policy advice, and facilitates multilateral communication among the member governments. It also provides technical assistance to help governments in the social and economic development of their countries and in support of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values.
The Secretariat is headed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is elected by Commonwealth Heads of Government for no more than two four-year terms. The Secretary-General and two Deputy Secretaries-General direct the divisions of the Secretariat. The present Secretary-General is Kamalesh Sharma, from India, who took office on 1 April 2008, succeeding Don McKinnon of New Zealand (2000–2008). The first Secretary-General was Arnold Smith of Canada (1965–75), followed by Sir Shridath Ramphal of Guyana (1975–90).
[edit] Commonwealth Family
Commonwealth countries share many links outside government, with over a hundred Commonwealth-wide non-governmental organisations, notably for sport, culture, education and charity. The Association of Commonwealth Universities is an important vehicle for academic links, particularly through scholarships, principally the Commonwealth Scholarship, for students to study in universities in other Commonwealth countries. There are also many non-official associations that bring together individuals who work within the spheres of law and government, such as the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
[edit] Commonwealth Foundation
The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation, resourced by and reporting to Commonwealth governments, and guided by Commonwealth values and priorities. Its mandate is to strengthen civil society in the achievement of Commonwealth priorities: democracy and good governance, respect for human rights and gender equality, poverty eradication and sustainable, people-centred development, and to promote arts and culture.
The Commonwealth Foundation was established by the Heads of Government in 1965. Membership of the Foundation is open to all members of the Commonwealth and (as of June 2007) stands at 46 governments out of the 53 member countries. Associate Membership, which is open to associated states or overseas territories of member governments, has been granted to Gibraltar. 2005 saw celebrations for the Foundation's 40th Anniversary. The Foundation is headquartered in Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London, and has no other offices. Regular liaison and cooperation between the Secretariat and the Foundation is in place.
The Foundation continues to serve the broad purposes for which it was established as written in the Memorandum of Understanding:[28]
The purposes and areas of interest of the Foundation will be the administration of funds for increasing interchanges between Commonwealth organisations of the skilled or learned professions or skilled auxiliary occupations in order to maintain and improve standards of knowledge, attainment and conduct; and between non-governmental organisations of a voluntary rather than a strictly professional character throughout the Commonwealth. The Foundation's areas of interest will also extend to include culture, information and the media, rural development, social welfare and the handicapped, and the role of women.
[edit] Commonwealth Games
A multi-sports championship called the Commonwealth Games is held every four years, in the same year as the Winter Olympic Games. As well as the usual athletic disciplines, the games include sports popular in the Commonwealth such as bowls and netball.
[edit] Commonwealth of Learning
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation created by the Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. COL is helping developing nations improve access to quality education and training.
[edit] Commonwealth Business Council
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was formed at the Edinburgh CHOGM in 1997. The aim was to utilise the global network of the Commonwealth more effectively for the promotion of global trade and investment for shared prosperity.
The CBC acts as a bridge for co-operation between business and government, concentrating efforts on these specific areas:
- Enhancing trade
- Mobilising investment
- Promoting corporate citizenship
- Facilitating ICT for Development
- Public Private Partnerships
The CBC has a dedicated team, CBC Technologies, based in London and focused on the international technology and global services industry throughout the Commonwealth.
[edit] Commonwealth War Graves Commission
[edit] Cultural links
The Commonwealth is also useful as an international organisation that represents significant cultural and historical links between wealthy first-world countries and poorer nations with diverse social and religious backgrounds. The common inheritance of the English language and literature, the common law, and British systems of administration all underpin the club-like atmosphere of the Commonwealth.
Mostly due to their history of British rule, many Commonwealth nations share certain identifiable traditions and customs that are elements of a shared Commonwealth culture. Examples include common sports such as cricket and rugby, driving on the left, parliamentary and legal traditions, and the use of British rather than American spelling conventions (see English in the Commonwealth of Nations). None of these are universal within the Commonwealth countries, nor exclusive to them, but all of them are more common in the Commonwealth than elsewhere.
In recent years the Commonwealth model has inspired similar initiatives on the part of France, Spain and Portugal and their respective ex-colonies, and in the former case, other sympathetic governments: the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (International Organisation of Francophone Countries), the Comunidad Iberoamericana de Naciones (Organization of Ibero-American States) and the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese Language Countries). The Arab League, an association similar to the Commonwealth, was founded in 1945 and whose members and observers (except India) use Arabic as an official language.
[edit] Literature
The shared history of British rule has also produced a substantial body of writing in many languages: Commonwealth literature. There is an Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) with nine chapters worldwide. ACLALS holds an international conference every three years.
In 1987, the Commonwealth Foundation established the Commonwealth Writers Prize "to encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin." Caryl Phillips won the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2004 for A Distant Shore. Mark Haddon won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2004 Best First Book prize worth £3,000 for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
Although not affiliated with the Commonwealth in an official manner, the prestigious Man Booker Prize is awarded annually to an author from a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland. This honour is one of the highest in literature.
[edit] Commonwealth Union
There are a couple of movements which promote the formation of a Commonwealth union[29]. One proposed union is similar to the European Union but is only open to member nations of the present Commonwealth of Nations with a high Human Development Index. Other proposals range from an EU-style government to a loose coordination of government policies including trade and defence.
Minor British political party UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) has also proposed a Commonwealth Free Trade Area. This would be open to all Commonwealth Nations[30].
[edit] See also
- Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
- Anglosphere
- British Empire
- British Empire and Commonwealth Museum
- British Overseas Territory
- Commonwealth citizen
- Dominion
- High Commissioner
- List of Commonwealth visits made by Queen Elizabeth II
- Commonwealth realm
- Commonwealth republic
- Old Commonwealth
[edit] Other organisations
- Iberoamerican Community of Nations
- Arab League
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- Community of Portuguese Language Countries
- La Francophonie
- Organization of Ibero-American States
- French Union (defunct)
- French Community (defunct)
[edit] Lists of Commonwealth members
- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by continent
- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by date joined
- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by name
- List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations by population
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ FAQs. Commonwealth Secretariat. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ a b c Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles 1971. Commonwealth Secretariat (22 January 1971). Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ History of the Commonwealth.
- ^ Commonwealth history timelines.
- ^ de Smith, S.A. (July 1949). "The London Declaration of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers, April 28, 1949". The Modern Law Review 12 (3): pp. 351-4.
- ^ Williams, Paul D. (July 2005). "Blair's Britain and the Commonwealth". The Round Table 94 (380): pp. 381–391.
- ^ Harare Commonwealth Declaration. Commonwealth Secretariat (20 October 1991). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. Commonwealth Secretariat. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ a b te Velde-Ashworth, Victoria (10 October 2005). The future of the modern Commonwealth: Widening vs. deepening? (PDF). Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Commonwealth membership in focus at London meeting. Commonwealth Secretariat (6 December 2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ Rwanda’s bid to join Club to be considered at 2009 meet. The EastAfrican (20 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Special Member status
- ^ http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news1911200714.htm
- ^ Eligible Areas
- ^ Baldacchino, Godfrey; Milne, David (September 2006). "Exploring sub-national island jurisdictions: An editorial introduction". The Round Table 95 (386): pp. 487–502.
- ^ BBC News: Fiji suspended from Commonwealth (8th Dec 2006)
- ^ Commonwealth threatens to suspend Pakistan unless emergency rule lifted
- ^ "Pakistan barred from Commonwealth", BBC News website, BBC, 22 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
- ^ "Pakistan Commonwealth suspension lifted", Commonwealth website, Commonwealth, 12 May 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-19. (English)
- ^ France and UK considered 1950s 'merger' | World news | guardian.co.uk
- ^ News release from The National Archives
- ^ Lusaka Declaration on Racism and Racial Prejudice. Commonwealth Secretariat (7 August 1979). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Langkawi Declaration on the Environment. USM Regional Center of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development (21 October 1989). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Our Work. Commonwealth Secretariat. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Aso Rock Commonwealth Declaration. Commonwealth Secretariat (8 December 2003). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ Commonwealth Secretariat. Commonwealth Secretariat (7 August 1979). Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
- ^ The position of Head of the Commonwealth was discussed at the 1997 Edinburgh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The consensus was that the title should remain annexed to the Sovereign.
- ^ Commonwealth Foundation - About Us, ¶4–5
- ^ Commonwealth Union
- ^ [1].
[edit] References
- The Constitutional Structure of the Commonwealth, by K C Wheare. Clarendon Press, 1960. ISBN 0-313-23624-0
- A Guide to the Contemporary Commonwealth, by W D McIntyre. Palgrave, 2001. ISBN 0-333-96310-3
[edit] Further reading
- What does Commonwealth membership mean?, by Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon - Barbados Advocate Newspaper, March 12th, 2007.
- The Commonwealth in the World, by J D B , by N Mansergh. University of Toronto Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8020-2492-0
- Making the New Commonwealth, by R J Moore. Clarendon Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-820112-5
- Les ONG du Commonwealth contemporain: rôles, bilans et perspectives, by C A Auplat. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2003. ISBN 2-7475-5513-5
- Commonwealth: Inter- and Non-State Contributions to Global Governance, by Timothy M Shaw. Routledge, 2008. ISBN 978-0-415-35120-1 (hbk); 978-0-415-35121-8 (pbk)
[edit] External links
- The Commonwealth Secretariat
- The Commonwealth of Learning
- Commonwealth Foundation
- The Commonwealth of Nations website
- The Commonwealth - UK government site
- The Commonwealth - British Monarchy site
- Commonwealth of Learning
- The Royal Commonwealth Society
- The Royal Commonwealth Society (of Canada)
- British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, England
- Association of Commonwealth Universities
- University of London Institute of Commonwealth Studies
- Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies
- The Commonwealth as a popular club
- What is the CommonwealthPDF (82.7 KiB)
- The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
- The Commonwealth Meeting in Malta, 2005
- The Commonwealth Union website
- The United Commonwealth Society
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