Commonwealth of Nations

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Commonwealth of Nations
Flag of Commonwealth of Nations

Logo of Commonwealth of Nations

Flag

Logo

Member states of the Commonwealth

Member states of the Commonwealth
Headquarters

Marlborough House, London

Working language English

Type Intergovernmental organisation
Member states
52 states
[show]
Leaders
Head
Queen Elizabeth II
Secretary-General

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

Chair-in-Office
Joseph Muscat
Establishment
Balfour Declaration
19 November 1926
Statute of Westminster
11 December 1931[1]
London Declaration
28 April 1949
Area
Total
29,958,050 km2 (11,566,868 sq mi)
Population
2013 estimate
2,328,000,000
Density
75/km2 (194.2/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)

2014 estimate

Total
$14.623 trillion
Per capita
$6,222
GDP (nominal)

2014 estimate

Total
$10.450 trillion

 Per capita
$4,446
Website
thecommonwealth.org

The Commonwealth of Nations,[2] or just the Commonwealth (formerly the

British Commonwealth),[3][4] is an intergovernmental organisation of 52
member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire.[4]
The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the
member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat, and nongovernmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth
Foundation.[5]

The Commonwealth dates back to the mid-20th century with the

decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its
territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949,
which established the member states as "free and equal".[6] The symbol of
this free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the
Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the
Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth realms. The other Commonwealth
members have different heads of state: 31 members are republics and five
are monarchies with a different monarch.

Member states have no legal obligation to one another. Instead, they are
united by language, history, culture and their shared values of democracy,
human rights, and the rule of law.[5] These values are enshrined in the
Commonwealth Charter[7] and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth
Games. On 13th October 2016, after 31 years of full membership (preceded
by three years of special membership), Maldives became the most recent
nation to withdraw from the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2 (11,566,870 sq mi),

20% of the world's land area, and spans all six inhabited continents. With an
estimated population of 2.328 billion people, nearly a third of the world
population,[8] the Commonwealth in 2014 produced a nominal gross
domestic product (GDP) of $10.45 trillion, representing 17% of the gross

world product when measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) and 14% of
the gross world product when measured nominally.

Contents

1 History
1.1 Origin
1.2 Dominions
1.3 Republics
1.4 New Commonwealth
1.5 Plan G and inviting Europe to join
2 Structure
2.1 Head of the Commonwealth
2.2 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
2.3 Commonwealth Secretariat
2.4 Commonwealth citizenship and High Commissioners
3 Membership
3.1 Criteria
3.2 Members
3.3 Applicants
3.4 Suspension
3.5 Termination
4 Politics
4.1 Objectives and activities
4.2 Competence
4.3 Proposed free movement policy
5 Economy

5.1 Trade
6 Commonwealth Family
6.1 Commonwealth Foundation
6.2 Commonwealth Games
6.3 Commonwealth War Graves Commission
6.4 Commonwealth of Learning
6.5 Commonwealth Business Council
7 Culture
7.1 Sport
7.2 Literature
7.2.1 In English
7.3 Political system
7.4 Symbols
7.5 Recognition
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links

History
Origin
Main article: British Empire
The prime ministers of five members at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime
Ministers' Conference. (L-R) Mackenzie King (Canada); Jan Smuts (South
Africa); Winston Churchill (United Kingdom); Peter Fraser (New Zealand); John
Curtin (Australia)

Queen Elizabeth II, in her address to Canada on Dominion Day in 1959,

pointed out that the confederation of Canada on 1 July 1867 had been the
birth of the "first independent country within the British Empire". She
declared: "So, it also marks the beginning of that free association of
independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations."[9]
As long ago as 1884, however, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had
described the changing British Empireas some of its colonies became more
independentas a "Commonwealth of Nations".[10] Conferences of British
and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887,
leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in 1911.[11]

The Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. A specific

proposal was presented by Jan Smuts in 1917 when he coined the term "the
British Commonwealth of Nations" and envisioned the "future constitutional
relations and readjustments in essence" at the Paris Peace Conference of
1919 by delegates from the Dominions as well as Britain.[12][13] The term
first received imperial statutory recognition in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921,
when the term British Commonwealth of Nations was substituted for British
Empire in the wording of the oath taken by members of parliament of the
Irish Free State.[14]
Dominions

In the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, 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." These aspects to the relationship were
formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which applied to Canada
without the need for ratification, but Australia, New Zealand, and
Newfoundland had to ratify the statute for it to take effect. Newfoundland
never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, the
government of Newfoundland voluntarily ended and governance reverted to
direct control from London. Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th
province in 1949.[15] Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942
and 1947 respectively.[16][17]

Although the Union of South Africa was not among the Dominions that

needed to adopt the Statute of Westminster for it to take effect, two laws
the Status of the Union Act, 1934, and the Royal Executive Functions and
Seals Act of 1934were passed to confirm South Africa's status as a
sovereign state[18]

After World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled to the
14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949,
following the London Declaration, the word "British" was dropped from the
title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature.[19] Burma (also
known as Myanmar, 1948) and Aden (1967) are the only states that were
British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth
upon independence. Former British protectorates and mandates that did not
become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt (independent in 1922),
Iraq (1932), Transjordan (1946), British Palestine (part of which became the
state of Israel in 1948), Sudan (1956), British Somaliland (which united with
the former Italian Somaliland in 1960 to form the Somali Republic), Kuwait
(1961), Bahrain (1971), Oman (1971), Qatar (1971), and the United Arab
Emirates (1971).[citation needed]
Republics

On 18 April 1949, Ireland formally became a republic in accordance with the

Irish Republic of Ireland Act 1948. Because it did this, it was automatically
excluded from the Commonwealth. While Ireland had not actively participated
in the Commonwealth since the early 1930s and was content to leave the
Commonwealth, other dominions wished to become republics without losing
Commonwealth ties. The issue came to a head in April 1949 at a
Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London. Under the 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 the Head of the Commonwealth".
Upon hearing this, King George VI told the Indian politician Krishna Menon:
"So, I've become 'as such'".[20] The other Commonwealth countries
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.[citation
needed]

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 their own monarchs, while some countries

retained the same monarch as the United Kingdom, but their monarchies
developed differently and soon became fully independent of the British
monarchy. The monarch is regarded as a separate legal personality in each
realm, even though the same person is monarch of each realm.[citation
needed]
New Commonwealth

As the Commonwealth grew, Britain and the pre-1945 dominions became

informally known as the Old Commonwealth and planners in the interwar
period, like Lord Davies, who had also taken "a prominent part in building up
the League of Nations Union" in the United Kingdom, in 1932 founded the
New Commonwealth Society, of which British section Winston Churchill
became the president.[5] This new society was aimed at the creation of an
international air force to be the arm of the League of Nations, to allow nations
to disarm and safeguard the peace.[citation needed]

The term New Commonwealth has been used in Great Britain (especially in
the 1960s and 1970s) to refer to recently decolonised countries,
predominantly non-white and developing. It was often used in debates about
immigration from these countries.[21]
Plan G and inviting Europe to join

At a time when Germany and France, together with Belgium, Italy,

Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, were planning for what later became the
European Union, and newly independent African countries were joining the
Commonwealth, new ideas were floated to prevent Britain from becoming
isolated in economic affairs. British trade with the Commonwealth was four
times larger than trade with Europe. The British government under Prime
Minister Anthony Eden considered in 1956 and 1957 a "plan G" to create a
European free trade zone while also protecting the favoured status of the
Commonwealth.[22][23][24] Britain also considered inviting Scandinavian
and other European countries to join the Commonwealth so it would become
a major economic common market. At one point in October 1956 Eden and
French Prime Minister Guy Mollet discussed having France join the
Commonwealth.[25] Nothing came of any of the proposals.[26]
Structure

Head of the Commonwealth

Main article: Head of the Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth

Under the formula of the London Declaration, Queen Elizabeth II is the Head
of the Commonwealth, a title that is by law a part of Elizabeth's royal titles in
each of the Commonwealth realms,[27] the 16 members of the
Commonwealth that recognise the Queen as their monarch. However, when
the monarch dies, the successor to the crown does not automatically become
Head of the Commonwealth.[28] The position is symbolic, representing the
free association of independent members,[27] the majority of which (31) are
republics, and five have monarchs of different royal houses (Brunei, Lesotho,
Malaysia, Swaziland, and Tonga).
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Main article: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The main decision-making forum of the organisation is the biennial

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where
Commonwealth heads of government, including (amongst others) prime
ministers and presidents, assemble for several days to discuss matters of
mutual interest. CHOGM is the successor to the Meetings of Commonwealth
Prime Ministers and, earlier, the Imperial Conferences and Colonial
Conferences, dating back to 1887. There are also regular meetings of finance
ministers, law ministers, health ministers, etc. Members in arrears, as special
members before them, are not invited to send representatives to either
ministerial meetings or CHOGMs.[27]

The head of government hosting the CHOGM is called the Commonwealth

Chairperson-in-Office and retains the position until the following CHOGM.[29]
After the most recent CHOGM, in Valletta, Malta, from 26 to 29 November
2015 Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, became the Chairperson-inOffice and will continue to hold the title until the next CHOGM.[citation
needed]
Commonwealth Secretariat
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challenged and removed. (October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove
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Main article: Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House, London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth
Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution

The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main

intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation
and co-operation among member governments and countries. It is
responsible to member governments collectively. The Commonwealth of
Nations is represented in the United Nations General Assembly by the
secretariat as an observer. 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 fouryear terms. The secretary-general and two deputy secretaries-general direct
the divisions of the Secretariat. The present secretary-general is Patricia
Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, from Dominica, who took office on 1
April 2016, succeeding Kamalesh Sharma of India (20082016). The first
secretary-general was Arnold Smith of Canada (196575), followed by Sir
Shridath Ramphal of Guyana (197590), Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria
(199099), and Don McKinnon of New Zealand (2000-2008).
Commonwealth citizenship and High Commissioners
Main article: Commonwealth citizen

In recognition of their shared heritage and culture, Commonwealth countries

are not considered to be "foreign" to each other.[30][31][32] The exception is
Australia, where no such distinction is made in the High Court case of Sue v
Hill, other Commonwealth countries were held to be foreign powers. Similarly,
in Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, the nationals of other
Commonwealth realms were held to be 'aliens'. When engaging bilaterally

with one another, Commonwealth governments exchange High

Commissioners instead of ambassadors. Between two Commonwealth
realms, they represent the Head of Government rather than the Head of
State.[citation needed]

In addition, some members treat resident citizens of other Commonwealth

countries preferentially to citizens of non-Commonwealth countries. Britain
and several others, mostly in the Caribbean, grant the right to vote to
Commonwealth citizens who reside in those countries. Some states, such as
Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have abolished such preferences.
[citation needed] In non-Commonwealth countries in which their own country
is not represented, Commonwealth citizens may seek consular assistance at
the British embassy.[33] Other alternatives can also occur such as an
emergency consular services agreement between Canada and Australia that
began in 1986.[34]
Membership
Members of the Commonwealth shaded according to their political status.
Commonwealth realms are shown in blue, republics in pink, and members
with their own monarchy are displayed in green.
Criteria
Main article: Commonwealth of Nations 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 a 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".[35] 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 requirement for 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 14 points of the 1971 Singapore Declaration
dedicated all members to the principles of world peace, liberty, human rights,
equality, and free trade.[36]

These criteria were unenforceable for two decades,[37] 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 end of apartheid in South Africa.[38] 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.[39] 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 InterGovernmental Group ruled that any future members would have to have a
direct constitutional link with an existing member.[40]

In addition to this new rule, the former rules were consolidated into a single
document. These requirements 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, and
respect the wishes of the general population with regard to Commonwealth
membership.[40] These requirements had undergone review, and a report on
potential amendments was presented by the Committee on Commonwealth
Membership at the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.[41]
New members were not admitted at this meeting, though applications for
admission were considered at the 2009 CHOGM.[42]

New members must "as a general rule" have a direct constitutional link to an
existing member. In most cases, this is due to being a former colony of the
United Kingdom, but some have links to other countries, either exclusively or
more directly (e.g. Samoa to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea to Australia,
and Namibia to South Africa). The first member to be admitted without
having any constitutional link to the British Empire or a Commonwealth
member was Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, in 1995 following its
first democratic elections and South Africa's re-admission in 1994.
Mozambique's controversial entry led to the Edinburgh Declaration and the
current membership guidelines.[43] In 2009, Rwanda became the second
Commonwealth member admitted not to have any such constitutional links. It
was a Belgian trust territory that had been a German colony until World War I.
[44] Consideration for its admission was considered an "exceptional
circumstance" by the Commonwealth Secretariat.[45]

Members
Main article: Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
Flags of the members of the Commonwealth in Parliament Square, London
The Commonwealth flag flies at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa

The Commonwealth comprises 52 countries, across all continents. The

members have a combined population of 2.3 billion people, almost a third of
the world population, of which 1.26 billion live in India and 94% live in Asia
and Africa combined.[46] After India, the next-largest Commonwealth
countries by population are Pakistan (180 million), Nigeria (170 million),
Bangladesh (156 million), the United Kingdom (63 million) and South Africa
(52 million). Tuvalu is the smallest member, with about 10,000 people.[47]

The land area of the Commonwealth nations is about 31,500,000 km2

(12,200,000 sq mi), or about 21% of the total world land area. The three
largest Commonwealth nations by area are Canada at 9,984,670 km2
(3,855,100 sq mi), Australia at 7,617,930 km2 (2,941,300 sq mi), and India at
3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi).[48] The Commonwealth members have a
combined gross domestic product of over $9 trillion, 78% of which is
accounted for by the four largest economies: United Kingdom ($2.95 trillion),
India ($2.05 trillion), Canada ($1.79 trillion), and Australia ($1.44 trillion).[49]

The status of "Member in Arrears" is used to denote those that are in arrears
in paying subscription dues. The status was originally known as "special
membership", but was renamed on the Committee on Commonwealth
Membership's recommendation.[50] There are currently no Members in
Arrears. The most recent Member in Arrears, Nauru, returned to full
membership in June 2011.[51] Nauru has alternated between special and full
membership since joining the Commonwealth, depending on its financial
situation.[52]
Commonwealth of Nations members
Former Commonwealth of Nations members (Ireland, The Gambia, Maldives
and Zimbabwe)
British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies
Applicants

See also: Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria Prospective

members

In 1997 the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that, to become a

member of the Commonwealth, an applicant country should, as a rule, have
had a constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member;
that it should comply with Commonwealth values, principles and priorities as
set out in the Harare Declaration; and that it should accept Commonwealth
norms and conventions.[53]

South Sudan is currently (2013) the only country specifically expressing an

interest in joining the Commonwealth.[54] A senior Commonwealth source
argued in 2006 that "many people have assumed an interest from Israel, but
there has been no formal approach".[55] The State of Palestine is also a
potential candidate for membership.[55]

President Yahya Jammeh unilaterally withdrew Gambia from the

Commonwealth in October 2013.[56] However, newly-elected president
Adama Barrow has pledged to return the country to the organisation.[57]

Other eligible applicants could be any of the remaining inhabited British

overseas territories, Crown dependencies, Australian external territories and
the Associated States of New Zealand if they become fully independent.[58]
Many such jurisdictions are already directly represented within the
Commonwealth, particularly through the Commonwealth Family.[59] There
are also former British possessions that have not become independent, for
example, Hong Kong, which still participates in some of the institutions within
the Commonwealth Family. All three Crown dependencies regard the existing
situation as unsatisfactory and have lobbied for change. The States of Jersey
have called on the UK Foreign Secretary to request that the Commonwealth
Heads of Government "consider granting associate membership to Jersey and
the other Crown Dependencies as well as any other territories at a similarly
advanced stage of autonomy". Jersey has proposed that it be accorded "selfrepresentation in all Commonwealth meetings; full participation in debates
and procedures, with a right to speak where relevant and the opportunity to
enter into discussions with those who are full members; and no right to vote
in the Ministerial or Heads of Government meetings, which is reserved for full
members".[60] The States of Guernsey and the Government of the Isle of

Man have made calls of a similar nature for a more integrated relationship
with the Commonwealth,[61] including more direct representation and
enhanced participation in Commonwealth organisations and meetings,
including Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings.[62] The Chief
Minister of the Isle of Man has said: "A closer connection with the
Commonwealth itself would be a welcome further development of the Island's
international relationships"[63]

At the time of the Suez Crisis in 1956, in the face of colonial unrest and
international tensions, French Premier Guy Mollet proposed to British Prime
Minister Anthony Eden that their two countries be joined in a "union". When
that proposal was turned down, Mollet suggested that France joined the
Commonwealth, possibly with "a common citizenship arrangement on the
Irish basis." Talks regarding a form of union faded away with the end of the
Suez crisis.[64] No records of those confidential talks appear to exist in
French archives and it is likely that the project was the brainchild of Mollet, an
anglophile.[citation needed]
Suspension
Main article: Suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations

In recent years, the Commonwealth has suspended several members "from

the Councils of the Commonwealth" for "serious or persistent violations" of
the Harare Declaration, particularly in abrogating their responsibility to have
democratic government.[65] This is done by the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group (CMAG), which meets regularly to address potential breaches of
the Harare Declaration. Suspended members are not represented at meetings
of Commonwealth leaders and ministers, although they remain members of
the organisation. Currently, there are no suspended members.[citation
needed]

Nigeria was suspended between 11 November 1995 and 29 May 1999,[66]

following its execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa on the eve of the 1995 CHOGM.[67]
Pakistan was the second country to be suspended, on 18 October 1999,
following the military coup by Pervez Musharraf.[68] The Commonwealth's
longest suspension came to an end on 22 May 2004, when Pakistan's
suspension was lifted following the restoration of the country's constitution.
[69] Pakistan was suspended for a second time, far more briefly, for six
months from 22 November 2007, when Musharraf called a state of

emergency.[70] Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over concerns regarding

the electoral and land reform policies of Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF
government,[71] before it withdrew from the organisation in 2003.[72]
Wikinews has related news: Fiji fully suspended from the
Commonwealth after failure to call election

The declaration of a Republic in Fiji in 1987, after military coups designed to

deny Indo-Fijians political power, was not accompanied by an application to
remain. Commonwealth membership was held to have lapsed until 1997,
after discriminatory provisions in the republican constitution were repealed
and reapplication for membership made.[73][74] Fiji has since been
suspended twice, with the first imposed from 6 June 2000[75] to 20
December 2001 after another coup.[71] Fiji was suspended yet again in
December 2006, following the most recent coup. At first, the suspension
applied only to membership on the Councils of the Commonwealth.[73][76]
After failing to meet a Commonwealth deadline for setting a date for national
elections by 2010, Fiji was "fully suspended" on 1 September 2009.[73][76]
The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, confirmed
that full suspension meant that Fiji would be excluded from Commonwealth
meetings, sporting events and the technical assistance programme (with an
exception for assistance in re-establishing democracy). Sharma stated that
Fiji would remain a member of the Commonwealth during its suspension, but
would be excluded from emblematic representation by the secretariat.[73] On
19 March 2014 Fijis full suspension was amended to a suspension from
councils of the Commonwealth by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action
Group, permitting Fiji to join a number of Commonwealth activities, including
the Commonwealth Games.[77] Fiji's suspension was lifted in September
2014.[78] The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group fully reinstated Fiji as
a member following elections in September 2014.[79]

Most recently, during 2013 and 2014, international pressure mounted to

suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth, citing grave human rights
violations by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. There were
also calls to change the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013
from Sri Lanka to another member country. Canadian prime minister Stephen
Harper threatened to boycott the event, but was instead represented at the
meeting by Deepak Obhrai. The UK Foreign Affairs Committee called upon
Prime Minister David Cameron to boycott the event, however, he chose to
attend.[80][81] These concerns were rendered moot by the election of
opposition leader Maithripala Sirisena as President in 2015.

Termination

As membership is purely voluntary, member governments can choose at any

time to leave the Commonwealth. Pakistan left on 30 January 1972 in protest
at the Commonwealth's recognition of breakaway Bangladesh, but rejoined
on 2 August 1989. Zimbabwe's membership was suspended in 2002 on the
grounds of alleged human rights violations and deliberate misgovernment,
and Zimbabwe's government terminated its membership in 2003.[82] The
Gambia left the Commonwealth on 3 October 2013.[56] Maldives withdrew
from the Commonwealth on 13 October 2016.[83] The Maldivian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs stated that "the Commonwealth has not recognised [...] the
progress and achievements that the Maldives accomplished in cultivating a
culture of democracy in the country and in building and strengthening
democratic institutions".[84] The Ministry also cited the Commonwealth's
"punitive actions against the Maldives since 2012" after the allegedly forced
resignation of Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed among the reasons for
withdrawal.[84] The Ministry characterized the decision to withdraw as
"difficult, but inevitable".[84]

Although heads of government have the power to suspend member states

from active participation, the Commonwealth has no provision for the
expulsion of members. Until 2007, Commonwealth realms that became
republics automatically ceased to be members, until (like India in 1950) they
obtained the permission of other members to remain in the organisation. This
policy has been changed, so if any current Commonwealth realms were to
become republics, they would not have to go through this process.[85]

Ireland had withdrawn its participation in the Commonwealth in the 1930s,

attending its last Commonwealth governmental heads' meeting in 1932.
However it continued to be regarded by the Commonwealth as a
Commonwealth member until it declared itself a republic, on 18 April 1949. It
is the only country whose membership terminated without any declaration
withdrawing from the organisation. Instead, it was (with its own tacit support)
excluded from the organisation under the rules then applicable.[citation
needed]

South Africa was barred 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 racial 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 readmitted to the Commonwealth in 1994, following its first multiracial
elections that year.[citation needed]

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 ended the colony's ties to
the Commonwealth through the United Kingdom. The government of Hong
Kong, as a special administrative region of China, did not pursue
membership. Hong Kong has nevertheless continued to participate in some of
the organisations of the Commonwealth family, such as the Commonwealth
Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the
Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Commonwealth
Association of Legislative Counsel.[86][87]
Politics
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.[88] To these were added opposition
to discrimination on the basis of gender by the Lusaka Declaration of 1979,
[36] and environmental sustainability by the Langkawi Declaration of 1989.
[89] These objectives were reinforced by the Harare Declaration in 1991.
[citation needed]

The Commonwealth's current highest-priority aims are on the promotion of

democracy and development, as outlined in the 2003 Aso Rock Declaration,
[90] 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."[91] The Commonwealth website lists its areas of work as:
democracy, economics, education, gender, governance, human rights, law,
small states, sport, sustainability, and youth.[92]

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).[citation needed]
Competence

In recent years, the Commonwealth has been accused of not being vocal
enough on its core values. Allegations of a leaked memo from the Secretary
General instructing staff not to speak out on human rights were published in
October 2010.[93]

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011 considered a report

by a Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (EPG) panel which asserted that
the organisation had lost its relevance and was decaying due to the lack of a
mechanism to censure member countries when they violated human rights or
democratic norms.[94] The panel made 106 "urgent" recommendations
including the adoption of a Charter of the Commonwealth, the creation of a
new commissioner on the rule of law, democracy and human rights to track
persistent human rights abuses and allegations of political repression by
Commonwealth member states, recommendations for the repeal of laws
against homosexuality in 41 Commonwealth states and a ban on forced
marriage.[95][96] The failure to release the report, or accept its
recommendations for reforms in the area of human rights, democracy and
the rule of law, was decried as a "disgrace" by former British Foreign
Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a member of the EPG, who told a press
conference: "The Commonwealth faces a very significant problem. It's not a
problem of hostility or antagonism, it's more of a problem of indifference. Its
purpose is being questioned, its relevance is being questioned and part of
that is because its commitment to enforce the values for which it stands is
becoming ambiguous in the eyes of many member states. The
Commonwealth is not a private club of the governments or the secretariat. It
belongs to the people of the Commonwealth."[96]

In the end, two-thirds of the EPG's 106 urgently recommended reforms were
referred to study groups, an act described by one EPG member as having
them "kicked into the long grass". There was no agreement to create the
recommended position of human rights commissioner, instead a ministerial
management group was empowered with enforcement: the group includes
alleged human rights offenders. It was agreed to develop a charter of values

for the Commonwealth without any decision on how compliance with its
principles would be enforced.[94]

The result of the effort was that a new Charter of the Commonwealth was
signed by Queen Elizabeth on 11 March 2013 at Marlborough House, which
opposes "all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour,
creed, political belief or other grounds".[97][98]
Proposed free movement policy

In March 2015, the Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation

proposed that the national governments of the United Kingdom, Australia,
New Zealand and Canada should advocate for freedom of movement
between citizens of their countries, similar to the current arrangement
existing between Australia and New Zealand through the Trans-Tasman Travel
Arrangement.[99] In May 2016, Australian High Commissioner to the United
Kingdom Alexander Downer expressed support for "freer movement" between
Australia and the United Kingdom, stating: "Over time we would like to
continue to talk to the British government about arrangements we could
make to liberalise movement between Australia and the UK, if not have
completely free movement...".[100]
Economy
[show]Economies of the Commonwealth of Nations

[citation needed][when?]
Trade
Further information: Commonwealth free trade

Although the Commonwealth does not have a multilateral trade agreement,

research by the Royal Commonwealth Society has shown that trade with
another Commonwealth member is up to 50% more than with a non-member
on average, with smaller and less wealthy states having a higher propensity
to trade within the Commonwealth.[106] At the 2005 Summit in Malta, the
heads of government endorsed pursuing free trade among Commonwealth
members on a bilateral basis.[107]

There have been various proposals for a Commonwealth free trade zone.
[108] Some politicians in the United Kingdom have suggested the idea as an
alternative to its membership in the European Union.[109][110] A UK
referendum in June 2016 resulted in 51.9% of participants voting to leave the
EU. However, this faith in the unlimited trade potential of the Commonwealth
has been labeled by The Economist as "the ultimate Eurosceptic fantasy".
[111] In addition, the EU is already in the process of negotiating free trade
agreements with many Commonwealth countries including India and Canada,
[112] and currently has free trade agreements with many others, including
South Africa, Cameroon, Zambia, and the 12 Commonwealth members of the
Caribbean Community. Furthermore, most other Commonwealth countries
already participate in existing, regional integration projects, including the
European Union (United Kingdom, Malta and Cyprus), Caribbean Community
(12 members), Southern African Customs Union (5 members), East African
Community (4 members), and the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (4 members).[citation needed]
Commonwealth Family
Main article: Commonwealth Family

Commonwealth countries share many links outside government, with over a

hundred Commonwealth-wide non-governmental organisations, notably for
sport, culture, education, law 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.[citation
needed]
Commonwealth Foundation
Main article: 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, people-centred and sustainable development, and to promote

arts and culture.[citation needed]

The Foundation was established in 1965 by the Heads of Government.

Admittance is open to all members of the Commonwealth, and in December
2008, stood at 46 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. Regular liaison and co-operation
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.[113]
Commonwealth Games
Main article: Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games are the third-largest multi-sport event in the
world, bringing together globally popular sports and peculiarly
"Commonwealth" sports, such as rugby sevens, shown here at the 2006
Games.

The Commonwealth Games, a multi-sport event, is held every four years; the
2010 Commonwealth Games were held in New Delhi, India, and the 2014
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and the 2018 Commonwealth
Games will be on Gold Coast, Australia. As well as the usual athletic
disciplines, as at the Summer Olympic Games, the games include sports
particularly popular in the Commonwealth, such as bowls, netball, and rugby
sevens. Started in 1930 as the Empire Games, the games were founded on
the Olympic model of amateurism, but were deliberately designed to be "the
Friendly Games",[114] with the goal of promoting relations between
Commonwealth countries and celebrating their shared sporting and cultural
heritage.[115]

The games are the Commonwealth's most visible activity[114] and interest in
the operation of the Commonwealth increases greatly when the Games are
held.[116] There is controversy over whether the gamesand sport generally
should be involved in the Commonwealth's wider political concerns.[115]
The 1977 Gleneagles Agreement was signed to commit Commonwealth
countries to combat apartheid through discouraging sporting contact with

South Africa (which was not then a member), whilst the 1986 games were
boycotted by most African, Asian, and Caribbean countries for the failure of
other countries to enforce the Gleneagles Agreement.[117]
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Main article: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission serves to commemorate 1.7
million Commonwealth war dead and maintains 2,500 war cemeteries around
the world, including this one in Gallipoli.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is responsible for

maintaining the war graves of 1.7 million service personnel that died in the
First and Second World Wars fighting for Commonwealth member states.
Founded in 1917 (as the Imperial War Graves Commission), the Commission
has constructed 2,500 war cemeteries, and maintains individual graves at
another 20,000 sites around the world.[118] The vast majority of the latter
are civilian cemeteries in Great Britain. In 1998, the CWGC made the records
of its buried online to facilitate easier searching.[119]

Commonwealth war cemeteries often feature similar horticulture and

architecture, with larger cemeteries being home to a Cross of Sacrifice and
Stone of Remembrance. The CWGC is notable for marking the graves
identically, regardless of the rank, country of origin, race, or religion of the
buried.[119] It is funded by voluntary agreement by six Commonwealth
members, in proportion to the nationality of the casualties in the graves
maintained,[118] with 75% of the funding coming from Britain.[119]
Commonwealth of Learning
Main article: 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.[citation needed]
Commonwealth Business Council
Main article: Commonwealth Business Council

The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) was formed at 1997 CHOGM. 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, facilitating ICT
for Development, mobilising investment, promoting corporate citizenship,
and public-private partnerships. The CBC has a dedicated team, CBC
Technologies, based in London and is focused on the international technology
and global services industry throughout the Commonwealth.[citation needed]
Culture

Many Commonwealth nations possess traditions and customs that are

elements of a shared Commonwealth culture. Examples include common
sports such as cricket and rugby, driving on the left, the Westminster system
of parliamentary democracy, common law, widespread use of the English
language, designation of English as an official language, military and naval
ranks, and the use of British rather than American spelling conventions (see
English in the Commonwealth of Nations).[citation needed]
Sport

Many Commonwealth nations play similar sports that are considered

quintessentially "British" in character, rooted in and developed under British
rule or hegemony, including football, cricket, rugby, and netball.[120] This
has led to the development of friendly national rivalries between the main
sporting nations that have often defined their relations with each another.
Indeed, said rivalries preserved close ties by providing a constant in
international relationships, even as the Empire transformed into the
Commonwealth.[121] Externally, playing these sports is seen to be a sign of
sharing a certain Commonwealth culture; the adoption of cricket at schools in
Rwanda is seen as symbolic of the country's move towards Commonwealth
membership.[122][123]

Besides the Commonwealth Games, other sporting competitions are

organised on a Commonwealth basis, through championship tournaments
such as the Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships, Commonwealth
Fencing Championships, Commonwealth Judo Championships,
Commonwealth Rowing Championships, Commonwealth Sailing

Championships, Commonwealth Shooting Championships and Commonwealth

Pool Lifesaving Championships. The Commonwealth Boxing Council has long
maintained Commonwealth titles for the best boxers in the Commonwealth.
[citation needed]
Literature

See also: Postcolonial literature, Migrant literature, and the various national
literatures of the former British Commonwealth

The shared history of British presence has produced a substantial body of

writing in many languages, known as Commonwealth literature.[124][125]
The Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, with
nine chapters worldwide and an international conference is held every three
years.[citation needed]
In English

In 1987, the Commonwealth Foundation established the annual

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". Prizes are awarded for the best book and best
first book in the Commonwealth, as well as regional prizes for the best book
and best first book from each of four regions. Although not officially affiliated
with the Commonwealth, the prestigious Man Booker Prize is awarded
annually to an author from a Commonwealth country or the three former
members, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the Gambia. This honour is one of the
highest in literature.[126] From 1950 on a significant number of writers from
the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations began gaining international
recognition, including some who migrated to the United Kingdom. There had
of course been a few important works in English prior to 1950 from the then
British Empire. The South African writer Olive Schreiner's famous novel The
Story of an African Farm was published in 1883 and New Zealander Katherine
Mansfield published her first collection of short stories, In a German Pension,
in 1911. The first major novelist, writing in English, from the Indian subcontinent, R. K. Narayan, began publishing in England in the 1930s, thanks to
the encouragement of English novelist Graham Greene.[127] Caribbean
writer Jean Rhys's writing career began as early as 1928, though her most
famous work, Wide Sargasso Sea, was not published until 1966. South Africa's
Alan Paton's famous Cry, the Beloved Country dates from 1948. Doris Lessing

from Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, was a dominant presence in the

English literary scene, frequently publishing from 1950 on throughout the
20th century, and she won the nobel prize for literature in 2007.[citation
needed]

Salman Rushdie is another post Second World War writers from the former
British colonies who permanently settled in Britain. Rushdie achieved fame
with Midnight's Children 1981. His most controversial novel The Satanic
Verses 1989, was inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. V. S. Naipaul
(born 1932), born in Trinidad, was another immigrant, who wrote among other
things A Bend in the River (1979). Naipaul won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
[128]

Many other Commonwealth writers have achieved an international reputation

for works in English, including Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, and
playwright Wole Soyinka. Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986,
as did South African novelist Nadine Gordimer in 1995. Other South African
writers in English are novelist J.M. Coetzee (Nobel Prize 2003) and playwright
Athol Fugard. Kenya's most internationally renowned author is Ngg wa
Thiong'o who has written novels, plays and short stories in English. Poet
Derek Walcott, from St Lucia in the Caribbean, was another Nobel Prize
winner in 1992. An Australian Patrick White, a major novelist in this period,
whose first work was published in 1939, won in (1973). Other noteworthy
Australian writers at the end of this period are poet Les Murray, and novelist
Peter Carey (born 1943), who is one of only four writers to have won the
Booker Prize twice.[129]
Political system
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Due to their shared constitutional histories, several countries in the

Commonwealth have similar legal and political systems. The Commonwealth
requires its members to be functioning democracies that respect human
rights and the rule of law. Most Commonwealth countries have the
Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association facilitates co-operation between legislatures across

the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum

promotes good governance amongst local government officials. Most
Commonwealth members use common law, modelled on English law. The
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the supreme court of 14
Commonwealth members.
Symbols
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by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove
this template message)

The Commonwealth has adopted a number of symbols that represent the

association of its members. The English language is recognised as a symbol
of the members' heritage; as well as being considered a symbol of the
Commonwealth, recognition of it as "the means of Commonwealth
communication" is a prerequisite for Commonwealth membership.

The flag of the Commonwealth consists of the symbol of the Commonwealth

Secretariat, a gold globe surrounded by emanating "rays", on a dark blue
field; it was designed for the second CHOGM in 1973, and officially adopted
on 26 March 1976. 1976 also saw the organisation agree to a common date
on which to commemorate Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in
March, having developed separately on different dates from Empire Day
celebrations.
Recognition

In 2009, to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth,

the Royal Commonwealth Society commissioned a poll of public opinion in
seven of the member states: Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Malaysia,
South Africa and the United Kingdom. It found that most people in these
countries were largely ignorant of the Commonwealth's activities, aside from
the Commonwealth Games, and indifferent toward its future. Support for the
Commonwealth was twice as high in developing countries as in developed
countries; it was lowest in Great Britain.[130][131][132][133]
See also

iconCommonwealth realms portal

Anglosphere
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of Post-Soviet states
outside the European Union
Community of Portuguese Language Countries, an equivalent grouping of
Portuguese-speaking countries and territories
English-speaking world
List of economic communities
Representatives of the Commonwealth of Nations

Notes

1. ^ The Commonwealth of Nations is sometimes called the "British

Commonwealth" to differentiate it from the Commonwealth of Independent
States, also called the "Russian Commonwealth".[134]

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Further reading

N Mansergh, The Commonwealth in the World, University of Toronto Press,

1982. ISBN 0-8020-2492-0.
R J Moore, Making the New Commonwealth, Clarendon Press, 1988. ISBN 019-820112-5.
(French) C A Auplat, Les ONG du Commonwealth contemporain: rles,
bilans et perspectives, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2003. ISBN 2-7475-5513-5.
Timothy M Shaw, Commonwealth: Inter- and Non-State Contributions to
Global Governance, Routledge, 2008. ISBN 978-0-415-35120-1 (hbk); ISBN
978-0-415-35121-8 (pbk).
K C Wheare, The Constitutional Structure of the Commonwealth, Clarendon
Press, 1960. ISBN 0-313-23624-0.
W D McIntyre, A Guide to the Contemporary Commonwealth, Palgrave,
2001. ISBN 0-333-96310-5.

External links
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