The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations[2] (formerly the British
Commonwealth),[3][1] also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an
intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly
former territories of the British Empire.[4] The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth operates
by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through
the
Commonwealth Secretariat and non-governmental organisations,
organised through the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Foundation.[5]
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth dates back to the mid-20th century with the
decolonisation of the
British Empire
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, and while there are over 31
republics and five monarchies who have a different monarch, the Queen
is the ceremonial head of state and reigning constitutional monarch of
only 16 members of the Commonwealth, known as
Commonwealth
Commonwealth realms. The
position of the crown remains legally distinct from the position of
monarch and the position of the Head of the Commonwealth.
The Queen has since ceased to be the head of state or have any formal
position in several nations of the commonwealth including India,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Malaysia
Malaysia and Singapore.[7]
Member states have no legal obligation to one another. Instead, they
are united by language, history, culture and their shared values of
democracy, free speech, human rights, and the rule of law.[5] These
values are enshrined in the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Charter[8] and promoted by
the quadrennial
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games.
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2
(11,566,870 sq mi), equivalent to 20% of the world's land
area. It spans all six inhabited continents. With an estimated
population of 2.419 billion people, nearly a third of the world
population,[9] the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth in 2014 produced a nominal gross
domestic product (GDP) of $10.45 trillion, representing 14% of the
gross world product when measured nominally and 17% of the gross world
product when measured in purchasing power parity (PPP).
Contents
1 History
1.1 Origin
1.2 Dominions
1.3
Decolonisation
Decolonisation and self-governance
1.4 Declining roles
1.5 Republics
1.6 New Commonwealth
1.7 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
Commonwealth Secretariat
2.4
Commonwealth
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 Economic data by member
5.2 Postwar
5.2.1 UK joins the European Economic Community
5.3 Trade
6
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Family
6.1
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Foundation
6.2
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games
6.3
Commonwealth
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
6.4
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Learning
6.5 The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Local Government Forum
7 Culture
7.1 Sport
7.2 Literature
7.2.1 English as official language
7.3 Political system
7.4 Symbols
7.5 Recognition
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Further reading
11.1 Primary sources
12 External links
History
Origin
Main articles:
British Empire
British Empire and Historiography of the British Empire
The prime ministers of five members at the 1944
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Prime
Ministers' Conference. (L-R)
Mackenzie King
Mackenzie King (Canada);
Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts (South
Africa);
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill (United Kingdom); Peter Fraser (New
Zealand);
John Curtin
John Curtin (Australia)
Queen Elizabeth II, in her address to
Canada
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Canada_(Pantone).svg.png)
Canada on
Dominion
Dominion Day in 1959,
pointed out that the confederation of
Canada
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
Commonwealth of Nations."[10] As long ago as 1884 Lord Rosebery had
described, while visiting Australia, the changing British Empire, as
some of its colonies became more independent, as a "
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of
Nations".[11] 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.[12]
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. A specific
proposal was presented by
Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts in 1917 when he coined the term
"the British
Commonwealth
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.[13][14] The term first received imperial statutory
recognition in the
Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, when the term British
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations was substituted for
British Empire
British Empire in the
wording of the oath taken by members of parliament of the Irish Free
State.[15]
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
Commonwealth of Nations." These
aspects to the relationship were formalised by the Statute of
Westminster in 1931, which applied to
Canada
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
Canada as its
10th province in 1949.[16]
Australia
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand ratified the
Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively.[17][18]
Although the Union of
South Africa
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 1934—were passed to confirm South
Africa's status as a sovereign state.[19]
Decolonisation
Decolonisation and self-governance
Main article: List of countries that have gained independence from the
United Kingdom
After
World War II
World War II ended, the
British Empire
British Empire was gradually dismantled.
Most of its components have become independent countries, whether
Commonwealth realms
Commonwealth realms or republics, and members of the Commonwealth.
There remain the 14 mainly self-governing British overseas territories
which retain some political association with the United Kingdom. In
April 1949, following the
London
London Declaration, the word "British" was
dropped from the title of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth to reflect its changing
nature.[20]
Burma
Burma (also known as Myanmar, 1948) and
Aden
Aden (1967) are the only
states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have
joined the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth upon independence. Former British
protectorates and mandates that did not become members of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth are
Egypt
Egypt (independent in 1922),
Iraq
Iraq (1932), Transjordan
(1946),
British Palestine
British Palestine (part of which became the state of
Israel
Israel in
1948),
Sudan
Sudan (1956),
British Somaliland
British Somaliland (which united with the former
Italian Somaliland
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946).svg.png)
Italian Somaliland in 1960 to form the Somali Republic), Kuwait
(1961),
Bahrain
Bahrain (1971),
Oman
Oman (1971),
Qatar
Qatar (1971), and the United Arab
Emirates (1971).[21]
Declining roles
The postwar
Commonwealth
Commonwealth was given a fresh mission by Queen Elizabeth
in her Christmas Day 1953 broadcast, where she envisioned the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth as "an entirely new conception – built on the highest
qualities of the Spirit of Man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire
for freedom and peace."[22] Hoped for success was reinforced by such
achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four
minute mile in 1954, and in 1966 a solo circumnavigation of the
globe.[23] However, the humiliation of the
Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis of 1956 badly
hurt morale of Britain and the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth as a whole. More broadly,
there was the loss of a central role of the British Empire: the
defence of the Empire. That role was no longer militarily or
financially feasible, as Britain's withdrawal from Greece in 1947 had
painfully demonstrated. Britain itself was now just one part of the
NATO
NATO military alliance in which the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth had no role apart
from Canada. The ANZUS treaty of 1955 linked Australia, New Zealand,
and the
United States
United States in a defensive alliance, with Britain and the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth left out. The second major function of the Empire made
London
London the financial centre of the system. After the Second World War,
the British treasury was so weak that it could not operate
independently of the United States. The loss of defence and financial
roles, furthermore, undermined Joseph Chamberlain's early 20th century
vision of a world empire that could combine Imperial preference,
mutual defence, and social growth arm. Furthermore, Britain's
cosmopolitan role in world affairs became increasingly limited,
especially with the losses of
India
India and Singapore.[24] While British
elites at first hoped the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth would preserve and project
British influence, they gradually lost their enthusiasm, argues
Krishnan Srinivasan. Early enthusiasm waned as British policies came
under fire in
Commonwealth
Commonwealth meetings. Public opinion became troubled as
immigration from non-white member states became large-scale.[25]
Republics
On 18 April 1949, Ireland formally became a republic in accordance
with the Irish
Republic
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
Commonwealth since the early 1930s
and was content to leave the Commonwealth, other dominions wished to
become republics without losing
Commonwealth
Commonwealth ties. The issue came to a
head in April 1949 at a
Commonwealth
Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in
London. Under the
London
London Declaration,
India
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
George VI told the Indian politician Krishna Menon: "So,
I've become 'as such'".[26] The other
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries
recognised India's continuing membership of the association. At
Pakistan's insistence,
India
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
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
Planners in the interwar period, like Lord Davies, who had also taken
"a prominent part in building up the
League of Nations
League of Nations Union" in the
United Kingdom, in 1932 founded the New
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Society, of which
British section
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill became the president.[27] 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
Commonwealth has been used in the UK (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.[28] Britain and the pre-1945
dominions became informally known as the Old Commonwealth, or more
pointedly as the white Commonwealth.[29]
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
Commonwealth was four times larger than trade with Europe. The British
government under Prime Minister
Anthony Eden
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.[30][31][32]
Britain also considered inviting Scandinavian and other European
countries to join the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth so it would become a major economic
common market. At one point in October 1956 Eden and French Prime
Minister
Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet discussed having
France
France join the Commonwealth.[33]
Nothing came of any of the proposals.[34]
Structure
Head of the Commonwealth
Main article: Head of the Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth
Under the formula of the
London
London Declaration, Queen
Elizabeth II
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
Commonwealth realms,[35] the 16 members of
the
Commonwealth
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.[36] The position is
symbolic, representing the free association of independent
members,[35] 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
.svg/800px-World_location_map_(equirectangular_180).svg.png)
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
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.[35]
The head of government hosting the CHOGM is called the Commonwealth
Chairperson-in-Office and retains the position until the following
CHOGM.[37] After the most recent CHOGM, in Valletta, Malta, from 26 to
29 November 2015 Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, became the
Chairperson-in-Office and will continue to hold the title until the
next CHOGM.[citation needed]
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Secretariat
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House, London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth
Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental
institution
The
Commonwealth
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
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.[38]
The secretariat is headed by the
Commonwealth Secretary-General
Commonwealth Secretary-General who is
elected by
Commonwealth
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 Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of
Asthal, from Dominica, who took office on 1 April 2016, succeeding
Kamalesh Sharma
Kamalesh Sharma of
India
India (2008–2016). The first secretary-general
was
Arnold Smith of
Canada
Canada (1965–75), followed by Sir Shridath
Ramphal of
Guyana
Guyana (1975–90), Chief
Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria
(1990–99), and
Don McKinnon
.jpg/440px-Don_McKinnon_(cropped).jpg)
Don McKinnon of
New Zealand
New Zealand (2000–2008).[38]
Commonwealth
Commonwealth citizenship and high commissioners
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth citizen
In recognition of their shared heritage and culture, Commonwealth
countries are not considered to be "foreign" to each
other,[39][40][41] although the technical extent of this concept
varies in different countries. For example, in Australia, for the
purpose of considering certain constitutional and legal provisions no
distinction is made between
Commonwealth
Commonwealth and foreign countries: in the
High Court case of Sue v Hill, other
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries were held
to be foreign powers; similarly, in Nolan v Minister for Immigration
and Ethnic Affairs, the nationals of other
Commonwealth realms
Commonwealth realms were
held to be 'aliens'. Nevertheless, the closer association amongst
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries is reflected at least in the diplomatic
protocols of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries. For example, when engaging
bilaterally with one another,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth governments exchange high
commissioners instead of ambassadors. Between two
Commonwealth
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
Commonwealth countries preferentially to citizens of non-Commonwealth
countries. Britain and several others, mostly in the Caribbean, grant
the right to vote to
Commonwealth
Commonwealth citizens who reside in those
countries. In non-
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries in which their own country is
not represented,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth citizens may seek consular assistance at
the British embassy.[42] Other alternatives can also occur such as an
emergency consular services agreement between
Canada
Canada and Australia
that began in 1986.[43]
Membership
Members of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth shaded according to their political
status.
Commonwealth realms
Commonwealth realms are shown in blue, republics in pink, and
members with their own monarchy are displayed in green.
Criteria
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria
The criteria for membership of the
Commonwealth
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
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".[44] 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
London Declaration upon
becoming a republic). The 14 points of the 1971
Singapore
Singapore Declaration
dedicated all members to the principles of world peace, liberty, human
rights, equality, and free trade.[45]
These criteria were unenforceable for two decades,[46] until, in 1991,
the
Harare Declaration was issued, dedicating the leaders to applying
the
Singapore
Singapore principles to the completion of decolonisation, the end
of the Cold War, and the end of apartheid in South Africa.[47] The
mechanisms by which these principles would be applied were created,
and the manner clarified, by the 1995 Millbrook
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Action
Programme, which created the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group
(CMAG), which has the power to rule on whether members meet the
requirements for membership under the Harare Declaration.[48] 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.[49]
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
Commonwealth realms as the Head of the
Commonwealth, accept the
English language
English language as the means of Commonwealth
communication, and respect the wishes of the general population with
regard to
Commonwealth
Commonwealth membership.[49] 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.[50] New members were not admitted at this
meeting, though applications for admission were considered at the 2009
CHOGM.[51]
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
Samoa to New Zealand, Papua
New Guinea to Australia, and
Namibia
Namibia to South Africa). The first
member to be admitted without having any constitutional link to the
British Empire
British Empire or a
Commonwealth
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.[52] In 2009,
Rwanda
Rwanda became the second
Commonwealth
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.[53]
Consideration for its admission was considered an "exceptional
circumstance" by the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Secretariat.[54]
Members
Main article: Member states of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
Flags of the members of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth in Parliament Square, London
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth flag flying at the Parliament of
Canada
Canada in Ottawa
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth comprises 53 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
India and 94% live in Asia and Africa combined.[55] After India, the
next-largest
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries by population are Pakistan
(180 million),
Nigeria
Nigeria (170 million), Bangladesh
(156 million), the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom (65 million), South Africa
(55 million)
Canada
Canada (36 million),
Ghana
Ghana (27 million)
and
Australia
Australia (24 million).
Tuvalu
Tuvalu is the smallest member, with
about 10,000 people.[56]
The land area of the
Commonwealth
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
Commonwealth nations by area are
Canada
Canada at
9,984,670 km2 (3,855,100 sq mi),
Australia
Australia at
7,617,930 km2 (2,941,300 sq mi), and
India
India at
3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi).[57] In 2016, the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth members had a combined gross domestic product of over $9
trillion, 78% of which is accounted for by the four largest economies:
United Kingdom
United Kingdom ($2.629 trillion),
India
India ($2.256 trillion), Canada
($1.529 trillion), and
Australia
Australia ($1.258 trillion).[58]
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
Commonwealth Membership's recommendation.[59] There are currently no
Members in Arrears. The most recent Member in Arrears, Nauru, returned
to full membership in June 2011.[60]
Nauru
Nauru has alternated between
special and full membership since joining the Commonwealth, depending
on its financial situation.[61]
Applicants
See also:
Commonwealth
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
Commonwealth values, principles and
priorities as set out in the Harare Declaration; and that it should
accept
Commonwealth
Commonwealth norms and conventions.[62]
South Sudanese politicians have expressed interest in joining the
Commonwealth.[63] A senior
Commonwealth
Commonwealth source argued in 2006 that
"many people have assumed an interest from Israel, but there has been
no formal approach".[64] The
State of Palestine
State of Palestine is also a potential
candidate for membership.[64]
President
Yahya Jammeh
Yahya Jammeh unilaterally withdrew
The Gambia
The Gambia from the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth in October 2013.[65] However, newly elected president
Adama Barrow
Adama Barrow returned the country to the organisation in February
2018.[66]
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
New Zealand if they become
fully independent.[67] Many such jurisdictions are already directly
represented within the Commonwealth, particularly through the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Family.[68] 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
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
Jersey has proposed that it be
accorded "self-representation in all
Commonwealth
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".[69] The
States of Guernsey
States of Guernsey and the
Government of the Isle of Man
Government of the Isle of Man have made
calls of a similar nature for a more integrated relationship with the
Commonwealth,[70] including more direct representation and enhanced
participation in
Commonwealth
Commonwealth organisations and meetings, including
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings.[71] The Chief Minister of
the
Isle of Man
Isle of Man has said: "A closer connection with the Commonwealth
itself would be a welcome further development of the Island's
international relationships".[72]
At the time of the
Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis in 1956, in the face of colonial unrest
and international tensions, French Premier
Guy Mollet
Guy Mollet proposed to
British Prime Minister
Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden that their two countries be joined
in a "union". When that proposal was turned down, Mollet suggested
that
France
France join 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.[73]
Suspension
Main article: Suspension from the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
In recent years, the
Commonwealth
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.[74] 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
Nigeria was suspended between 11 November 1995 and 29 May 1999,[75]
following its execution of
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Ken Saro-Wiwa on the eve of the 1995
CHOGM.[76]
Pakistan
Pakistan was the second country to be suspended, on 18
October 1999, following the military coup by Pervez Musharraf.[77] 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.[78]
Pakistan
Pakistan was suspended for a second time,
far more briefly, for six months from 22 November 2007, when Musharraf
called a state of emergency.[79]
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over
concerns regarding the electoral and land reform policies of Robert
Mugabe's ZANU-PF government,[80] before it withdrew from the
organisation in 2003.[81]
The declaration of a
Republic
Republic in
Fiji
Fiji in 1987, after military coups
designed to deny Indo-Fijians political power, was not accompanied by
an application to remain.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth membership was held to have
lapsed until 1997, after discriminatory provisions in the republican
constitution were repealed and reapplication for membership
made.[82][83]
Fiji
Fiji has since been suspended twice, with the first
imposed from 6 June 2000[84] to 20 December 2001 after another
coup.[80]
Fiji
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.[82][85] After failing to meet a
Commonwealth
Commonwealth deadline for setting a date for national elections by
2010,
Fiji
Fiji was "fully suspended" on 1 September 2009.[82][85] The
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, confirmed that
full suspension meant that
Fiji
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
Fiji would remain a member of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth during its
suspension, but would be excluded from emblematic representation by
the secretariat.[82] On 19 March 2014 Fiji's full suspension was
amended to a suspension from councils of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth by the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, permitting
Fiji
Fiji to join a
number of
Commonwealth
Commonwealth activities, including the Commonwealth
Games.[86] Fiji's suspension was lifted in September 2014.[87] The
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group fully reinstated
Fiji
Fiji as a
member following elections in September 2014.[88]
Most recently, during 2013 and 2014, international pressure mounted to
suspend
Sri Lanka
.jpg/440px-Plaque_d'immatriculation-Sri_Lanka_(2).jpg)
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
Sri Lanka to another member country. Canadian prime minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper threatened to boycott the event, but was instead
represented at the meeting by Deepak Obhrai. UK Prime Minister David
Cameron also chose to attend.[89][90] These concerns were rendered
moot by the election of opposition leader
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Sirisena as
President in 2015.
Termination
As membership is purely voluntary, member governments can choose at
any time to leave the Commonwealth.
Pakistan
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.[91]
The Gambia
The Gambia left the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth on 3 October 2013,[65] and
rejoined on 8 February 2018.[66] The
Maldives
Maldives withdrew from the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth on 13 October 2016.[92] The Maldivian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs stated that "the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth has not recognised [...] the
progress and achievements that the
Maldives
Maldives accomplished in
cultivating a culture of democracy in the country and in building and
strengthening democratic institutions".[93] The Ministry also cited
the Commonwealth's "punitive actions against the
Maldives
Maldives since 2012"
after the allegedly forced resignation of Maldivian President Mohamed
Nasheed among the reasons for withdrawal.[93] The Ministry
characterized the decision to withdraw as "difficult, but
inevitable".[93]
Although heads of government have the power to suspend member states
from active participation, the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth has no provision for the
expulsion of members. Until 2007,
Commonwealth realms
Commonwealth realms that became
republics automatically ceased to be members, until (like
India
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
Commonwealth realms were to become republics, they would not have to
go through this process.[94]
Ireland had withdrawn its participation in the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth in the
1930s, attending its last
Commonwealth
Commonwealth governmental heads' meeting in
1932. However it continued to be regarded by the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth as a
Commonwealth
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
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
Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference that any such
application would be rejected.
South Africa
South Africa was re-admitted to the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth in 1994, following its first multiracial elections that
year.[95]
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 ended the colony's
ties to the
Commonwealth
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
Commonwealth family, such as the
Commonwealth Lawyers Association (hosted the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Lawyers
Conference in 1983 and 2009), the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association (and the Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and
Procedures), the
Association of Commonwealth Universities
Association of Commonwealth Universities and the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.[96][97]
Politics
Objectives and activities
The Commonwealth's objectives were first outlined in the 1971
Singapore
Singapore Declaration, which committed the
Commonwealth
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.[98]
To these were added opposition to discrimination on the basis of
gender by the
Lusaka Declaration of 1979,[45] and environmental
sustainability by the
Langkawi Declaration of 1989.[99] These
objectives were reinforced by the
Harare Declaration in 1991.[100]
The Commonwealth's current highest-priority aims are on the promotion
of democracy and development, as outlined in the 2003 Aso Rock
Declaration,[101] which built on those in
Singapore
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."[102] The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth website lists its areas of work as: democracy, economics,
education, gender, governance, human rights, law, small states, sport,
sustainability, and youth.[103]
Through a separate voluntary fund,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth governments support
the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Youth Programme, a division of the Secretariat with
offices in
Gulu
Gulu (Uganda),
Lusaka
Lusaka (Zambia),
Chandigarh
Chandigarh (India),
Georgetown (Guyana) and
Honiara
Honiara (Solomon Islands).[citation needed]
Competence
In recent years, the
Commonwealth
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.[104]
The
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
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.[105] 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
Commonwealth member states,
recommendations for the repeal of laws against homosexuality in 41
Commonwealth
Commonwealth states and a ban on forced marriage.[106][107] 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
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
Commonwealth is not a private club of the governments or the
secretariat. It belongs to the people of the Commonwealth."[107]
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
Commonwealth without any decision
on how compliance with its principles would be enforced.[105]
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".[108][109]
Proposed free movement policy
In March 2015, the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation
proposed that the national governments of the United Kingdom,
Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand and
Canada
Canada should advocate for freedom of
movement between citizens of their countries, similar to the current
arrangement existing between
Australia
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand through the
Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.[110] In May 2016, Australian High
Commissioner to the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Alexander Downer
.jpg/300px-John_Downer_(Australian_politician).jpg)
Alexander Downer expressed support
for "freer movement" between
Australia
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
Australia and the UK, if not have completely free
movement...".[111]
Economy
Economic data by member
Economies of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations 2012
Member states
Population[112]
(2016)
GDP (nominal)[113]
(millions)
GDP (nominal)[114]
per capita
GDP (PPP)[115]
(millions)
GDP (PPP)[116]
per capita
Realm
Antigua
Antigua and Barbuda
100,963
1,176
12,480
1,778
18,492
Yes
Australia
24,125,848
1,520,608
61,789
1,008,547
41,974
Yes
Bahamas, The
391,232
8,149
22,431
11,765
31,978
Yes
Bangladesh
162,951,560
115,610
743
291,299
1,777
No
Barbados
284,996
3,685
13,453
—
—
Yes
Belize
366,954
1,448
4,059
2,381
6,672
Yes
Botswana
2,250,260
14,411
8,533
34,038
14,746
No
Brunei
423,196
16,954
40,301
21,992
51,760
No
Cameroon
23,439,189
24,984
1,260
50,820
2,359
No
Canada
36,289,822
1,821,424
50,344
1,489,165
40,420
Yes
Cyprus
1,170,125
22,981
30,670
26,720
32,254
No
Dominica
73,543
480
7,154
906
13,288
No
Ghana
28,206,728
40,710
1,570
51,943
1,871
No
Grenada
107,317
790
7,780
1,142
10,837
Yes
Guyana
773,303
2,851
3,408
2,704
—
No
India
1,324,171,354
2,281,717
1,509
8,027,000
6,209
No
Jamaica
2,881,355
14,840
5,335
—
—
Yes
Kenya
48,461,567
37,229
808
76,016
1,710
No
Kiribati
114,395
176
1,649
248
2,337
No
Lesotho
2,203,821
2,448
1,106
4,027
1,691
No
Malawi
18,091,575
4,264
365
14,344
893
No
Malaysia
31,187,265
303,526
9,977
501,249
16,051
No
Maldives
427,756
2,222
6,405
3,070
8,871
No
Malta
429,362
8,722
21,380
12,138
27,504
No
Mauritius
1,262,132
10,492
8,755
20,210
14,420
No
Mozambique
28,829,476
14,588
533
25,805
975
No
Namibia
2,479,713
12,807
5,383
16,918
6,801
No
Nauru
11,347
—
—
—
—
No
New Zealand
4,660,833
139,768
36,254
139,640
31,082
Yes
Nigeria
185,989,640
262,606
1,502
449,289
2,533
No
Pakistan
193,203,476
231,182
1,189
517,873
2,745
No
Papua New Guinea
8,084,991
15,654
1,845
20,771
2,676
Yes
Rwanda
11,917,508
7,103
8,874
15,517
1,282
No
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts and Nevis
54,821
748
13,144
966
17,226
Yes
Saint Lucia
178,015
1,186
7,154
2,016
11,597
Yes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
109,643
713
6,291
1,202
10,715
Yes
Samoa
195,125
677
3,485
853
4,475
No
Seychelles
94,228
1,032
12,321
2,371
25,788
No
Sierra Leone
7,396,190
3,796
496
8,125
1,131
No
Singapore
5,622,455
274,701
46,241
328,323
60,688
No
Solomon Islands
599,419
1,008
1,517
1,718
2,923
Yes
South Africa
56,015,473
384,313
8,070
585,625
10,960
No
Sri Lanka
20,798,492
59,421
2,835
126,993
5,582
No
Swaziland
1,343,098
3,747
3,831
6,458
6,053
No
Tanzania
55,572,201
28,249
532
74,269
1,512
No
Tonga
107,122
472
4,152
527
4,886
No
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago
1,364,962
23,986
16,699
35,638
25,074
No
Tuvalu
11,097
37
3,636
—
—
Yes
Uganda
41,487,965
19,881
487
49,130
1,345
No
United Kingdom
65,788,574
2,835,174
38,974
2,264,751
35,598
Yes
Vanuatu
270,402
785
3,094
1,139
4,379
No
Zambia
16,591,390
20,678
1,425
24,096
1,621
No
Commonwealth
2,418,964,000
9,766,209
3,844
13,119,929
4,035
—
Commonwealth
Commonwealth (realms)
144,033,000
5,966,408
43,493
4,945,842
36,053
—
Note: Figures are in US dollars.
Postwar
During the Second World War, the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth played a major role in
helping British finances. Foreign exchange reserves were pooled in
London, to be used to fight the war. In effect Britain borrowed £2.3
billion, of which £1.3 billion was from India. The debt was held in
the form of British government securities and became known as
"sterling balances." By 1950, India,
Pakistan
Pakistan and Ceylon had spent
much of their sterling, while other countries accumulated more. The
sterling area that included all of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth except for Canada,
together with some smaller countries especially in the Persian Gulf.
They held their foreign-exchange in sterling, protecting that currency
from runs, and facilitating trade and investment inside the
Commonwealth. It was a formal relationship with fixed exchange rates,
and periodic meetings at
Commonwealth
Commonwealth summits to coordinate trade
policy, and domestic economic policies. Britain ran a trade surplus,
and the other countries were mostly producers of raw materials sold to
Britain. However the British economy was sluggish, compared to Western
Europe, by the 1960s, and the commercial rationale was gradually less
attractive to the Commonwealth. Access to the growing
London
London capital
market, however, remained an important advantage to the newly
independent nations. As Britain moved increasingly close to Europe,
however, the long-term ties began to be in doubt.[117]
UK joins the European Economic Community
Britain had focused on the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth after the war, and largely
ignored links with Europe. By the 1960s with a sluggish economy
Britain tried repeatedly to join the European Economic Community, but
this was repeatedly vetoed by Charles de Gaulle.[118] After his death,
entry was finally achieved in 1972. Queen Elizabeth was one of the few
remaining links between the UK and the Commonwealth. She tried to
reassure the other countries that the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth family was joining
forces with the Europeans, and that the new links would not replace
the old
Commonwealth
Commonwealth ties based on historical attachments, which were
too sacred to break. Historian
Ben Pimlott
Ben Pimlott argues that she was
mistaken, for joining Europe, "constituted the most decisive step yet
in the progress of severance of familial ties between Britain and its
former Empire....It reduced the remaining links to sentimental and
cultural ones, and legal niceties."[119]
The newly independent countries of Africa and Asia concentrated on
their own internal political and economic development, and sometimes
with their role in the Cold War. The United States, international
agencies, and the Soviet Union became important players, and the
British role receded. Indeed, the British considered them burdensome
and were themselves alienated from traditional imperialism. The former
colonies would rather have a prosperous Britain linked to a prosperous
Europe, rather than a declining loner.[120] The dominions saw that
their historic ties with Britain were rapidly fraying. The Canadian
economy was increasingly integrated with the United States, and had
less and less to do with Britain or other
Commonwealth
Commonwealth nations.
Internal Canadian disputes revolved around the growing American
cultural economic presence, and the strong force of Québec
nationalism and even independence. In 1964 the Maple Leaf flag
replaced the old Union Jack to the sorrow of many Anglophiles—it was
"the last gasp of empire."[121]
Australia
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand were in deep
shock but kept a low profile not wanting to alienate London.[122][123]
Nevertheless, the implications of British entry into Europe:
seemed shattering to most Australians, particularly to older people
and conservatives. In fact the United Kingdom, as Australia's chief
trading partner, was being very rapidly replaced just at this time by
the
United States
United States and an economically resurgent Japan, but most people
were scarcely aware of this.... It was feared that British entry into
the Common Market was bound to mean abolition, or at least scaling
down, of preferential tariff arrangements for Australians goods.[124]
Trade
Further information:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth free trade
Although the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth does not have a multilateral trade
agreement, research by the
Royal Commonwealth Society
_(2).jpg/440px-London_Shopping_002_(6166876525)_(2).jpg)
Royal Commonwealth Society has shown that
trade with another
Commonwealth
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.[125] At the 2005
Summit in Malta, the heads of government endorsed pursuing free trade
among
Commonwealth
Commonwealth members on a bilateral basis.[126]
There have been various proposals for a
Commonwealth
Commonwealth free trade
zone,[127] however none have so far come to pass. Following its vote
in June 2016 to leave the EU, some politicians in the United Kingdom
have suggested the idea as an alternative to its membership in the
European Union,[128][129] however it is far from clear that this would
either offer sufficient economic benefit to replace the impact of
leaving the EU or be acceptable to other member states [130] Although
the EU is already in the process of negotiating free trade agreements
with many
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries such as
India
India and Canada, it took the
EU almost ten years to come to an agreement with Canada,[131][132] due
to the challenge associated with achieving the necessary EU-wide
approvals.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Family
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Family
Commonwealth
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
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
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
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.[citation needed]
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Foundation
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Foundation
The
Commonwealth Foundation
Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation,
resourced by and reporting to
Commonwealth
Commonwealth governments, and guided by
Commonwealth
Commonwealth values and priorities. Its mandate is to strengthen civil
society in the achievement of
Commonwealth
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.[133]
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games
The
Commonwealth Games
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
Commonwealth Games, a multi-sport event, is held every four years;
the 2010
Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games were held in New Delhi, India, and the
2014
Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and the 2018
Commonwealth Games
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",[134] with the goal
of promoting relations between
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries and celebrating
their shared sporting and cultural heritage.[135]
The games are the Commonwealth's most visible activity[134] and
interest in the operation of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth increases greatly when
the Games are held.[136] There is controversy over whether the
games—and sport generally—should be involved in the Commonwealth's
wider political concerns.[135] The 1977
Gleneagles Agreement was
signed to commit
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries to combat apartheid through
discouraging sporting contact with
South Africa
South Africa (which was not then a
member), whilst the 1986 games were boycotted by most African, Asian,
and
Caribbean
.svg/400px-Antillas_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Caribbean countries for the failure of other countries to enforce
the Gleneagles Agreement.[137]
Commonwealth
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission serves to commemorate
1.7 million
Commonwealth
Commonwealth war dead and maintains 2,500 war
cemeteries around the world, including this one in Gallipoli.
The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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.[138] 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.[139]
Commonwealth
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.[139] It is funded by voluntary
agreement by six
Commonwealth
Commonwealth members, in proportion to the
nationality of the casualties in the graves maintained,[138] with 75%
of the funding coming from Britain.[139]
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Learning
Main article:
Commonwealth
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]
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Local Government Forum
Main article:
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Local Government Forum
The
Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) is a global local
government organisation, bringing together local authorities, their
national associations and the ministries responsible for local
government in the member countries of the Commonwealth. CLGF works
with national and local governments to support the development of
democratic values and good local governance and is the associated
organisation officially recognised by
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Heads of Government
as the representative body for local government in the
Commonwealth.[140]
CLGF is unique in bringing together central, provincial and local
spheres of government involved in local government policy and
decision-making. CLGF members include local government associations,
individual local authorities, ministries dealing with local
government, and research and professional organisations who work with
local government. Practitioner to practitioner support is at the core
of CLGF's work across the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth and within the region, using
CLGF's own members to support others both within and between regions.
CLGF is a member of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional
Governments, the formal partner of the UN Major Group of Local
Authorities.[141]
Culture
Many
Commonwealth
Commonwealth nations possess traditions and customs that are
elements of a shared
Commonwealth
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
Commonwealth of
Nations).[citation needed]
Sport
Many
Commonwealth
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.[142] 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.[143] Externally,
playing these sports is seen to be a sign of sharing a certain
Commonwealth
Commonwealth culture; the adoption of cricket at schools in
Rwanda
Rwanda is
seen as symbolic of the country's move towards Commonwealth
membership.[144][145]
Besides the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Games, other sporting competitions are
organised on a
Commonwealth
Commonwealth basis, through championship tournaments
such as the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Fencing
Championships,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Judo Championships,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Rowing
Championships,
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Sailing Championships, Commonwealth
Shooting Championships and
Commonwealth
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
Postcolonial literature and Migrant literature
The shared history of British presence has produced a substantial body
of writing in many languages, known as Commonwealth
literature.[146][147] The Association for
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Literature and
Language Studies, with nine chapters worldwide and an international
conference is held every three years.[citation needed]
English as official language
In 1987, the
Commonwealth Foundation
Commonwealth Foundation established the annual
Commonwealth Writers' Prize "to encourage and reward the upsurge of
new
Commonwealth
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 annual Man Booker Prize, one of the highest honours in
literature,[148] used to be awarded only to authors from Commonwealth
countries or former members such as Ireland and Zimbabwe. Since 2014,
however, writers of any nationality have been eligible for the prize
providing that they write originally in English and their novels are
published by established publishers in the United Kingdom[149] From
1950 on a significant number of writers from the countries of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations began gaining international recognition,
including some who migrated to the United Kingdom. There had 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
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 sub-continent, R. K. Narayan, began
publishing in
England
England in the 1930s, thanks to the encouragement of
English novelist Graham Greene.[150]
Caribbean
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
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. She won the
Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007.[151]
Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie is another post Second World War writer from the former
British colonies who permanently settled in Britain. Rushdie achieved
fame with
Midnight's Children
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
A Bend in the River (1979). Naipaul won the
Nobel Prize in Literature.[152]
Many other
Commonwealth
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 in
Literature in 1986, as did South African novelist
Nadine Gordimer
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
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
.jpg/440px-Ngũgĩ_wa_Thiong'o_(signing_autographs_in_London).jpg)
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o who has written
novels, plays and short stories in English. Poet Derek Walcott, from
Saint Lucia
Saint 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
Booker Prize twice.[153]
Political system
Due to their shared constitutional histories, several countries in the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth have similar legal and political systems. The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth requires its members to be functioning democracies that
respect human rights and the rule of law. Most
Commonwealth
Commonwealth countries
have the bicameral
Westminster system
Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. The
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
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
Commonwealth members use common law,
modelled on English law. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
is the supreme court of 14
Commonwealth
Commonwealth members.[154]
Symbols
The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth has adopted a number of symbols that represent the
association of its members. The
English language
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
Commonwealth membership. The flag
of the
Commonwealth
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
Commonwealth Day, the second
Monday in March, having developed separately on different dates from
Empire Day
.jpg/480px-Commonwealth_Day_2014_(13059084565).jpg)
Empire Day celebrations.[155]
Recognition
In 2009, to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
Commonwealth, the
Royal Commonwealth Society
Royal Commonwealth Society commissioned a poll of
public opinion in seven of the member states: Australia, Canada,
India, Jamaica, Malaysia,
South Africa
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
Commonwealth Games, and
indifferent toward its future. Support for the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth was twice
as high in developing countries as in developed countries; it was
lowest in Great Britain.[156][157][158][159]
See also
Commonwealth realms
Commonwealth realms portal
Anglosphere
Commonwealth
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 country groupings
List of multilateral free-trade agreements
List of
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations countries by GDP
Representatives of the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
Notes
1. ^ The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations is sometimes called the "British
Commonwealth" to differentiate it from the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Independent
States, also called the "Russian Commonwealth".[160][self-published
source]
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^ McDougall, Derek (July 2005). "
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^ Muda, Muhammad (April 1998). "The significance of the Commonwealth
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^ a b Dare, Annie (15 October 2000). "Ten Key Things About War
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^ a b c Binyon, Michael (22 January 1999). "Millions trace war dead on
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^ "
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^ "Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments".
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^ Perkin, Harold (September 1989). "Teaching the nations how to play:
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^ Michael, Dawson (February 2006). "Acting global, thinking local:
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^ Jonathan, Clayton (20 November 2007). "Schoolboy cricketers bat
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^ Hill, Douglas (1 October 1988). "A report on stories from the
outposts of
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^ McCrum, Robert (13 October 2003). "English Is a World Language –
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^ Iyer, Pico (12 February 1993). "The Empire Writes Back". The Straits
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^ "Meet the Man
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Further reading
Ashton, Sarah R. "British government perspectives on the Commonwealth,
1964–71: An asset or a liability?." Journal of Imperial and
Commonwealth
Commonwealth History 35.1 (2007): 73–94.
Bloomfield, Valerie.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Elections 1945–1970 (1976).
Cook, Chris and John Paxton.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Political Facts (Macmillan,
1978).
Lloyd, Lorna. Diplomacy with a difference: the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Office of
High Commissioner, 1880–2006 (Brill, 2007).
McIntyre, W. David. The commonwealth of nations: Origins and impact,
1869–1971 (U of Minnesota Press, 1977).
McIntyre, W. David. A Guide to the Contemporary Commonwealth,
Palgrave, 2001. ISBN 0-333-96310-5.
McIntyre, W. David. "The Unofficial
Commonwealth
Commonwealth Relations
Conferences, 1933–59: Precursors of the Tri-sector Commonwealth."
Journal of Imperial and
Commonwealth
Commonwealth History 36.4 (2008): 591–614.
Madden, Frederick and John Darwin, eds. The Dependent Empire,
1900–1948: Colonies, Protectorates, and the Mandates (1994) 908 pp
online
Maitland, Donald. ed. Britain, the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth and Europe (Palgrave
Macmillan UK, 2001) online
Mansergh, N. The
Commonwealth
Commonwealth in the World,
University
University of Toronto
Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8020-2492-0.
Moore, R.J. Making the New Commonwealth, Clarendon Press, 1988.
ISBN 0-19-820112-5.
Murphy, Philip. Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor,
the British Government, and the Postwar
Commonwealth
Commonwealth (Oxford UP 2013)
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199214235.001.0001
Perkin, Harold. "Teaching the nations how to play: sport and society
in the British empire and Commonwealth." International Journal of the
History of Sport 6.2 (1989): 145–155.
Shaw, Timothy M. Commonwealth: Inter- and Non-State Contributions to
Global Governance, Routledge, 2008. ISBN 978-0-415-35120-1
Srinivasan, Krishnan. The rise, decline and future of the British
Commonwealth. (Springer, 2005).
Wheare, K. C. The Constitutional Structure of the Commonwealth,
Clarendon Press, 1960. ISBN 0-313-23624-0.
Williams, Paul D. "Blair's Britain and the Commonwealth." The Round
Table 94.380 (2005): 381–391.
Winks, Robin, ed. The Historiography of the British
Empire-Commonwealth: Trends, Interpretations and Resources (1966)
online
Primary sources
Madden, Frederick, ed. The End of Empire: Dependencies since 1948:
Select Documents on the Constitutional History of the British Empire
and Commonwealth: The West Indies, British Honduras, Hong Kong, Fiji,
Cyprus, Gibraltar, and the Falklands (2000) online 596pp
Madden, Frederick, and John Darwin, ed. The Dependent Empire:
1900–1948: Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandates (1963) 908pp online
Mansergh, Nicholas, ed. Documents and Speeches on Commonwealth
Affairs, 1952–1962 (1963) 804pp online
External links
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Europe
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19th and 20th century
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Since 1670 Cayman Islands
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1762–1974 *Grenada
1763–1978 Dominica
1763–1873 Prince Edward Island
1763–1791 Quebec
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1763–1783 West Florida
1784–1867 New Brunswick
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1841–1867 Canada
1849–1866 Vancouver Island
1853–1863 Queen Charlotte Islands
1858–1866 British Columbia
1859–1870 North-Western Territory
1860–1981 *British
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Antigua and Barbuda
1862–1863 Stickeen
1866–1871 British Columbia
1867–1931 *
Dominion
Dominion of Canada2
1871–1964 Honduras
1882–1983 *
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts and Nevis
1889–1962
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago
1907–1949 Newfoundland3
1958–1962 West Indies Federation
1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931,
Canada
Canada and other British dominions obtained
self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of
Canada.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion
until it joined
Canada
Canada in 1949.
South America
1631–1641 Providence Island
1651–1667 Willoughbyland
1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands4
1831–1966 Guiana
Since 1833 Falkland Islands5
Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands5
4. Now a department of Colombia.
5. Occupied by Argentina during the
Falklands War
_1982.jpg/602px-Falklands,_Campaign,_(Distances_to_bases)_1982.jpg)
Falklands War of April–June
1982.
Africa
17th and 18th centuries
19th century
20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena14
1792–1961 Sierra Leone
1795–1803 Cape Colony
Since 1815 Ascension Island14
Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha14
1806–1910 Cape of Good Hope
1807–1808 Madeira
1810–1968 Mauritius
1816–1965 The Gambia
1856–1910 Natal
1862–1906 Lagos
1868–1966 Basutoland
1874–1957 Gold Coast
1882–1922 Egypt
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1884–1960 Somaliland
1887–1897 Zululand
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1890–1963 Zanzibar
1891–1964 Nyasaland
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1893–1968 Swaziland
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1899–1956 Sudan
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1900–1914 Southern Nigeria
1900–1910 Orange River
1900–1910 Transvaal
1903–1976 Seychelles
1910–1931 South Africa
1914–1960 Nigeria
1915–1931 South-West Africa
1919–1961 Cameroons6
1920–1963 Kenya
1922–1961 Tanganyika6
1923–1965 and 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia7
1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia
6.
League of Nations
League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing
Southern Rhodesia
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Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared
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Zimbabwe
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20th century
1685–1824 Bencoolen
1702–1705 Pulo Condore
1757–1947 Bengal
1762–1764 Manila and Cavite
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1796–1965 Maldives
1811–1816 Java
1812–1824 Banka and Billiton
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1826–1946 Straits Settlements
1839–1967 Aden
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1841–1997 Hong Kong
1841–1946 Sarawak
1848–1946 Labuan
1858–1947 India
1874–1963 Borneo
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1882–1963 North Borneo
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1888–1984 Brunei
1891–1971 Muscat and Oman
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1895–1946 Federated Malay States
1898–1930 Weihai
1878–1960 Cyprus
1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate)
1918–1961 Kuwait
1920–1932 Mesopotamia8
1921–1946 Transjordan8
1923–1948 Palestine8
1945–1946 South Vietnam
1946–1963 North Borneo
1946–1963 Sarawak
1946–1963 Singapore
1946–1948 Malayan Union
1948–1957 Federation of Malaya
Since 1960
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus)
Since 1965
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius
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8
League of Nations
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Oceania
18th and 19th centuries
20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales
1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania
1807–1863 Auckland Islands9
1824–1980 New Hebrides
1824–1901 Queensland
1829–1901 Swan River/Western Australia
1836–1901 South Australia
since 1838 Pitcairn Islands
1841–1907 New Zealand
1851–1901 Victoria
1874–1970 Fiji10
1877–1976 Western Pacific Territories
1884–1949 Papua
1888–1901 Rarotonga/Cook Islands9
1889–1948 Union Islands9
1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands11
1893–1978 Solomon Islands12
1900–1970 Tonga
1900–1974 Niue9
1901–1942 *Australia
1907–1947 *New Zealand
1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru
1919–1949 New Guinea
1949–1975 Papua and New Guinea13
9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now
Kiribati
Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.
Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena14
Since 1815 Ascension Island14
Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha14
Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory15
1841–1933
Australian Antarctic Territory
Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Australia)
1841–1947
Ross Dependency
Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da
Cunha;
Ascension Island
Ascension Island (1922–) and
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were
previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British
Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands).
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