The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a wiktionary:biennial, biennial summit meeting of the List of current heads of state and government, governmental leaders from all Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. ...

s (CHOGM); assisting and advising on policy development; and providing assistance to countries in implementing the decisions and policies of the Commonwealth. The Secretariat has

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...

status in the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. It is located at

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...

in London, the United Kingdom, a former royal residence that was given by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Head of the Commonwealth The Head of the Commonwealth is the ceremonial leader who symbolises "the free association of independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation that currently comprises 56 sovereign states. There is ...

at the time. Today, the Head of the Commonwealth is

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

History

The Secretariat was established by the

Heads of Government In the executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

in 1965, taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom Government's Commonwealth Relations Office, as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Secretariat was to serve as an "information exchange" for the Commonwealth Prime Ministers. At the same time, the United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, the

Commonwealth Foundation The Commonwealth Foundation (CF) is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the list of Commonwealth heads of government, Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1966, a year after its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secre ...

, which was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the Commonwealth Family network of civil societies. Other attempts by members to create similar central bodies, such as a medical conference (proposed by

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

), a development bank (

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

), and an institution for satellite communications (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) failed. The creation of the Secretariat itself was a contentious issue. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and other long-established countries had hoped to slow the expansion of Commonwealth membership to prevent the dilution of their traditional power within the Commonwealth (particularly after the admission of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

). The newer members of the Commonwealth wanted to reduce British power and influence, so formed the Secretariat which would be operated and financed by members from all Commonwealth countries. By diversifying the staff who worked in the Commonwealth, different points of view and perspectives would be seen. This may have involved a dual-tiered Commonwealth, requiring the continuation of the organisation of Commonwealth co-operation by meetings, rather than a central administration. However, the new African members were keener to create an independent inter-governmental "central clearing house" (as

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

described it) to remove power from the older dominions.

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan politician who served as the second prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the second president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985. A Lango, ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

was the first to propose a specifically titled "secretariat", which was then formally proposed by

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, who wished to see it based upon the secretariats of the OAS,

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

, and OAU. Earlier attempts at the formation of a central secretariat had failed.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

had proposed the establishment four times (in 1907, 1924, 1932, and 1944), whilst

had also made proposals in 1909 and 1956. Finally, in July 1964, the Commonwealth Prime Ministers met in London to discuss the establishment of an independent secretariat for the Commonwealth. Many of these members agreed and were unopposed to this idea as they believed this Secretariat would help centralize and broaden the Commonwealth for all members, not solely on Britain.

The Rhodesian Crisis

Arnold Smith, a Canadian Diplomat, was the first Commonwealth Secretary-General with Amishadai Larson Adu (A. L. Adu) of Ghana and Tilak Gooneratne of Ceylon as the first deputy secretaries-general. In 1965, the Rhodesian Declaration of Independence was issued, gaining its sovereignty from the British in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. Simultaneously, Smith was performing his first official visit as Secretary General to East and Central Africa. Due to his diplomatic peacemaking abilities, he was able to save the Commonwealth from dissolving due to clashing opinions. As a result, the prime ministers of the Commonwealth formed a sanctions committee that taught prime ministers how the sanctions they implemented on the "illegal" Salisbury regime were maintained, and a standing committee primarily focused on assisting to train Rhodesian Africans. More state crises occurred after, shifting the Secretariat's dominant focus to peacemaking efforts. The Rhodesian Crisis proved the Commonwealth Secretariat's competence and credibility as their professional diplomat skills allowed them to respond to crises immediately and efficiently.

Staff

The chief executive of the Secretariat, and of the Commonwealth as a whole, is the

Commonwealth Secretary-General The Commonwealth secretary-general, formally the secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations, is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and r ...

. All Secretariat staff report to the secretary-general, who is also responsible for spending the Secretariat's budget, which is granted by the Heads of Government. It is the secretary-general, and not the ceremonial

, that represents the Commonwealth publicly. The

is more of a symbolic role, chosen by the Commonwealth leaders with no maximum set term. The secretary-general is elected by the Heads of Government at the

Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a wiktionary:biennial, biennial summit meeting of the List of current heads of state and government, governmental leaders from all Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. ...

s for a maximum of two terms of four years; until 2000, a term was five years. The current Secretary-General is

's Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who replaced Patricia Scotland as secretary-general on 1 April 2025. The secretary-general is assisted by three deputy secretaries-general: one responsible for economic affairs (currently Deodat Maharaj), one for political affairs ( Josephine Ojiambo), and one for corporate affairs (Gary Dunn). The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at his own discretion, provided the Secretariat can afford it, whilst the more senior staff may be appointed only from a shortlist of nominations from the Heads of Government. In practice, the secretary-general has more power than this; member governments consult the secretary-general on nominations, and secretaries-general have also at times submitted nominations of their own. The

Commonwealth Chair-in-Office The Commonwealth Chair-in-Office (CIO) is the Chairman-in-Office, Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth of Nations, and is one of the main leadership positions in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth. It is held by the host chairperson of th ...

is responsible for the representing the Commonwealth at "high-level international meetings and reinforces the Good Offices role of the Commonwealth Secretary-General." The "Good Offices" primarily focus on conflict resolution for the Commonwealth. The Current Commonwealth Chair-in-Office is the Samoan Prime Minister

Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataafa (; born 29 April 1957) is a Samoan politician and High Chief (''Faʻamatai, matai'') who has served as the seventh prime minister of Samoa, Prime Minister of Samoa since 2021. The daughter of Samoa's first Prime Mi ...

who is responsible for hosting the

(CHOGM). This role has a 2 year term limit which begins before the start of the CHOGM. All members of staff are exempt from

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

, under the International Organisations Act 2005, which redefined the legal status of the Secretariat.

Headquarters

The Secretariat is headquartered at

, in London, the United Kingdom. Marlborough House is located on Pall Mall,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, next to St. James's Palace, which is formally the location of the British

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

. Marlborough House was previously a royal residence in its own right, but was given by

, the former

, to the British government in September 1959 for use for Commonwealth purposes. This was first realised three years later. Another three years later, in 1965, the building passed to the Secretariat upon its foundation. The building itself was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and served as the London residence of the dukes of Marlborough until it was given to Princess Charlotte in 1817. The Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966, which applied retroactively from the establishment of the Secretariat in 1965, first granted the organisation full

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

. This has been subjected to a number of lawsuits challenging this, including ''Mohsin v Commonwealth Secretariat'', and in 2005, '' Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat''. The 1966 Act had been interpreted by English courts as allowing the courts to exercise supervisory jurisdiction under the

Arbitration Act 1996 The Arbitration Act 1996 (c. 23) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates arbitration proceedings within the jurisdiction of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The 1996 act only applies to parts of the United Kin ...

over the Commonwealth's arbitration tribunal, which had been envisaged as the sole organ to arbitrate on matters related to the Secretariat's operations in the United Kingdom. In light of this interpretation, the Commonwealth Secretariat Act was amended by the International Organisations Act 2005, which gave the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal the same legal immunity as the Secretariat itself, guaranteeing independence of the English courts.

Membership

The Commonwealth Secretariat comprises 56 independent countries, 33 small states (states with a population of 1.5 million or less), and 2.7 billion citizens. As of November 2007, when the

Commonwealth Heads of Government The Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOG) is the collective name for the government leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. They are invited to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings every two years, ...

held a meeting in Uganda, they reviewed and solidified the rules for membership into the Secretariat. The Commonwealth Secretariat outlines these membership rules: # The applicant country should have had a past constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member. # Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, except in save for exceptional circumstances. # The applicant country is expected to abide by the fundamental values written out in th
1971 Declaration of Commonwealth Principles
# The applicant country should show commitment to democracy and its processes, such as "free and fair elections and representative legislatures; the rule of law and independence of the judiciary; good governance, including a well-trained public service and transparent public accounts; and protection of human rights, freedom of expression, and equality of opportunity." # The applicant country should embrace the Commonwealth norms and agreements, such as "the use of the English language as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations, and acknowledge His Majesty King Charles III as the Head of the Commonwealth." # Lastly, newly admitted members are encouraged to join th
Commonwealth Foundation
and to advance strong

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

were the most recent states to join in 2022.

Member States

Africa

* 🇧🇼

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

* 🇨🇲

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

* 🇬🇦

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

* 🇬🇲 Gambia, The * 🇬🇭

* 🇰🇪

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

* 🇸🇿 Kingdom of Eswatini * 🇱🇸

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

* 🇲🇼

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

* 🇲🇺

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

* 🇲🇿

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

* 🇳🇦

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

* 🇳🇬

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

* 🇷🇼

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

* 🇸🇨

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

* 🇸🇱

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

* 🇿🇦

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

* 🇹🇬

* 🇺🇬

* 🇹🇿 United Republic of Tanzania * 🇿🇲

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Asia

* 🇧🇩

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

* 🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam * 🇮🇳

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

* 🇲🇾

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

* 🇲🇻

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

* 🇵🇰

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

* 🇸🇬

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

* 🇱🇰

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Caribbean and Americas

* 🇦🇬

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

* 🇧🇸 Bahamas, The * 🇧🇧

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

* 🇧🇿

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

* 🇨🇦

* 🇩🇲

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

* 🇬🇩

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

* 🇬🇾

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

* 🇯🇲

* 🇱🇨

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

* 🇰🇳 St Kitts and Nevis * 🇻🇨 St Vincent and the Grenadines * 🇹🇹

Europe

* 🇨🇾

* 🇲🇹

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

* 🇬🇧

Pacific

* 🇦🇺

* 🇫🇯

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

* 🇰🇮

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

* 🇳🇷

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

* 🇳🇿

* 🇵🇬

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

* 🇼🇸

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

* 🇸🇧

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

* 🇹🇴

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

* 🇹🇻

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

* 🇻🇺

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

Vision

The Commonwealth Secretariat aids in building and maintaining the Commonwealth where all member states are "mutually respectful, resilient, peaceful and prosperous" and values equality and diversity.

Mission

The Commonwealth Secretariat strives to support their member states and their governments through working with other Commonwealth states and globally promoting their shared values to benefit and improve the well-being of all individuals in the Commonwealth.

Goals

Environment

The Secretariat focuses on protecting Commonwealth states and their environment by promoting sustainable practices for natural resources. The Commonwealth Climate Change Programme provides support and plans for member states to utilize in order to lessen the impacts of climate change and adapt to changing conditions. This program helps to facilitate an understanding and overview of the capacity member states have to meet their Paris Agreement commitments. Many different partnerships and procedures have been created to lend support to member states in tackling climate change such as th
Commonwealth Finance Access HubCommonSensing
th
Commonwealth Call to Action on Living Lands (CALL)
th
Commonwealth NDC Programme
th
Gender Integration for Climate Action
and th
Disaster Risk Finance Portal

Trade and Economy

The Secretariat also strives to promote international trade between member states to aid in creating inclusive and sustainable economies, with a particular focus for the Commonwealth's developed and developing countries. Their different programmes such as th
Connectivity AgendaPublic Debt Management Programme
an
Commonwealth Fintech Toolkit
all help in improving global trade competitiveness, managing debt, and promoting sustainable methods for natural resources.

Democracy, Government, and Rule of Law

The Secretariat develops programmes to encourage democratic practices, good governance strategies, peace, and the rule of law. For example, many of these programmes includ
countering violent extremism
th
promotion and protection of Human Rights
th
Commonwealth Cyber Declaration Programme
and th
Commonwealth Database on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters

Society

The Secretariat emphasizes a focus for the younger generation in enhancing their potential through sports, universal healthcare, gender equality, education, and peacebuilding. These youth focused programs are meant to nurture growing generations into creating resilient and harmonic societies for the future
Commonwealth says NO MORECommonwealth Moves
and th
Commonwealth Alliance for Quality Youth Leadership
are a few examples of the efforts the Commonwealth has taken to implement change and development for society and young people.

Small States

The Secretariat aims to help its 33 small states by offering specialized support and aid to help improve their development challenges, such as dependence on trade, climate change, natural disasters, and limited access to funds. The Secretariat works toward this goal by advocating for international policies to include and consider small states' needs, aiding in building economic resilience, providing access to financing, and developing publications and reports that can help to create solutions for small states.

References

External links

Commonwealth Secretariat official website
{{Authority control 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom Secretariat International organisations based in London Organizations established in 1965

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

United Nations General Assembly observers