The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of independent sovereign states formed mostly by the United Kingdom and most of its former colonies. It was formerly known as the British Commonwealth, and many still call it by that name, either for historical reasons or to distinguish it from the many other commonwealths around the world.
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2 Organization and objectives 3 List of Commonwealth Members by continent 4 Footnote 5 External links |
The Commonwealth is the successor of the British Empire and has its origins in the Imperial Conference of the late 1920s (conferences of British and colonial prime ministers had occurred periodically since 1887), where the independence of the self-governing colonies or dominions was recognised, and eventually formalised by the 1931 Statute of Westminster. The Commonwealth was established as an association of free and equal states, and membership was based on common allegiance to the British Crown.
After World War II the Empire was gradually dismantled, partly owing to the rise of independence movements in the then subject territories (most importantly in India under the influence of the pacifist Mohandas Gandhi), and partly owing to the British Government's straitened circumstances resulting from the cost of the war. Burma (now Myanmar) (1948) and South Yemen (1967) are among the only former colonies that did not join the Commonwealth on independence. Ireland was a member but left the Commonwealth upon becoming a republic in 1949.
The issue of republican status within the Commonwealth was only resolved in 1950 (after Ireland's decision) when it was agreed that India should remain a Commonwealth member despite adopting her present republican constitution.1 This decision, known as the London Declaration, by which all members accepted the British monarch as head of the Commonwealth regardless of their domestic constitutional arrangements, is now considered the start of the modern Commonwealth.
Citizens of Commonwealth nations make up 30% of the world's population: India is the most populous member, with a billion people at the 2001 census, while Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria each contain more than 100 million people: Tuvalu, in contrast, has only 11,000 inhabitants.
Membership is normally open to countries which accept the association's basic aims. Members are required to have a present or past constitutional link to the UK or to another Commonwealth member. Not all members have close ties to the UK: some South Pacific countries were formerly under Australian administration, while Namibia was governed by South Africa from 1920 until independence in 1990. Cameroon joined in 1995 although only a fraction of its territory had formerly been under British administration through the (League of Nations mandate of 1920-46 and United Nations Trusteeship arrangement of 1946-61).
One member of the present Commonwealth was never attached to the British Empire or any Commonwealth member: Mozambique applied for and received membership in 1995 on the back of the triumphal re-admission of South Africa, with support from Mozambique's neighbours, all of whom were members of the Commonwealth and who wished to offer assistance in overcoming the losses incurred as a result of the country's opposition to white minority regimes in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. In 1997, amid some discontent, Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that Mozambique's admission should be seen as a special case and should not set any precedents.
Fiji and Pakistan have had their membership suspended in recent years because of military coups removing democratic regimes. South Africa's membership was effectively suspended during the Apartheid era (South Africa actually withdrew of its own accord by not seeking re-admission after it became a republic in 1961), but was reinstated upon the establishment of majority rule in 1994. Nigeria was suspended between 1995 and 1999. Pakistan had earlier left on January 30, 1972 in protest at Commonwealth recognition of breakaway Bangladesh, but rejoined in 1989. Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over concerns with the electoral and land reform policies of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government. It left completely in 2003 after the United Kingdom, Australia and other Commonwealth members continued to denounce Mugabe's policies.
Charles de Gaulle once suggested that France, though it was never a member of the British Empire (even if for centuries English/British monarchs claimed the title 'King of France') should apply for Commonwealth membership. This never happened. The United States and Israel have never shown an interest in joining the Commonwealth, despite their respective histories of British rule.
Queen Elizabeth II is the nominal head of the organization, but in practice it is served (since 1965) by a London-based Secretariat. The current (2003) Secretary General is Don McKinnon of New Zealand.
Heads of state or government of the Commonwealth countries meet biennally at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). This was to have been held in Brisbane, Australia, in October 2001, but was postponed until March 2002 due to the uncertainty in international affairs engendered by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Commonwealth has long been distinctive as an international forum where highly developed economies (the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and many of the world's poorer countries seek to reach agreement by consensus. This aim has sometimes been difficult to achieve, as when disagreements over Rhodesia in the 1970s and over apartheid South Africa in the 1980s led to a cooling of relations between Britain and African members.
With the mutual decline of interest in each other as former British colonies forge closer relationships with non-Commonwealth trading partners and close geographic neighbours, the Commonwealth's direct political and economic importance has declined.
The Commonwealth today mainly restricts itself to encouraging community between nations and to placing moral pressure on members who violate international laws, such as human rights laws, and abandon democratically elected government. Key activities today include training experts in developing countries and assisting with and monitoring elections.
It is also useful as an international organisation that represents significant cultural and historical links between wealthy first-world countries and poorer developing nations with diverse social and religious backgrounds. The common inheritance of the English language and literature, the common law and British systems of administration underpin the club-like atmosphere of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth countries share many links at non-governmental level, notably sporting and cultural links. A multi-sport championship called the Commonwealth Games is held every four years: as well as the usual athletic disciplines the Games include sports popular throughout the Commonwealth such as bowls.
In recent years the Commonwealth model has inspired similar initiatives on the part of France and Portugal and their respective ex-colonies, and in the former case, other sympathetic governments: the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese-speaking countries).
Date of membership in (parentheses).
1 Technically, on becoming a republic, states formally leave the Commonwealth. They have to re-apply for admittance, which is nowadays normally granted automatically. The Republic of Ireland did not apply for re-admittance as the Commonwealth at the time as the Commonwealth did not allow republican membership. However then Leader of the Opposition Eamon de Valera believed Ireland's decision not to apply to stay was a mistake. He and his successor as taoiseach, Sean Lemass both considered re-applying. Eamon Ó Cuiv, a minister in the present Irish Government (and himself de Valera's grandson) raised the issue of Ireland re-applying a number of times in the 1990s. However, the issue arouses hostility in Ireland, as the Commonwealth is still associated with British imperialism, even though the majority of member states are now republics.
See also: dominion, British Empire, Anglosphere
Origins and membership
Organization and objectives
List of Commonwealth Members by continent
Currently suspended members:
Former Members:
Footnote
External links