Commonwealth of Nations


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 mistakenly or to distinguish it from the many
other commonwealths around the world.

Origins and membership

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. 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.

Organization and objectives

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 Pa’ses de L’ngua Portuguesa
(Community of Portuguese-speaking countries).

Commonwealth Members (Membership Date):

   * Antigua and Barbuda (1981)
   * Australia (1931)
   * The Bahamas (1973)
   * Bangladesh (1972)
   * Barbados (1966)
   * Belize (1981)
   * Botswana (1966)
   * Brunei (1984)
   * Cameroon (1995)
   * Canada (1931)
   * Cyprus (1961)
   * Dominica (1978)
   * Fiji (1970 and left in 1987 but rejoined 1997)
   * The Gambia (1965)
   * Ghana (1957)
   * Grenada (1974)
   * Guyana (1966)
   * India (1947)
   * Jamaica (1962)
   * Kenya (1963)
   * Kiribati (1979)
   * Lesotho (1966)
   * Malawi (1964)
   * Malaysia (1957)
   * Maldives (1982)
   * Malta (1964)
   * Mauritius (1968)
   * Mozambique (1995)
   * Namibia (1990)
   * Nauru (1999)
   * New Zealand (1931)
   * Nigeria (1960 and suspended in 1995 but readmitted 1999)
   * Pakistan (1947 and left in 1972 but rejoined 1989)
   * Papua New Guinea (1975)
   * Samoa (1970)
   * Seychelles (1976)
   * Sierra Leone (1961)
   * Singapore (1965)
   * Solomon Islands (1978)
   * South Africa (1931 and left in 1961 but rejoined 1994)
   * Sri Lanka (1948)
   * St Kitts and Nevis (1983)
   * St Lucia (1979)
   * St Vincent and The Grenadines (1979)
   * Swaziland (1968)
   * Tanzania (1961)
   * Tonga (1970)
   * Trinidad and Tobago (1962)
   * Tuvalu (1978)
   * Uganda (1962)
   * United Kingdom (1931)
   * Vanuatu (1980)
   * Zambia (1964)
   * Zimbabwe (1980)

Currently suspended members:

   * Pakistan suspended since 1999
   * Zimbabwe suspended on March 20, 2002 for a period of one year.

Former Members:

   * Ireland left in 1949

Footnote

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 î 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.