Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations (usually called simply "The Commonwealth") is a voluntary association of independent countries, nearly all of which were formerly under British rule. While remaining entirely responsible for their own policies, member countries choose to consult and co-operate on matters such as strengthening democracy, promoting human rights and working for social and economic development of poorer countries.

History

The transition from British Empire to Commonwealth of Nations began in 1867 with the transformation of Canada from a colony to a self-governing "Dominion" within the British Empire. That was followed by the transformation to Dominion status of Australia in 1901, New Zealand in 1907, South Africa in 1910, and the Irish Free Stste in 1922. After the First World War, the Dominions sought a a new constitutional definition, and at the Imperial Conference in 1926, the Dominion Prime Ministers adopted the Balfour Report which defined the Dominions as autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status with Britain, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. That definition was incorporated into British law in 1931 as the Statute of Westminster. It was adopted immediately in Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland (which joined Canada in 1949); and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand followed. India became a Dominion at independence in 1947. The next stage in the transition was the London Declaration of 1949, which recorded the Prime Ministers' agreement that India could remain a member of the Commonwealth after it became a republic in the following year. That agreement completed the transition, and the title "Commonwealth of Nations" finally replaced all previous terminology (which had, from time to time, included "the British colonies", "the British Empire", "the Dominions" and "the British Commonwealth"). Ireland left the Commonwealth in 1947, but since then almost all of Britain's former colonies chose to join the Commonwealth when they became independent - most of them, like India, as republics that do not owe allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, but do recognise her formal status as Head of the Commonwealth.

Constitution

Queen Elizabeth II is the titular Head of the Commonwealth, but all decisions are taken at the biennial Heads of Government meetings. To the extent that their decisions have a constitutional basis, it is to the declarations of principle that have been issued at the conclusion of previous Heads of Government meetings. Significant among those declarations is the Harare Declaration that included a commitment to the principles of human rights and democratic accountability. The Heads of Government are not empowered to impose sanctions upon member governments that breach those principles, except that of suspension from membership.

Membership

(see list of members)
Membership of the Commonwealth has, since its beginning, been open to any independent state which was once ruled or administered by Britain or other Commonwealth countries, and recognises The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth. (In 1995, Mozambique became the first country to join which had not previously had such links with Britain, being a former Portuguese colony.) Membership is, in principle, conditional upon acceptance of the declared principles of the Commonwealth, and a consensus among Heads of Government that those principles have been breached by the government of a member country can determine the suspension from membership of that country. There have been five such suspensions, four of which were temporary (South Africa 1961, Fiji 1987, Pakistan 1996 and Nigeria 1996) and one of which was of indefinite duration (Zimbabwe 2003).

The Commonwealth has been described as essentially an organisation of small states . It includes 32 states that are defined as small states because they have populations of fewer than 1.5 million. people, and 13 states that are classed as mini-states because they have populations of fewer than 200,000.

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Queen Elizabeth II has been Head of the Commonwealth since 1952.

Social activities

Commonwealth Games

Since 1930, the athletes of the Commonwealth have come together in an Olympic Games-type atmosphere every four years, halfway between each Olympiad. The first Commonwealth Games (then called the Empire Games) was held in Hamilton, Ontario

Commonwealth Day

At the 1975 CHOGM, Canada proposed an annual 'Commonwealth Day' to focus attention on the organisation and its global activities. The following year, the second Monday of March was agreed upon, and 1977 saw the first simultaneous observance day throughout the Commonwealth. The day was chosen as one when most children would likely be in school; this would be an opportunity for the younger generations to learn about their shared heritage. The day has since been extended to an entire 'Commonwealth Week' around that time. To mark the day, the Head of the Commonwealth issues a message; for example, in 2008 Queen Elizabeth II chose to focus on climate change, with a theme which emphasised environmental choices in all sections of society.