Encyclopedia
The Commonwealth of Nations , usually known as the
Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former colonies of the
United Kingdom.
It was once known as the
British Commonwealth of Nations or
British Commonwealth, and some still call it by that name, either for historical reasons or to distinguish it from the other commonwealths around the world. . The full name,
Commonwealth of Nations, is sufficient to distinguish the Commonwealth from other commonwealths such as the
Commonwealth of Independent States or the Commonwealth of Australia.
Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of State of the 16
Commonwealth Realms, is the Head of the Commonwealth, and as such is the symbol of the free association of its members. This title, however, does not imply any political power over such members, and does not automatically belong to the
British monarch. In practice Queen Elizabeth heads the Commonwealth in only a symbolic capacity, and it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the organisation.
The majority of members of the Commonwealth are
Commonwealth Republics with their own Heads of state. The remaining members are realms with their own monarchs . These members still recognise the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth is primarily an organisation in which countries with diverse economic backgrounds have an opportunity for close and equal interaction. The primary activities of the Commonwealth are designed to create an atmosphere of economic co-operation between member nations, as well as the promotion of
democracy,
human rights, and good governance in those nations.
The Commonwealth is not a political union, and does not allow the
United Kingdom to exercise any power over the affairs of the organisation's other members.
Every four years the Commonwealth's members celebrate the
Commonwealth Games, the world's second-largest multi-sport event after the
Olympic Games.
Origin
Although performing a vastly different function, the Commonwealth is the successor of the
British Empire. In 1884, whilst visiting
Adelaide,
South Australia,
Lord Rosebery described the changing British Empire, as some of its colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations".
British Empire weakens
Conferences of British and colonial
Prime Ministers had occurred periodically since 1887, leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in the late 1920s. The formal organisation of the Commonwealth developed from the Imperial Conferences, where the independence of the self-governing colonies and especially of dominions was recognised, particularly in the Balfour Declaration at the Imperial Conference in 1926, when the UK 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 of Nations". This relationship was eventually formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931.
Many members gain independence
After
World War II, the Empire was gradually dismantled, partly owing to the rise of independence movements in the then-subject territories , and partly owing to the British Government's strained circumstances resulting from the cost of the war. The word "British" was dropped in 1949 from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect the changing position.
Burma , and
Aden are the only former colonies not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Among the former protectorates and
mandates,
Iraq ,
Jordan ,
Israel ,
Egypt ,
Sudan ,
Kuwait ,
Bahrain ,
Oman ,
Qatar , and the
United Arab Emirates never became members of the Commonwealth. The
Republic of Ireland left the Commonwealth upon becoming a
republic in 1949. However, the Ireland Act 1949 passed by the
Parliament of Westminster gave citizens of the Republic of Ireland a status similar to that of other citizens of the Commonwealth in UK law.
Republics as members
The issue of
republican status within the Commonwealth was resolved in April 1949 at a Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London. India agreed that when it became a republic in January 1950 it would accept the King as "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such Head of the Commonwealth". The other Commonwealth countries in turn recognised India's continuing membership of the association. The London Declaration is often seen as marking the beginning of the modern Commonwealth.
Old, New and White Commonwealth
As the Commonwealth grew, the UK and pre-1945 Dominions became informally known as the "Old Commonwealth", particularly since the 1960s when some of them disagreed with poorer,
African and Asian members about various issues at Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings. Accusations that the old, "White" Commonwealth had different interests from African Commonwealth nations in particular, and charges of
racism and
colonialism, arose during heated debates about
Rhodesia in the 1970s, the imposition of sanctions against
apartheid-era South Africa in the 1980s and, more recently, about whether to press for democratic reforms in
Nigeria and then
Zimbabwe. The term
New Commonwealth is also used in the
United Kingdom to refer to recently
decolonised countries, which are predominantly non-white and underdeveloped. It was often used in debates about immigration from these countries.
In recent years, the term "White Commonwealth" has been used in a derogatory sense to imply that the wealthier, white nations of the Commonwealth had different interests and goals from the non-white, and particularly the African members. Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe has used the term frequently to allege that the Commonwealth's attempts to catalyse political changes in his country is motivated by racism and colonialist attitudes and that the White Commonwealth dominates the Commonwealth of Nations as a whole.
There have been attempts made by groups such as the
Federal Commonwealth Society to unite the commonwealth and provide closer ties both culturally and economically, starting with the "White Commonwealth" and expanding to include other nations within the commonwealth generally.
Membership
The Commonwealth encompasses a population of approximately 1.975 billion people in 53 countries, making up about 31% of the world's population. The total GDP is about US$7.8 trillion . The land area of the Commonwealth nations is about 12.1 million square miles .
The four largest Commonwealth nations by population are
India at 1,100 million,
Pakistan at 159 million,
Bangladesh at 141 million, and
Nigeria at 137 million.
The three largest Commonwealth nations by area are
Canada at 3.8 million square miles,
Australia at 3.0 million square miles, and
India at 1.2 million square miles.
The four largest economies are
India at US$4,300 billion, the
United Kingdom at US$2,000 billion,
Canada at US$1,220 billion, and
Australia at US$700 billion based on purchasing power parity analysis; see List of countries by GDP estimates for 2007
The largest military spenders are the
United Kingdom at US$48 billion,
India at US$21 billion,
Australia at US$10.5 billion, and
Canada at US$10.5 billion. The Commonwealth of Nations is not a military alliance. see :
List of countries by military expendituresTuvalu is the smallest member, with only 11,000 people.
Membership is open to countries that accept the association's basic aims and have a present or past constitutional link to a Commonwealth member. Not all members have had direct constitutional ties to the UK: some South Pacific countries were formerly under Australian or New Zealand 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. There is only one member of the present Commonwealth that has never had any constitutional link to the British Empire or a Commonwealth member:
Mozambique, a former
Portuguese colony, was admitted in 1995 on the back of the triumphal re-admission of
South Africa and Mozambique's first democratic elections, held in 1994. The move was supported by Mozambique's neighbours, all of whom were members of the Commonwealth and who wished to offer assistance in overcoming the losses incurred from the country's opposition to white minority regimes in
Rhodesia 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 not set a precedent.
Non-members
Non-applicants
Tongue in cheek,
Charles de Gaulle twice suggested that
France, although it was never a member of the British Empire , should apply for Commonwealth membership. This idea was never realised, but might be seen as a follow-up to a proposal made by Churchill to join the British and legitimate French governments during
World War II, in opposition to the puppet regime of
Vichy France.
In
North America, the original
13 British colonies which successfully fought the
United Kingdom for their independence in the
American Revolutionary War possess the requisite history of British rule, but they are now member-states of the
United States of America. On the west coast of the U.S., what is now part of
Washington State and
Oregon were first explored by Captain
George Vancouver of the
Royal Navy. The island State of
Hawaii was first visited by Captain
James Cook in 1788 on his third voyage aboard the
HMS Resolution. The
Union Jack was added to the Hawaiian flag in 1816 as the British gradually took control of the islands. This political allegiance mitigates serious consideration of the U.S. applying for Commonwealth membership. Nevertheless, the UK maintains close cultural and political ties with the U.S. apart from the Commonwealth.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the government of
Norway reportedly made serious attempts at joining the Commonwealth , despite having no history of direct British rule. Because of the close ties between Britain and Norway, inaugurated in 1905 with Norway's independence from
Sweden, informal proceedings were opened, but they stranded because the
Bank of England rejected the proposal that Norway should adopt the
Pound Sterling as its official currency, and because of protocol issues, as the Commonwealth would, upon Norway's entry, have two separate royal heads of state among its members.
Egypt and
Iraq have never shown an interest in joining the Commonwealth, although they are eligible to do so, having histories of British rule.
Sudan,
Bahrain,
Kuwait,
Jordan, and
Oman similarly are not members.
Hong Kong could not join the Commonwealth following the end of British rule in 1997, as it became a special administrative region of the
People's Republic of China.
Other countries with historical links to the United Kingdom or other Commonwealth countries that could be potential Commonwealth members, but have shown no indication of a wish to join, include
Nepal,
Bhutan,
Afghanistan,
Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates.
Current and possible future applicants
Rwanda and
Yemen have applied to join the Commonwealth, and there was some interest expressed by the
Palestinian Authority.
It has also been suggested that
Jordan,
Israel, and
Algeria, being formerly administered by the
United Kingdom, might consider joining, while the
Republic of Ireland could rejoin. A number of Irish politicians, notably cabinet minister
Éamon Ó Cuiv , have advocated rejoining, and the government of
Seán Lemass considered doing so in the 1960s; Lemass in the mid 1960s had his Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan raise the issue. Lenihan described his actions as flying a kite to gauge the public reaction. In the aftermath of the 50th anniversary of the
Easter Rising the idea was controversial and was dropped. It has been raised since by, among others, John M. Kelly and by Lenihan again in the late 1980s. The current
Taoiseach,
Bertie Ahern has suggested that it is unlikely to happen.
Should
Somaliland and
Southern Sudan gain independence or international recognition it is likely they will want to join the Commonwealth too. Any internationally recognised split of the island of
Cyprus might also see both the Greek and Turkish halves of the island as Commonwealth members .
Two nations with no historical links to the
British Empire,
Rwanda and
Cambodia, have also applied to join, but their accession seems unlikely.
The various remaining territories and dependencies of the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries would almost certainly gain admission to the Commonwealth in their own right should they become independent. These include
Anguilla,
Bermuda, the
British Indian Ocean Territory, the
British Virgin Islands, the
Cayman Islands,
Christmas Island, the
Cocos Islands, the
Cook Islands, the
Falkland Islands ,
Gibraltar,
Guernsey, the
Isle of Man,
Jersey,
Montserrat,
Niue,
Pitcairn,
Saint Helena, the
Turks and Caicos Islands,
Tokelau and
Norfolk Island.
The four nations that comprise the United Kingdom,
England,
Scotland,
Wales, and
Northern Ireland, have in recent years moved towards a more federal style of relationship. It is however extremely unlikely due to economic and historic reasons that these four nations may become independent. Similarly, the island of
Nevis, currently part of
Saint Kitts and Nevis, may eventually separate from its larger neighbour. These would all be potential Commonwealth members in their own right.
Suspension
In recent years the Commonwealth has suspended several members "from the Councils of the Commonwealth" for failure to uphold democratic government. Suspended members are not represented at meetings of Commonwealth leaders and ministers, although they remain members of the organisation.
Fiji, which was not a member of the Commonwealth between 1987 and 1997 as a result of a republican
coup d'etat, was suspended in 2000–2001 after a military coup, as was
Pakistan from 1999 until 2004.
Nigeria was suspended between 1995 and 1999.
Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 over concerns with the electoral and land reform policies of
Robert Mugabe's
Zanu-PF government, before withdrawing from the organisation in 2003. It had previously been suspended from the Commonwealth under the country's former name of
Rhodesia from its unilateral declaration of independence in 1964 until its internationally-recognised independence as Zimbabwe in 1980.
Withdrawal
As membership is purely voluntary, member governments can choose at any time to leave the Commonwealth.
Pakistan left in 1972 in protest at Commonwealth recognition of breakaway
Bangladesh, but rejoined in 1989, withdrew again after the 1999 coup, and regained admission again in 2004.
Zimbabwe left in 2003 when Commonwealth Heads of Government refused to lift the country's suspension on the grounds of human rights violations and deliberate misgovernment.
Other termination
Although Heads of Government have the power to suspend member states from active participation, the Commonwealth has no provision for the expulsion of members. However,
Commonwealth Realms that become
republics automatically cease to be members, unless they obtain the permission of other members to remain in the organisation as a republic.
The
Republic of Ireland did not apply for re-admittance after becoming a republic in 1949, as the Commonwealth then did not allow republican membership. But the leader of its Opposition at the time,
