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The Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles was a declaration issued by the assembled Heads of Government
Commonwealth Heads of Government

The leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations are collectively known as the Commonwealth Heads of Government....
 of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, setting out the core political value
Value (personal and cultural)

A personal and cultural value is a relative ethic value, an assumption upon which implementation can be extrapolated. A value system is a set of consistent value and measures....
s that would form the main part of the Commonwealth's membership criteria. The Declaration was issued in Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
 on 22 January 1971 at the conclusion of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, abbreviated to CHOGM, is a wiktionary:Biennial summit meeting of the Head of government from all Commonwealth of Nations nations....
 (CHOGM). Along with the Harare Declaration
Harare Declaration

The Harare Commonwealth Declaration was a declaration of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the Commonwealth's core principles and values, detailing the Commonwealth's Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose....
, issued in 1991, it is considered one of the two most important documents to the Commonwealth's uncodified constitution
Constitution

A constitution is a system for government — often codified as a written document — that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity....
.

The declaration opens with a description of the Commonwealth's identity, the relationship between the organisation and its members, and its fundamental goals:

The second article describes the extent and diversity of the Commonwealth, encompassing both rich nations and poor across six continents and five oceans.






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The Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles was a declaration issued by the assembled Heads of Government
Commonwealth Heads of Government

The leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations are collectively known as the Commonwealth Heads of Government....
 of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, setting out the core political value
Value (personal and cultural)

A personal and cultural value is a relative ethic value, an assumption upon which implementation can be extrapolated. A value system is a set of consistent value and measures....
s that would form the main part of the Commonwealth's membership criteria. The Declaration was issued in Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
 on 22 January 1971 at the conclusion of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, abbreviated to CHOGM, is a wiktionary:Biennial summit meeting of the Head of government from all Commonwealth of Nations nations....
 (CHOGM). Along with the Harare Declaration
Harare Declaration

The Harare Commonwealth Declaration was a declaration of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the Commonwealth's core principles and values, detailing the Commonwealth's Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose....
, issued in 1991, it is considered one of the two most important documents to the Commonwealth's uncodified constitution
Constitution

A constitution is a system for government — often codified as a written document — that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity....
.

The declaration opens with a description of the Commonwealth's identity, the relationship between the organisation and its members, and its fundamental goals:

The second article describes the extent and diversity of the Commonwealth, encompassing both rich nations and poor across six continents and five oceans. The third article states, at the height of the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
, that membership of the Commonwealth is compatible with membership of any other international organisation
International organization

An intergovernmental organization is an organization comprised primarily of Sovereignty State , or of other intergovernmental organization. Intergovernmental organizations are often called International_organization, although that term may also include international nongovernmental organization such as international non-profit organizations...
 or non-alignment.

The next ten articles in turn detail some of the core political principles of the Commonwealth. These include (in the order in which they are mentioned): world peace
World peace

World peace is an ideal of Freedom , peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or peoples. It is the professed ambition of many past and present world leaders....
 and support for the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
; individual liberty and egalitarianism
Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism or Equalism is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political freedom, economic freedom, social justice, and civil rights rights....
; the eradication of poverty
Poverty

Poverty is the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include the lack of access to opportunities such as education and employment which aid the escape from poverty and/or allow one to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens....
, ignorance, disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
, and economic inequality
Economic inequality

Economic inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to international inequality....
; free trade
Free trade

Free trade is a type of trade policy that allows traders to act and transact without coercive interference from government. Thus, the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade, with goods and services produced according to the law of comparative advantage....
; institutional cooperation; multilateralism
Multilateralism

Multilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given issue.Most international organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in nature....
; and the rejection of international coercion
Coercion

Coercion is the practice of compelling a person or manipulating them to behave in an involuntary way by use of threats, intimidation, trickery, or some other form of pressure or force....
.

These are summed up in the final article, which serves as a touchstone for Commonwealth principles:

The part of the declaration considered the most troubling was the very last to be mentioned: 'rejecting coercion as an instrument of policy'. The implication is that not even the Commonwealth itself has any right to enforce its other core values, as that would be using coercion. This apparent conflict was resolved by the Harare Declaration
Harare Declaration

The Harare Commonwealth Declaration was a declaration of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the Commonwealth's core principles and values, detailing the Commonwealth's Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose....
 and the Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme
Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme

The Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration, sometimes abbreviated to just Millbrook, is a policy programme of the Commonwealth of Nations, designed to implement and uphold the Harare Declaration, which sets out the basic political Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria of the Commonwealth....
, which clearly mandates the Commonwealth to concern itself with its members' internal situations.

Footnotes


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