Commonwealth

Introduction

The Commonwealth of Nations

formerly known as British

Commonwealth.

Intergovernmental Organization.

54 independent member states.

Main Objective To Promote

◦ Democracy.

◦ Human rights.

◦Good governance.

◦ Rule of law.

◦ Individual liberty.

◦ Equality among people.

◦ Free trade.

◦ International Relations.

◦World peace.

Head Of

Commonwealth

Queen Elizabeth ll since 6

February 1952.

Secretary General

◦Kamalesh Sharma since 1 April

2008.

Commonwealth

Secretariat

Established In 1965

The main intergovernmental

agency of the Commonwealth.

Facilitating, consultation and

cooperation among member

governments and countries.

Secretariat

The Commonwealth of Nations is

represented in the United

Nations General Assembly by the

Secretariat, as an observer.

Organizes Commonwealth

summits, meetings of ministers,

consultative meetings and

technical discussions.

Background

The Commonwealth consists

almost entirely of countries which

were once part of the British

empire.

Burma, on becoming

independent, chose not to join.

Decolonization

The old Dominions were

confirmed in their independence

by the 1931 Statute of

Westminster.

India and Pakistan became

independent in 1947.

Members

by 1965 the Commonwealth member states numbered 22

by 1985 : 49

by 2006 : 53

In Present : 54

Members The largest member of the Commonwealth

is Canada, at nearly 10 million square

kilometers.

The most populous Commonwealth country

is India, with nearly 1.1 billion people.

The smallest member is Nauru, with only

13,000 inhabitants.

The Commonwealth also includes the

world's driest and most sparsely populated

country: Namibia.

States Detached

1949 – Ireland 1961 – South Africa

readmitted in 1994( Hedrick Verwoerd unsuccessful assassination)(Sharpeville massacre demonstration)

1972 – Pakistan leftreadmitted in 1989

Membership

Suspended

Fiji’s membership was suspended from 2000 to 2001, and again in 2006

Zimbabwe in 2002–3

Pakistan’s from 1999 to 2004

Organizations

The Commonwealth of

Learning (COL) is an

intergovernmental organization

created by the Heads of

Government to encourage the

development and sharing of open

learning/distance education

knowledge.

The Commonwealth Games

a multi-sport event is held every

four years.

the goal is promoting relations

between Commonwealth

countries and celebrating their

shared sporting and cultural

heritage.

The Commonwealth War

Graves Commission (CWGC)

responsible for maintaining

the war graves of 1.7 million

service personnel that died in the

First and Second World Wars

fighting for Commonwealth

member states.

The Commonwealth Business

Council (CBC) was formed

at 1997

The aim was to utilize the global

network of the Commonwealth

more effectively for the promotion

of global trade and investment for

shared prosperity.

Commonwealth Events

CHOGM Commonwealth Heads Of

Government Meeting, which is held

after every 2 years.

CGF Commonwealth Games

Federation, games event held after

every 4 years.

Commonwealth Events

Commonwealth Events

Commonwealth

Benefits

All members have seen the

advantages of remaining in a

group, that bridges the gap

between the world’s ‘north’ and

‘south’.

It has survived bitter disputes, and

even wars, between its members.

What does the

commonwealth do?Have assistance which monitor elections in different countries.

Training of judges.

Teachers training.

Scholarships for students.

Training of medical persons.

Commonwealth heads meet with government to discuss how to work together.

Questions?