commonwealth vi

8/8/2019 Commonwealth Vi

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The Commonwealth


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defnition

• It is a voluntary association o 54countries that support each otherand work together towards sharedgoals in democracy and development

• Its roots go back to 18!s

• There are ties o history" language"institution that unite the members


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• 1# $eneral good" public welare" orcommonweal % shared richness" somethingto be possessed by all

• 'ody politic" the body o peopleconstituting a state or a nation

• (# ) republic" a state with supreme powervested in the people

• 4# ) body o persons united or somecommon purpose

• 5# The title o some specifc states


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• Commonwealth in the modern usageincorporates aspects o most o the abovedictionary defnitions" but is best rendered by*amily o nations rom within the ormer 'ritish+mpire,

• 18-8 .ord Carnarvon reerred to it as *TheImperial Commonwealth,

•

1884 .ord /osebery called the empire*Commonwealth o 0ations,

• 'y the &!th century the words colony" empireand imperial were all dropped#


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• 18- Canada became the frst colony

to be transormed into a selgoverning*2ominion, % it implied e3uality with'ritain

• ther parts o the empire became2ominions,

• )ustralia 1!1

•0ew 6ealand 1!

• 7outh )rica 11!

• The Irish ree 7tate 1&&


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• )ter the end o the irst 9orld 9ar" the

2ominions began seeking a new constitutionaldefnition and reshaping their relationship with'ritain

• 1&- the Imperial Conerence % the prime

ministers adopted the 'alour /eport whichdefned the 2ominions as autonomouscommunities within the 'ritish +mpire" e3ual instatus" in no way subordinate to one another in

any aspect o their domestic or internal a:aires• The defnition was incorporated into the 'ritish

law in 1(1as the 7tatute o 9estminster


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;odern Commonwealth

• )ter the 7econd 9orld 9ar % Indiagained independence % 14

• The new state o


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• There are certain values that unite itsmembers= democracy" reedom"peace" the rule o law and

opportunity or all

• The values were agreed and setdown by all Commonwealth >eads o

$overnment in 7ingapore in 11• They were rea?rmed &! years later

in >arare


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• The values are protected by theCommonwealth ;inisterial )ction$roup which assesses the nature o

any inringement and recommendsmeasures or collective action rommember countries#

• It has the authority to suspend oreven recommend to >eads o$overnment that a member country

be e@pelled


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• There are *good o?ces, that makediscreet interventions as part oe:orts to prevent or resolve conAicts

and build dialogue and democraticstructures#

• ;inisters responsible or education"

environment" civil society" fnance"oreign a:airs health law meetregularly


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Intergovernmentalrganisations

• The Commonwealth 7ecretariat whiche@ecutes plans agreed by Commonwealth>eads o $overnment

• The Commonwealth oundation % whichhelps civil society organisations promotedemocracy" development and culturalunderstanding

• The Commonwealth o .earning % whichencourages open learning and distanceeducation


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• )n important actor in global governance

• )s an association o ormer 'ritish coloniesthat spans one third o the worldBs

population and over a 3uarter o the 0Bsmember states % it is both a relic o an olderimperial orm o global governance as wellas a orward looking institution dedicated to

dealing with issues o contemporaryconcern that locates it within a multiactorversion o global governance


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• Currently Commonwealth has little to do withthe imperial heritage rom which it emerged

• )t a time when Cold 9ar raged and states were

encouraged to side with one or other o thesuperpowers the institution o Commonwealthendorsed the principle o reedom o alignment

• It has consistently sought to press or airerterms o trade" correctiveness to globaline3ualities in income and wealth" the rule olaw" reedom o e@pression" participatory ormso democracy


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• The Commonwealth prides itsel onbeing one o the very ewinternational organisations that

actually sanctions its members orviolating the core democratic andhuman rights principles upon which it

is ounded % suspension o 6imbabwein &!!& or irregularities and violenceduring the presidential elections"

0igeria in 15"


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• The Commonwealth is ar more than anintergovernmental institution

• It is a amily o nongovernmental bodies" each

working to promote cooperation" peace andunderstanding among citiEens residing in themember states#

• This amily comprises more than 8!

associations" ranging rom the )ssociation oCommonwealth niversities" theCommonwealth >uman /ights Initiative to theCommonwealth )ssociation o ;useums


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• The modern Commonwealth grew outo the ormer 'ritish +mpire % it is theoutcome o the decline o 'ritish

imperialism

• The origins o the Commonwealthassociation date back to the 2urham

/eport o 184! which initiated thegradual growth o selgovernment inthe 'ritish colonies o settlement


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• The twenty years ollowing the endo the 7econd 9orld 9ar saw therapid dissolution o the 'ritish +mpire

• Independence was frst granted toIndia"


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• )lmost all o 'ritainBs ormer colonialpossessions elected" on gainingindependence" to Doin the Commonwealth

• 1-5 the 'ritish Commonwealth ceasedto be 'ritish

• 1-5 the Commonwealth 7ecretariat wasestablished and took over rom the Fgovernment the administrativeorganisation o Commonwealth a:airs


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• The 7ecretariat based at ;arlborough>ouse in .ondon" is responsible orservicing Commonwealth conerences"

meetings and workshops at all levels• The 7ecretariat adopted a heightened

political profle in its involvement in theantiapartheid campaign and the

advocacy o e:ective sanctions against7outh )rica % a policy which the 'ritishgovernment opposed


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• 1& the Commonwealth comprised 5!member states" all sharing historic links andtraditions with 'ritain

•

The Gueen is recogniEed as >ead o theCommonwealth even though most o themember states are now republics

• 4- members can be classed as developing

countries• & have a population o less than one

million


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• The essence o intraCommonwealtha:airs is consultation and cooperation atboth governmental and uno?cial levels

• +nglish common law is the most valuableasset be3ueathed by 'ritain to theCommonwealth

•

The parliamentary system was no sosuccessul as there are militarygovernments and oneparty states


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• The Commonwealth structure is based largelyon unwritten and traditional procedures andnot on a ormal charter or constitution" beingguided by a series o agreements on itsprinciples and aims

• These are the 2eclarations or 7tatementswhich have been issued by Commonwealth

>eads o $overnment at various summits# Together they constitute a oundation oCommonwealth values and a history oconcern in global a:aires


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• The most signifcant o these are the 7ingapore2eclaration o Commonwealth arare Commonwealth2eclaration H11" which set out clearly theCommonwealthJs commitment to democracy"the rule o law and good governance

• +very two years" the heads o government oCommonwealth member states convene at ameeting commonly reerred to as C>$;#HCommonwealth >eads o $overnment;eeting


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• 9hilst the C>$; is conducted in amore inormal setting than otherinternational summits" maDor

strategic issues a:ecting theCommonwealth are discussed#C>$; &!! was dominated by

discussions on climate change# ;anyCommonwealth states are small" lowlying islands" particularly vulnerable

to the rising sea levels associated


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• Commonwealth countries work together toimprove the 3uality o lie o their citiEens and tobuild a better world# ;embers help each other tomake their economies stronger" to operate

accountable and democratic systems ogovernment and to improve the skills o theirpeople# They agree among themselves on issueso wider international concern % be they on air

trade" debt relie or combating terrorism % andseek recognition or their concerns to be takeninto account in global and other discussions#


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• The Commonwealth runs a whole range oprogrammes o direct beneft to its members# These programmes include assistance withelection monitoring" and the training o Dudges

and public servantsK help with education"whether through scholarships" distance learningschemes or teacher trainingK assistance inalleviating environmental degradation and in

implementing environmentally sustainablesolutionsK and help in combating disease and intraining medical personnel


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• Commonwealth >eads o $overnment meet to discusshow best to work together and meetings at ministerialand o?cial level are also held regularly# +very country"large or small" rich or poor" has an e3ual voice and

decisions are taken by consensus= that is" with theagreement o all

• The moral authority o the Commonwealth is strong andits members work together to encourage themaintenance o common standards# The

Commonwealth ;inisterial )ction $roup HC;)$ wasestablished in 15 to deal with serious or persistentviolations o the >arare 2eclaration which sets out theCommonwealthBs undamental political values


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• Composed o the oreign ;inisters o eightCommonwealth member countries" plus oneor two additional ministerial representativesrom the region concerned" C;)$ assessesthe nature o an inringement andrecommends measures or collective

Commonwealth action aimed at the speedyrestoration o democracy and constitutionalrule# This is Dust one o the ways in which theCommonwealth works to uphold democracyand human rights#


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• The Loint ?ce or Commonwealth


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• pon her accession in 15& and on theinitiative o India" all nations o theCommonwealth accepted Queen ElizabethII as the second >ead o the Commonwealth# The position o >ead implies no e@ecutive orconstitutional power= it is a symbolic role#

Gueen +liEabeth IIBs heir will notautomatically become >ead o theCommonwealth# 9hen the time comes"Commonwealth >eads o $overnment willmake a decision about this role


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• The Gueen addresses and opens the biennialCommonwealth >eads o $overnment ;eeting and holdsaudiences with Commonwealth leaders# )mongst herCommonwealth tours" she visits the host country duringeach summit" holds a 'an3uet or >eads and hosts othersocial events# 7he delivers a Christmas broadcast to theCommonwealth and sends a Commonwealth 2ay messagewhich is widely publicised on Commonwealth 2ay Hthesecond ;onday in ;arch# 7he is usually present atCommonwealth 2ay events" including the multiaithobservance held at 9estminster )bbey and theCommonwealth 7ecretary$eneralBs reception held at;arlborough >ouse in the evening


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COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT

MEETING (CHOGM)

• The main decisionmaking orum o theCommonwealth is the biennial C>$;#>ere" the Commonwealth >eads o

$overnment assemble or several days todiscuss matters o mutual interest# ) keyelement o the 7ummit is the retreat where>eads meet entirely on their own# The last

but one C>$; was held in $; took place in )ustralia in &!11


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THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETAR!GENERAL

• +lected by Commonwealth >eads o $overnmentor now no more than two ouryear terms" the7ecretary$eneral is the principal ace and voiceo the Commonwealth and his relationship with

Commonwealth >eads is crucial in sustainingCommonwealth cooperation# )ssisted by two2eputy 7ecretaries$eneral" he is also the Chie+@ecutive o the Commonwealth 7ecretariat# The

current 7ecretary$eneral is Indianborn"Famalesh 7harma" who took o?ce in )pril &!!8"succeeding 2on ;cFinnon o 0ew 6ealand H&!!!&!!8#


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C;;09+).T>02)TI0

• Commonwealth countries share many links outsidegovernment with over one hundred Commonwealthwidenongovernmental organisations" most notably in the areaso education" culture and sport# The Commonwealthoundation is an intergovernmental organisation resourcedby and reporting to Commonwealth governments andguided by Commonwealth values and priorities# .ike the7ecretariat" the oundation is based at ;arlborough >ousein .ondon# Its mandate is to strengthen civil society in theachievement o Commonwealth priorities= democracy and

good governance" respect or human rights and gendere3uality" poverty eradication and sustainable" peoplecentred development" and the promotion o arts andculture#


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C;;9+).T> .+)/0I0$

• C. is an intergovernmentalorganisation created byCommonwealth >eads o

$overnment to encourage thedevelopment and sharing o openlearningPdistance education

knowledge" resources andtechnologies# 'ased in Nancouver"C. is helping developing nations

improve access to 3uality education


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"ARTITION OF THE

MIDDLE EAST


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THE COMMONWEALTH OF

NATIONS TODA

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