The Commonwealth Faqs

1 The United Kingdom – then and now

The Commonwealth FAQs

1. What is the Commonwealth and where are its Headquarters? The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries with the shared aim of promoting democracy, development and opportunity for all as well as upholding freedom, peace and the rule of law worldwide. The Commonwealth headquarters are in Marlborough House in London.

2. How and when did the Commonwealth start? The earliest reference to Commonwealth was in 1884, when the British Empire was termed a ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ by the politician Lord Rosebery (British Prime Minister, 1894-95). The UK and the PMs of the self-governing British dominions hold the first of their Colonial Conferences in 1887. By 1926 they agreed that they were equal in status and united by their allegiance to the Crown, thus officially becoming associated members of the ‘British Commonwealth of Nations’.

3. So the Commonwealth’s name is actually ‘British Commonwealth of Nations’? No, today it is just called the ‘Commonwealth of Nations’. In 1931 Australia, Canada, Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa officially gained independence and were therefore no longer British. In 1949 India became a republic. Acknowledging King George VI as Head of the Commonwealth, it was the first republic to be a member of the modern-day Commonwealth.

4. How many African states are in the Commonwealth? Today there are 19 African states in the Commonwealth. Recent additions are Rwanda, Cameroon and Mozambique.

5. Can states be excluded? Yes, membership may be temporarily or fully suspended. An example of this is Fiji: The country was initially suspended after the civilian government there was overgrown by the military in 2006. Despite Commonwealth attempts to encourage the Fijians to re- gain a democratic government, there was no indication that fair elections would take place. Thus in September 2009 the republic was fully suspended.

6. How does the Commonwealth work towards its goal of promoting democracy and development? The Commonwealth seeks to build stronger democratic institutions (e.g. election management bodies and parliaments) and support democratic processes such as regular elections. It provides training, technical assistance, independent teams to observe a country’s elections if invited to do so. The Commonwealth also helps its members to take up opportunities for economic growth and to manage their long-term development in this area. The goal in education and human development is to optimise access of the individual worldwide to high quality education – regardless of gender, class, age or ethnicity. Towards these ends, the Commonwealth works in partnership with its member governments, supporting distance learning and universal primary education, attempting to reduce the effect of HIV/AIDS on education, etc.

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7. How is the Commonwealth structured? The Head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II. At government level the Commonwealth Heads of Government meet twice a year. A group of nine Foreign Ministers known as the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) protects the values of the Commonwealth and recommends collective action from member states should these values be infringed upon. In addition ministers of education, environment, finance, gender affairs, health law, tourism and youth also meet to ensure that the individual governments understand each other’s goals and that Commonwealth policies and programmes reflect the needs of its members. The three intergovernmental bodies are the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Common- wealth Foundation and the Commonwealth of Learning.

8. What are the functions of these three intergovernmental bodies of the Commonwealth? The Commonwealth Secretariat carries out plans drawn up by the Commonwealth Heads of Government, giving advice and technical assistance. It is headed by the Secretary-General and has 275 full-time members of staff who come from different countries in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Foundation is concerned with civil society organisations (CSOs) that promote democracy, development and cultural understanding. CSOs include community groups, teacher unions, professional associations, faith-based organisations, university groups and certain areas of the media. The Foundation is funded by Commonwealth governments. The Commonwealth of Learning has its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada. This intergovernmental body encourages member states to develop and share open learning and distance education. Major financial contributors are, for example, India, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Nigeria and the UK. The Commonwealth of Learning works together with other partners such as the United Nations (e. g. UNESCO, UNICEF), other Commonwealth agencies and the World Bank.

9. What does the Commonwealth specifically do for youth worldwide? The Commonwealth offers scholarships for young people to study at universities and colleges in member states. And, over and above the work carried out by various groups within the Commonwealth to improve educational facilities and society in general – which naturally also has an effect on young people – the Commonwealth Youth Pro- gramme (CYP) is specifically committed to reducing poverty among teenagers and young adults by getting this group actively involved in issues concerning them. It offers training programmes with the aim of empowering young men and women so they themselves can act as partners in youth development and democracy. An important example is the CYP’s Young Ambassadors of Positive Living Programme (YAPL) which started up in Africa in 1993 in response to the increasing problem of HIV and AIDS among young people. Its ongoing success has led to YAPLs being initi- ated in Asia and the Caribbean (2001/2002), based on the African model. The YAPL has a pragmatic approach in raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. They tour schools, universities and youth clubs, etc. with their own street plays, media campaigns, competitions, music concerts, to name just a few.

10. Does the Commonwealth have military power? No, the Commonwealth has no military forces, its aim, as it states on its website, being ‘behind-the-scenes consensus building’. Rather than intervene in a country’s affairs, it attempts to educate and support civilians in democratising processes.

11. Are there any big events run by the Commonwealth? Commonwealth Day is commemorated on the second Monday of March each year with the aim of linking up its member states to promote cooperation worldwide and an understanding of major global issues. The theme of the 2010 Commonwealth Day was ‘Science, Technology and Society’. The Commonwealth Games started up in 1930 and were initially known as the British Empire Games. The Games take place every four years and involve a large number of different sport disciplines not unlike those at the Olympics, but also include some that are especially popular in many Commonwealth countries, e.g. rugby sevens, netball and lawn bowls. A different city is selected by the Commonwealth Games Federation to host the Games each time. In 2006 they were held in Melbourne, Australia and in 2010 in Delhi, India. The host city for the next Commonwealth Games will be Glasgow, Scot- land. The event has been boycotted in the past, particularly during the apartheid period in South Africa, for instance in 1986 when roughly half the participating countries boycotted the Games due to the British government’s association with South Africa regarding sporting contracts.

Discussion Some feel that the Commonwealth is old-fashioned or outdated (and can't keep up with

globalisation). Read the FAQs and argue against this.

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