It was the largest summit in modern Commonwealth history up to that point (a title to be taken from it by the 1999 CHOGM), with forty-two heads of state or government.[1] It was also attended by Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who had recently been ousted as President of Sierra Leone. Most notable, however, was the emergence of the civil society fringe of the 'People's Commonwealth', transforming a conference of policy-makers into a cultural celebration.[1] For this reason, most participants and commentators considered it a success.[2]
The appearance of Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, at the opening of the CHOGM was a novelty. The monarch had never appeared at a CHOGM before, and it marked the beginning of a renewed interest in the Commonwealth from the monarchy.[1] The rest of the opening ceremony was low-key.
The Edinburgh Declaration was agreed, endorsing the report of the Inter-Governmental Group on Criteria for Commonwealth Membership (IGCCM) which consolidated and revised previous rules and agreements which had developed over the previous 60 years.
Economic declaration
The CHOGM was, unlike the preceding meeting in Auckland, an unspectacular affair with regards to policy.[1] This was a result of a large number of newcomers to CHOGM, with twenty countries having new leaders, and the consequent requirement to build new personal relationships, which was compounded by the short retreat, which lasted only a few hours,[1] but at which most business is usually done.[3]
Chairperson Tony Blair pushed for a declaration of Commonwealth economic principles to mirror the Harare Declaration of the Commonwealth's political principles of six years earlier.[1] Whilst this was achieved, it was greatly watered-down. The British plan was presented in a sophisticated paper by Robert Cassen and David Greenaway.[2] The paper was rejected almost entirely. India, which opposed the request for another global trade round, scuppered the UK's plan to call for renewed trade negotiations, arguing that globalisation should be slowed.[1] What was agreed included the holding of a biennial Commonwealth Business Forum, the creation of a Trade and Investment Access Facility to help globalisation adjustment, and the creation of a $110m South Asia Regional Fund.[1]
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a biennial summit meeting of the de facto leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of government, especially among semi-presidential states. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President who becomes the Commonwealth Chair-in-Office until the next meeting. Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of the Commonwealth, attended every CHOGM beginning with Ottawa in 1973 until Perth in 2011, although her formal participation only began in 1997. She was represented by the Prince of Wales at the 2013 meeting as the 87-year-old monarch was curtailing long-distance travel. The Queen attended the 2015 summit in Malta and the 2018 summit held in London.
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 membership criteria, and redefining and reinforcing its purpose. The Declaration was issued in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 20 October 1991, during the twelfth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It reaffirmed the political principles laid out in the Singapore Declaration of twenty years before, and is considered one of the two most important documents to the Commonwealth's uncodified constitution, until the adoption of the Charter of the Commonwealth in 2012.
Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria are the corpus of requirements that member states and prospective member states must meet to be allowed to participate in the Commonwealth of Nations. The criteria have been altered by a series of documents issued over the past eighty-two years.
A President-in-Office or Chair(man)-in-Office is the ambassador, foreign minister, or other official of the member state holding the presidency of an international organization, who is the individual actually chairing the meeting of the representatives from member states.
The Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles was a declaration issued by the assembled Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations, setting out the core political volunteering values that would form the main part of the Commonwealth's membership criteria. The Declaration was issued in Singapore on 22 January 1971 at the conclusion of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Along with the Harare Declaration, issued in 1991, it is considered one of the two most important documents to the Commonwealth's uncodified constitution, until the adoption of the Charter of the Commonwealth in 2012.
The Edinburgh Declaration was a declaration by the heads of government of the Commonwealth of Nations concerning the organisation's membership criteria. Part of the final communiqué issued at the end of the fifteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the Declaration was an endorsement of the report of the Inter-Governmental Group on Criteria for Commonwealth Membership (IGCCM). It was issued on 27 October 1997, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
This is a timeline of the Commonwealth of Nations from the Balfour Declaration of 1926. Some regard the Balfour Declaration as the foundation of the modern Commonwealth.
The 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 20th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Kampala, Uganda, between 23 November and 25 November 2007, and was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni.
The 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 19th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Valletta, Malta, between 25 November and 27 November 2005, and hosted by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
The 1979 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the fifth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. 39 countries attended the meeting. It was held in Lusaka, Zambia, between 1 August 1979 and 7 August 1979, and was hosted by that country's President, Kenneth Kaunda.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 54 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies.
The Committee on Commonwealth Membership (CCM) was a committee convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2006 to examine and report on prospective changes to the membership criteria of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was chaired by P. J. Patterson, formerly Prime Minister of Jamaica, and consisted of seven other members.
The 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 18th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Abuja, Nigeria, between 5 December and 8 December 2003, and hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Commonwealth Chair-in-Office (CIO) is the Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth of Nations, and is one of the main leadership positions in the Commonwealth. It is held by the host chairperson of the previous Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and is maintained until the next CHOGM. Currently, the incumbent Chair-in-Office is also the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 17th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Coolum, Queensland, between 2 and 5 March 2002, and hosted by Prime Minister John Howard.
Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth of Nations have had a controversial and stormy diplomatic relationship. Zimbabwe is a former member of the Commonwealth, having withdrawn in 2003, and the issue of Zimbabwe has repeatedly taken centre stage in the Commonwealth, both since Zimbabwe's independence and as part of the British Empire.
The 1999 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 16th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Durban, South Africa, between 12 November and 14 November 1999, and hosted by President Thabo Mbeki.
The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 54 member states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations amongst member states.
Suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations is the most serious punishment that can be administered to members of the Commonwealth. In the absence of any mechanism by which to expel countries that breach its rules, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) may choose to suspend members from the 'Councils of the Commonwealth', which amounts to the suspension of their formal membership of the organisation, although their participation in activities of the Commonwealth Family of organisations is not necessarily affected.
The 1973 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the second Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Ottawa, Canada, between 2 August and 10 August 1973, and hosted by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
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