Membership criteria
Kampala saw the completion of a review of the Commonwealth's membership criteria, launched at the 2005 CHOGM in Valletta, with the publication of the report of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership. It had already been announced that no new members would be admitted until the 2009 CHOGM. [2] In this context, Rwanda was discussed at great lengths, with Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, invited to Kampala as neighbour Uganda's guest. [3]
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) reimposed the suspension on Pakistan that had been lifted in 2005 on the eve of the CHOGM. [3] Opposed vehemently by Sri Lanka, the move seemed to indicate a more assertive role for CMAG since the premature lifting of the suspension on Pakistan two years earlier. Since Pakistan's suspension and Zimbabwe's withdrawal, CMAG had seen little use, and the more commanding chairmanship of Malta's Michael Frendo marked a change in tone. [3] The new CMAG, elected at the CHOGM, saw Canada, Lesotho, and Tanzania replaced by Namibia, New Zealand, and Uganda. [3]
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental 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 was 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 in London, but was represented again by the Prince of Wales at the 2022 meeting in Rwanda.
The Commonwealth secretary-general is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Commonwealth secretary-general should not be confused with the head of the Commonwealth.
The criteria for membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, which apply to current and prospective member states, have been altered by a series of documents issued over the past eighty-two years.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration, abbreviated to CMAG, is a group of representatives of members of the Commonwealth of Nations that is responsible for upholding the Harare Declaration. That Declaration dictates the Commonwealth's fundamental political values, and sets the core membership criteria of the organisation. Its remit to evaluate the Harare Declaration lapses every two years; the remit must be renewed and its membership reviewed by the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
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 and 27 November 2005, and hosted by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
Kamalesh Sharma is an Indian diplomat. He was the fifth Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008 to 2016, having previously served as the High Commissioner for India in London. He has served as the Chancellor Emeritus of Queen's University Belfast.
The 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 15th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 October and 27 October 1997, and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 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 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 21st Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, between 27 and 29 November 2009, and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Patrick Manning.
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 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, Australia, between 2 and 5 March 2002, and hosted by the Prime Minister of Australia, 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, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority 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 among member states. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.
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, officially known as the II Commonwealth Heads Meeting, and commonly known as Ottawa 1973, was the second Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held from 2 to 10 August 1973 in Ottawa, and hosted by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
The majority of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly known as the British Commonwealth, still criminalise sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Homosexual activity remains a criminal offence in 32 of the 56 sovereign states of the Commonwealth; and legal in only 24.
Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort is a luxurious Five star hotel-resort in Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community.
The 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, also known as CHOGM 2022, was the 26th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. The meeting was originally scheduled for 26–27 June 2020 in Kigali, Rwanda preceded by various fora between 22 and 25 June, but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 31 January 2022, it was announced that the meeting would be held on 24 and 25 June 2022 and the pre-meeting fora held from 20 to 23 June.
Uganda