The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 53 member states, nearly all of them 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 between member states.
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.
Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria are the corpus of requirements that members and prospective members 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.
Millbrook introduces compulsory adherence to the Harare principles, and, in enforcing them, includes aspects of both carrot and stick approaches. The programme encourages the membership to empower the Commonwealth Secretariat to provide incentives for upholding the core political values of the Harare Declaration: democracy, rule of law, and good governance.[1] However, the programme also allows the Secretariat to employ bilateral and multilateral punishments against intransigent members. For serious or persistent offending countries, suspension and expulsion from the Commonwealth altogether are permitted.[1] The programme cites an unconstitutionalcoup d'état against a democratically elected government as a particularly serious violation.[1]
The phrase "carrot and stick" is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM); assisting and advising on policy development; and providing assistance to countries in implementing the decisions and policies of the Commonwealth.
Democracy is a system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. In a direct democracy, the citizens as a whole form a governing body and vote directly on each issue. In a representative democracy the citizens elect representatives from among themselves. These representatives meet to form a governing body, such as a legislature. In a liberal democracy the powers of the majority are exercised within the framework of a representative democracy, but the constitution limits the majority and protects the minority, usually through the enjoyment by all of certain individual rights, e.g. freedom of speech, or freedom of association.
To help monitor and enforce adherence to the Harare Declaration, Millbrook established the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which has the responsibility to examine cases of potential breaches and to recommend appropriate action to be taken by the Secretariat.[1] Convened by the Secretary-General and consisting of Foreign Minister (or equivalent) of eight members, the composition, terms of reference, and operative functions of CMAG are reviewed every two years under the programme.[1]
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 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, who is currently Elizabeth II.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. 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. However, 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 CHOGM held in London.
Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. There is also road access directly to Queenstown via the Shotover Gorge and a third route via the picturesque Lake Hayes.
Millbrook Resort is a luxury resort near Queenstown, New Zealand. It is located 4 kilometres to the west of the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown. The resort covers two hundred hectares of the Wakatipu Basin - a glacial valley bordered by the Crown Range, the Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu.
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.
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.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007 was the twentieth 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 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2005 was the nineteenth 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 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1995 was the fourteenth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 10 November 1995 and 13 November 1995, and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Jim Bolger.
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 53 sovereign states. Nearly all of them are former British colonies or dependencies of those colonies.
The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU) was a think-tank covering matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations. It formed part of the University of London's Institute of Commonwealth Studies, itself part of the School of Advanced Study.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2009 was the twenty-first 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 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2002 was the seventeenth 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 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1999 was the sixteenth 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.
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 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1993 was the thirteenth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Limassol, Cyprus, between 21 October 1993 and 25 October 1993, and was hosted by that country's President, Glafcos Clerides.
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