Commonwealth

Commonwealth literally means a form of administration signifying government by the common consent of the people. Two eminent political thinkers of the 17th century, Hobbes and Locke, in their writings described the term 'commonwealth'; as an organised political community similar to what is meant in the present day by the word 'state';. Certain states of the United States of America, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky are known as commonwealths. Similarly, the federated States of Australia are known collectively as the Commonwealth of Australia. In the same collective sense, the now independent components of the former British Empire and Britain';s remaining dependencies are described as the Commonwealth of Nations. Historically, however, the commonwealth was described as the government set up by the victorious army following the English civil war, and the execution of the British king Charles I in 1649. That Commonwealth was dominated from the outset by Oliver Cromwell who by the Instrument of Government in 1653 made himself the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. The subsequent government is usually known as the Protectorate, though the Commonwealth formally continued until the Restoration (of monarchy) in 1660.

The Commonwealth (of Nations), in its current structure is a unique voluntary association of 54 diverse, independent states constituting through a largely informal network of governmental and non-governmental links. Today, its membership comprises all types of states, presidential and parliamentary, monarchical and republican, all of whom were once under British colonial rule and spread all over the globe. From Africa to India, from Pacific shores to the Caribbean, the Commonwealth';s 1.6 billion people make up a quarter of the world';s population, while half of the members are small states with populations of under a million people. They belong to many races, religions and language groups in both the developing and developed world.

The Commonwealth has emerged with its present status through historical evolution. As the British colonial era began to decline in the mid-nineteenth century under the pressure of demands for self-determination initiated by the British settlers, first Canada in 1867, then Australia in 1900 and New Zealand in 1907 won self-governing status and became dominions. The dominion status with authority of self-governance and extensive independence in foreign affairs fundamentally changed the relationship between the colonies and the imperial power. The British politician Lord Roseberry while visiting Adelaide, South Australia in 1884 termed the empire as a Commonwealth of Nations which perhaps inspired the formation of the present-day forum of the same name. The Commonwealth was formally founded under the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and was then composed of Great Britain, the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland), Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

India and Pakistan achieved independence as dominions and thus became members of the Commonwealth in 1947. Sri Lanka became a member the following year. These events gave the association a multi-racial basis. The entry of independent states into the Commonwealth changed the original character of the institution. The Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru proposed the replacement of the term 'British Commonwealth'; by 'Commonwealth of Independent States';. The other members agreed that the British monarch should be 'the symbol of the free association (commonwealth) of member nations and as such head of the Commonwealth';, regardless of whether a member country retained the British monarch as its head of state or not. Therefore, Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, monarch of a number of other states, and the head of the Commonwealth for all the member states. She is present at all summits, but doesn';t attend the meetings.

Partly in response to international politics and partly because of internal tensions among the members of the Commonwealth, several countries left the organisation but rejoined later. In 1961, South Africa was denied membership due to the South African government';s policy of apartheid. Following the democratic election of a new multiracial government, South Africa was readmitted into the Commonwealth on 31 March 1994. Pakistan left Commonwealth in 1972 after the member nations recognized the State of Bangladesh and admitted her as a member. Pakistan was, however, readmitted in 1989. Similarly, Fiji Island allowed its Commonwealth membership to lapse following a military coup in 1987. She, however, rejoined the Commonwealth in October 1997. Nigeria, a member of the Commonwealth since independence (1960) was suspended at the meeting of the Commonwealth heads of government in Auckland. New Zealand was suspended from its membership in November 1995 as a result of the execution of some prominent human rights activists in blatant violation of the 1991 Harare Declaration. However, following the inauguration of a new civilian government in 1999 Nigeria had its suspension lifted. The Republic of Ireland is, however, the only country which did not rejoin the Commonwealth after it became a Republic in 1949.

The Commonwealth has no charter or constitutional structure. It functions on the basis of certain principles, procedures, conventions and occasional statements of trust and commitments to nations agreed upon by consensus. It also promotes a series of common values such as equality, indiscrimination among nations, democracy and rule of law. Inter-governmental consultation is the cardinal source of guidance through which the Commonwealth Secretariat draws up programmes to be carried out bilaterally or multilaterally. In 1965, a Commonwealth Secretariat was set up with headquarters in London. It is headed by a secretary general elected by the member nations. 

The meeting of the Commonwealth heads of government is held biennially to discuss political, economic and social issues affecting the members. Until 1971, all meetings of the Commonwealth were held in London, but later meetings of the heads of government were held in different countries with the head of government of the host country presiding over the meetings. During several such meetings a series of Declarations and Statements were issued to which all member countries are committed. Two of the most significant Declarations issued since the creation of the Commonwealth are the 1971 Declaration of the Commonwealth Principles adopted in the meeting at Singapore, and the 1991 Harare Declaration. The Singapore Declaration stated that the member states must strive for the pursuit of international peace and order in support of the United Nations, belief in individual liberty, equal rights and the democratic process, while in the Harare Declaration the members agreed to further strengthen the above principles with a view to providing the Organisation with a clear set of objectives, values and strategies for the 1990s and beyond. Special emphasis was also given to good governance and promotion of fundamental democratic values and human rights.

The Commonwealth is the first major international organisation that Bangladesh joined in 1972. The Bangladesh War of Liberation was supported by most members of the Commonwealth. Bangladesh has always been represented in all the Commonwealth summits at the head of state/government level since its joining the forum and making significant contributions in the deliberations on political, economic and socio-cultural issues. The first summit attended by Bangladesh following her entry into the Commonwealth was in Ottawa, Canada in 1973, and Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman as Prime Minister of the country led the Bangladesh delegation. In his statement, the Bangladesh Prime Minister highlighted Bangladesh';s keen desire to pursue a non-aligned foreign policy, adding that these objectives had been formulated on the basis of her political, economic and socio-cultural aims and interests, keeping in mind the changing global scenario and the needs of the time. 

Since joining the Organisation, Bangladesh bas been playing a significant role in the process of decolonisation. Bangladesh was a member of the Commonwealth Observer Team which supervised the election in Rhodesia which led to the independence of the country under the name of Zimbabwe. Likewise, Bangladesh was also involved in the process leading to the independence of Namibia in 1990. Similarly, as a part of the Commonwealth programme aimed at helping the member countries in their efforts to strengthen democracies, the Commonwealth Secretariat sent two Election Observer groups to Bangladesh to observe the elections held in 1991 and in 1996. 

As a member of the Commonwealth, Bangladesh receives considerable technical, financial and educational support from the other developed and developing member countries of the organisation, both bilaterally and through the Commonwealth Secretariat and its other organs. She has also been participating in the various categories of the Commonwealth Technical Assistance Programmes. At the same time, under the General Technical Assistance component, Bangladesh has been receiving the services of various types of experts and consultants involved in the economic, socio-cultural and political fields.

The Commonwealth Foundation has also been carrying out many important activities including running fellowship and scholarship programmes for the promotion of Commonwealth leadership. Many senior academicians, educationists, technocrats from Bangladesh have received fellowships and scholarships under the programmes of the Association of the Universities of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Institute in London aims at promoting educational and cultural exchanges between Commonwealth countries. Bangladesh regularly participates in various programmes organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Like all other member countries of the Commonwealth, Bangladesh also observe the Commonwealth Day on the second Monday of March every year. There are Commonwealth Associations in all the member countries including Bangladesh whose main function is to promote the spirit of the Commonwealth among the masses. 

The current member-countries of the Commonwealth are: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Island, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Zambia, Zimbabwe. [AKM Farooq] [Farooq, AKM  former Ambassador, Government of Bangladesh]