This article treats especially British association: the Commonwealth off Nations . For the other Commonwealth, you at the end of the article defer.

Origins

The English word the Commonwealth date of. A common error tends to translate the Commonwealth by the current of the words wealth , richness or wellbeing, and common , common direction http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=commonwealth.

In fact the association of these two terms is itself a copy of Roman expression LMBO publica. The introduction of this term expresses the will to assimilate a Roman heritage, to institute a legal constitution of the capacity, without referring to a particular form of government, the République.

This term does not call into question the monarchical principle but the Despotisme, i.e. an unbounded personal capacity. The shift in meaning is definitively made within the framework of the First English revolution , between 1649 and 1660. This term consequently refers to the limitation of arbitrary royal, the government of the kingdom having to be subjected to the research of the community property and the control of the Parlement.

The term of the Commonwealth however remains synonymous with republic after the American Révolution. Four States of the the United States take the title of the Commonwealth, the Kentucky, the Massachussets, the Pennsylvania and the Virginia, affirming thus that they are founded on the assent of the people and not on the statute of royal colony British.

Consequently the term slips little by little of a design of the State has a design of the Empire. It is synomyme of confederation today.

The Commonwealth off Nations

The the Commonwealth off Nations is the association, created after the First World War, of the country having belonged to old the British Empire (old colonies or Protectorat S). The sovereign of the the United Kingdom directs the Commonwealth.

The originality of the Commonwealth comes from its organization: the Member States are linked by their shared interests, but are sovereign. They are bound by no treated and can remain neutral when a conflict engages one or more of them.

To date, the Commonwealth counts 54 Member States.

The Commonwealth is the successor of the British empire and car its origins of the Imperial Conférences of the end of the Années 1920 (of the British and colonial conferences of Prime Ministers were held periodically since 1887) where the independence of the dominions and sovereign colonies was recognized, and finally ratified by the Statut of Westminster of 1931. The Commonwealth was established like an association of free and equal countries, whose adhesion rested on an allegiance common to the British crown.

The empire was partly dismantled after the Second world war, following the emergence of independence movements in the fixed territories (and more particularly in India under the influence of pacifist the Gandhi) and with the weakening of the British government vis-a-vis the cost of the war. The Bermuda, Burma and the Yemen of the south belong to the rare colonies not having never adhered to the Commonwealth after their independence, respectively in 1948 and 1967. However, the most famous example of group of old British colonies, the the United States, does not form part of it, since its independence precedes of more than one century creation of this institution. The Ireland was member, but left for it the Commonwealth during the institution of the republic in 1949. The Commonwealth increased considerably in the last decades: formerly composed of ten members in 1956, it gathered of it more than fifty in 2000.

In January 2007, the BBC stated to have found elements revealing a French project of Guy Mollet, then President of the Council, in which he had proposed a union with the United Kingdom in 1956. This project was rejected by Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister . Guy Mollet would then have considered that France joins the Commonwealth, idea which on the other hand was very accepted by Anthony Eden. To join the Commonwealth would have implied a kind of common citizenship with the British, and a recognition of Its Majesty the Queen with the top of the French government. These projects were gently given up by Guy Mollet, and had remained secret so far. It is extremely probable which they would have been received with the greatest hostility on behalf of the public and of the political community.

Evolution of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth was created in 1884 and was consisted of the old colonies of the United Kingdom. The Canada was the first state to enter there, followed then by the Australia, the New Zealand, the South Africa, to quote only these. The Commonwealth increased considerably since its beginning. The beginning of the modern Commonwealth was marked in 1947 by the taken independence of India which preserved nevertheless bonds with the Commonwealth. Composed of ten members in addition to the old colonies in 1956, it gathers some more than fifty in 2000. The increase was done especially during the Forties and the Sixties, period during which several countries of Asia and Africa reached independence and decided to join the organization as Sovereign states. Since then, good number of small countries of the Antilles, from the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Islands came in their turn to enlarge the rows. Two significant events for the history of the Commonwealth: in 1971 , the “Singapore Declaration off the Commonwealth Principles” , which proposes to adopt with the ethical principles of the human rights and the racial and economic equality. Then, the creation of the the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) which allows a technical collaboration for the Member States. In 1949, the members of the Commonwealth agreed that British monarchy was to be the symbol of the free association of the nations members and, as such, “chief of the Commonwealth”, independently owing to the fact that a Member State makes or not its Head of State of it. Elizabeth II is the queen of Canada, monarch of 16 other “kingdoms” among the 54 Member States, and chief of the Commonwealth for all. She is present at all the tops, but she does not take part in the meetings.

Presidency of the Commonwealth

The Queen Elizabeth II was appointed chief of the Commonwealth in 1952 and became the symbol of the free association of her members. This title, however, does not imply political power above the Member States of the Commonwealth, and does not belong to the British monarch automatically. In practice, the queen directs the Commonwealth in only one capacity symbolic system, and it is the general secretary of the Commonwealth which is the senior officer of the organization.

Although the queen is the Head of State of sixteen members of the Commonwealth, called kingdoms of the Commonwealth, the majority of the members of the Commonwealth have their separate own bosses of State: thirty and one members are republics of the Commonwealth and six members have their own monarchs. These members always identify the queen like head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is not a political union, and does not allow the United Kingdom to exert an unspecified power above the businesses of other members of the organization.

The policy of the Commonwealth

The meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth takes place every two years; on this occasion, the participants discuss the great political questions, economic and social, of their incidence on their respective countries and of the measures to be taken, within the Commonwealth or jointly in other international bodies. Before 1971, all the meetings were held in London; since, they are held each time in a different country, the head of government of the country host assumes the presidency of it. An official statement is published at the conclusion of each meeting. It happens that a statement is made to state a series of objectives and general principles common.

Objectives of the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth makes the promotion of a series of values common to its members such as the equality , the non-discrimination , the democracy and the rule of the law . The Déclaration of Harare of 1991 recognized the particular importance which it attaches to the rights of the person, democratic ethics, the equality of the sexes, sustainable development and environmental protection. In the course of time, it specialized in certain fields, which enabled him to help its members directly to face common or particular problems. Indeed, those profit from the support of a vast network of private, voluntary and occupational organizations, including/understanding inter alia associations legal, medical, universities and members of Parliament, professionals and media and sporting organizations. Sharing legal a common education and public administration, working language and systems of similar, the Commonwealth set up on a common past to become a dynamic association of States in harmony with the modern world. In addition, the Commonwealth plays a big role for the social progress and economic of its members. CFTC (Funds of the Commonwealth for technical collaboration) supported the efforts of the Member States under development in order to accelerate the rate/rhythm of their economic growth. It provides, in the short run, the technical skills missing or insufficient in order to allow the governments concerned in fields as various as exports and industrial promotion, the high level legal departments and economic, and, later on, it ensures a whole range of training programs in the sectors considered as the pillars of economic development. The association of the Commonwealth Countries thus creates programs of solidarity and international cooperation to help the small Member States .

List Member States

Here the list of the Commonwealth Countries off Nations:

Former members

• HongKong (become a special administrative Area of the China in 1997)
• Ireland (member since 1931 - withdrawal in 1949)
• Ground-New-and-Labrador (become a province of the Canada in 1949)
• Zimbabwe (suspended in 2002 - withdrawal in 2003)
• Fiji (member since 1970 - excluded from 1987 with 1997 - suspended 2000 with 2001 - suspended in 2006

Other Commonwealth

Currently, the Commonwealth term can also indicate:

• the Australia

• the the Bahamas
• the Dominique
• the the Northern Marianna Islands of North
• Puerto Rico
• Four states of the the United States: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Historically, there existed also a the Commonwealth of England (1649-1653 and briefly 1659-1660).

And finally, in English, the the Commonwealth off Independent States indicates the Communauté of the independent States.

References

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