DelhiCommonwealth.com

Celebrating Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary union of over 50 independent sovereign nations. Most of these nations are former British colonies or dependencies of these colonies. A unique feature of The Commonwealth is that no single governement, British or any other, exercises powers over the other members, as incase of a political union. Instead, the association between all the member nations is like an international organization where countries with different economic, political and social backgrounds come together and collaborate with equal rights and status within a framework of common morals, values and goals.

The principles and guidelines of The Commonwealth are mentioned in the Singapore Declaration. The foundation of The Commonwealth is based on promotion of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, good governance, free trade, individual liberty, multilateralism, egalitarianism and world peace, and The Commonwealth member countries promote these value through projects, meetings and to a large extent by Commonwealth Games held after every 4 years. Queen Elizabeth II who is regarded as a symbol of this free association, is considered the Head of The Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Secretary General is the chief executive of the organization.

In the year 1931 when The Statute of Westminster gave legal recognition to the independence of dominions. This was the time when The Commonwealth was officially formed. It was known as the "British Commonwealth" at that time and the first members included United Kingdom, Canada, Irish Free State, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The London declaration was signed in the year 1949 and thats when the modern present day Commonwealth was born.

At present in 2008, 53 nations are members of The Commonwealth of Nations. The total population covered by these nations is somewhere around 2 billion people. There are 12 members in North America, 1 in South America, 3 in Europe, 18 in Africa, 8 in Asia and 11 in Oceania.

Current Members:

Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Gambia Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica

Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Saint Vincent

Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Swaziland Tanzania Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Zambia