The Commonwealth had no constitution until it adopted its Charter in , which committed members to 16 values of democracy, gender equality, sustainable development and international peace and security. The Commonwealth has been criticised for being a post-colonial club and for having little influence. The Gambia announced its withdrawal in describing it as a "neo-colonial institution".
Supporters say the benefits which membership brings include developmental support and co-operation on international goals. Secretary-general Lady Scotland, said: "Our member countries have committed to nurture and protect democracy, development and respect for diversity.
India could claim number one spot soon - possibly as early as this year. UK exports to Commonwealth countries in were roughly the same as those to Germany, accounting for about 8. Imports from the Commonwealth represented about 7. Don't forget the International Organisation of La Francophonie - a group of French-speaking countries. And there's the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was set up in by former members of the Soviet Union.
Get in touch. Read more from Reality Check. Follow us on Twitter. Profile: Commonwealth of Nations. This community was called the British Commonwealth of Nations or just the Commonwealth.
The Dominions and other territories of the British Empire gradually became fully independent of the United Kingdom. India became independent in India wanted to become a republic which didn't owe allegiance to the British king or queen, but it also wanted to stay a member of the Commonwealth.
At a Commonwealth Prime Ministers meeting in London in , the London Declaration said that republics and other countries could be part of the Commonwealth. The modern Commonwealth of Nations was born.
But the British king or queen is not automatically Head of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth member countries choose who becomes Head of the Commonwealth. Since independent countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Pacific have joined the Commonwealth. Membership today is based on free and equal voluntary co-operation. The last 2 countries to join the Commonwealth - Rwanda and Mozambique - have no historical ties to the British Empire.
The Commonwealth Secretariat was created in as a central intergovermental organisation to manage the Commonwealth's work. The Commonwealth library and archives are available for historical research and study at Marlborough House in London. Yet choose they did. In part, at least, because so many of their leaders were formed by that imperial culture. But many felt an affinity with the UK. In , those sorts of sentimental links to the UK are inevitably less pronounced.
The simple answer is self-interest. The Commonwealth amplifies the voice of African nations, providing it with an additional means of lobbying major donors and diplomatic players like the UK, India and Canada. It also provides a potential framework for resolving disputes between African members. Ghana became a member not because Britain wanted it to, but because Nkrumah wanted it. Thereafter, the struggle to free Southern Africa from white minority rule — in Rhodesia which illegally declared its independence in , and South Africa under the policy of apartheid — became the issue that gave the Commonwealth a sense of mission and purpose.
An organisational milestone came in when a secretariat was created at the urging of Nkrumah and Ugandan leader, Milton Obote. Zimbabwe joined the Commonwealth in after gaining independence in what appeared to be a major victory for the Commonwealth.
The organisation had played a major role in ensuring an orderly transfer of power. When Lusophone Mozambique joined in , the door was opened to other states that had not been colonised by the British.
With its joining, shared values apparently became more of a uniting factor than a shared history. Rwanda joined in It is the only other current member not to have links to the British Empire. In short, the development of the Commonwealth has owed at least as much to African as to British diplomacy. The Commonwealth as currently constituted is not a particularly effective organisation. Membership carries few economic benefits unless one believes the rather flimsy research from the Secretariat pointing to a Commonwealth trade advantage.
It had been suggested that Brexit would deepen economic ties with Commonwealth members in Africa.
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