About the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent countries, co-operating and consulting in the common interests of their people. Its 1.8 billion people make up around 30% of the world's population.
The Commonwealth includes some of the world's largest and smallest countries, developing and developed, spread across six continents and representing many different cultures, faiths and traditions.
The Commonwealth's fundamental values are set out in the Harare Declaration of 1991, which states:
- "we believe that international peace and order, global economic development and the rule of international law areessential tothe security andprosperity ofmankind;
- we believe inthe liberty of the individual under the law, in equal rights For all citizens regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief, and in the individual's inalienable righ to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which he or she lives;
- we recognise racial prejudice and intolerance as a dangerous sickness and a threat to healthy development, and racial discrimination as an unmitigated evil;
- we oppose all forms of racial oppression, and we are committed to the principles of human dignity and equality;
- we recognise the importance and urgency of economic and social development to satisfy the basic needs and aspirations of the vast majority of the peoples of the world, and seek the progressive removal of the wide disparities in living standards amongst our members."
Click here - for the full text of the Harare Declaration.
The Commonwealth's code of ethics and commitment to human rights and justice was first set out in the Singapore Declaration of 1971, which amongst other things, states:
"We believe in the liberty of the individual, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief, and in their inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic political processes in framing the society in which they live. We therefore strive to promote in each of our countries those representative institutions and guarantees for personal freedom under the law that are our common heritage? We believe that the wide disparities in wealth now existing between different sections of mankind are too great to be tolerated. They also create world tensions. Our aim is their progressive removal. We therefore seek to use our efforts to overcome poverty, ignorance and disease, in raising standards of life and achieving a more equitable international society."
To view the full text of the Singapore Declaration, Click here.
The Commonwealth takes its lead from the Commonwealth Heads of Government, who meet every two years. Other key recent declarations include the Aso Rock Declaration on Development and Democracy, 2003 (Click here) and the Fancourt Declaration on Globalisation and People-Centred Development, 1999 (Click here).
All the above links will open pages on the Commonwealth Secretariat's website, which provides more information about the history and current priorities of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Foundation, charged to link with and support civil society, is one of three intergovernmental agencies that carry out the Commonwealth's mandates. The others are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which provides the association with its capacity to service consultation and co-operation among member governments, and the Commonwealth of Learning, which encourages the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technology.
There are also a number of other Commonwealth organisations and networks of a voluntary nature. Visit our links section for a comprehensive list of links to Commonwealth websites.
