[159] Caribbean writer Jean Rhys's writing career began as early as 1928, though her most famous work, Wide Sargasso Sea, was not published until 1966. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word "British" was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature. At a time when Germany and France, together with Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, were planning what later became the European Union, and newly independent African countries were joining the Commonwealth, new ideas were floated to prevent Britain from becoming isolated in economic affairs. Regular liaison and co-operation between the Secretariat and the Foundation is in place. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association facilitates co-operation between legislatures across the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum promotes good governance amongst local government officials. [72], President Yahya Jammeh unilaterally withdrew The Gambia from the Commonwealth in October 2013. The Republic of Ireland (from 1949 according to the Commonwealth; 1936 according to Irish government) and Zimbabwe (2003) are former members of the Commonwealth. [54] The mechanisms by which these principles would be applied were created, and the manner clarified, by the 1995 Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme, which created the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which has the power to rule on whether members meet the requirements for membership under the Harare Declaration. The Commonwealth requires its members to be functioning democracies that respect human rights and the rule of law. Tuvalu is the smallest member, with about 10,000 people. Known as the "British Commonwealth", the original members were the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Irish Free State, and Newfoundland. ", McIntyre, W. David. The South African government withdrew its application to remain in the organisation as a republic when it became clear at the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference that any such application would be rejected. [23] However, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt the morale of Britain and of the Commonwealth as a whole. In non-Commonwealth countries in which their own country is not represented, Commonwealth citizens may seek consular assistance at the British embassy although it is for the embassy to decide, in its discretion, whether to provide any. The Commonwealth of Nations is represented in the United Nations General Assembly by the secretariat as an observer. [15], These aspects to the relationship were formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which applied to Canada without the need for ratification, but Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland had to ratify the statute for it to take effect. There had been a few important works in English prior to 1950 from the then British Empire. For example, in Australia, for the purpose of considering certain constitutional and legal provisions no distinction is made between Commonwealth and foreign countries: in the High Court case of Sue v Hill, other Commonwealth countries were held to be foreign powers; similarly, in Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, the nationals of other Commonwealth realms were held to be 'aliens'. [20], Burma (also known as Myanmar) and Aden (now part of the Republic of Yemen) are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Mozambique's controversial entry led to the Edinburgh Declaration and the current membership guidelines. [101] The Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "the Commonwealth has not recognised [...] the progress and achievements that the Maldives accomplished in cultivating a culture of democracy in the country and in building and strengthening democratic institutions". The issue came to a head in April 1949 at a Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting in London. By the 1960s with a sluggish economy Britain tried repeatedly to join the European Economic Community, but this was repeatedly vetoed by Charles de Gaulle. The 1949 London Declaration ended this, allowing republican and indigenous monarchic members on the condition that they recognised the British monarch as "Head of the Commonwealth". [42] The position is symbolic, representing the free association of independent members,[40] the majority of which (33) are republics, and five have monarchs of different royal houses (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga). The term "Commonwealth" was officially adopted to describe the community. [146][note 1] It is funded by voluntary agreement by six Commonwealth members, in proportion to the nationality of the casualties in the graves maintained,[145] with 75% of the funding coming from Britain. [102] Following the election of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as president in November 2018, the Maldives announced its intention to reapply to join the Commonwealth. British trade with the Commonwealth was four times larger than its trade with Europe. Internal Canadian disputes revolved around the growing American cultural economic presence, and the strong force of Quebec nationalism. [142] The 1977 Gleneagles Agreement was signed to commit Commonwealth countries to combat apartheid through discouraging sporting contact with South Africa (which was not then a member), whilst the 1986 games were boycotted by most African, Asian, and Caribbean countries for the failure of other countries to enforce the Gleneagles Agreement. Joined as Swaziland, subsequently changing its name to Eswatini on 19 April 2018. [60] Consideration for its admission was considered an "exceptional circumstance" by the Commonwealth Secretariat. As well as the usual athletic disciplines, as at the Summer Olympic Games, the games include sports particularly popular in the Commonwealth, such as bowls, netball, and rugby sevens. Britain ran a trade surplus, and the other countries were mostly producers of raw materials sold to Britain. Poet Derek Walcott, from Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, was another Nobel Prize winner in 1992. There are also many non-official associations that bring together individuals who work within the spheres of law and government, such as the Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. [115][116] The failure to release the report, or accept its recommendations for reforms in the area of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, was decried as a "disgrace" by former British Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a member of the EPG, who told a press conference: "The Commonwealth faces a very significant problem. Now, the majority of the Commonwealth members, including all those from Africa, are republics or have their own native monarch. ", "Economic crisis and political cold war, 1949-57", "A Message from the Rt. The secretariat organises Commonwealth summits, meetings of ministers, consultative meetings and technical discussions; it assists policy development and provides policy advice, and facilitates multilateral communication among the member governments.

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