Wikipedia: The Commonwealth

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The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent sovereign states formed by the United Kingdom and most of its former colonies. It was formerly known as the British Commonwealth, and many still call it by that name, either mistakenly or to distinguish it from the many other commonwealths in world. Queen Elizabeth II is the nominal head of the organization, but in practice the organisation is served by a secretariat headed by a secretary-general. One member of the present Commonwealth was never a colony of the British Empire: Mozambique applied for and received membership in 1995, mainly because every border-sharing neighbour of Mozambique was also a member and the post-civil-war government felt it was in the interest of the recovering nation to be included.

According to the Commonwealth Secretariat's website [1], citizens of Commonwealth nations make up 30% of the world's population. However, with the mutual decline of interest in each other as former British colonies forge closer relationships with trading partners and close geographic neighbours, the Commonwealth's direct practical importance has declined. It mainly restricts itself to encouraging community between nations and to placing moral pressure on members who violate international laws, such as [human right]?s laws, and abandon democratically elected government. It is also useful as an international organisation that represents cultural and historical links between wealthy first-world countries and poorer developing nations with diverse social and religious backgrounds.

Fiji and Pakistan have had their membership suspended in recent years because of military coups removing democratic regimes. South Africa's membership was effectively suspended during the Apartheid era (South Africa actually withdrew of its own accord in 1961 before the suspension resolution was passed), but reinstated in 1994.

Heads of state of the Commonwealth countries meet biennally at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). This was to have been held in Brisbane, Australia in October 2001, but was postponed until March 2002 due to the uncertainty in international affairs engendered by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Commonwealth countries also share sporting and cultural links, notably including the sport of cricket. A multi-sport championship called the [Commonwealth Games]? is held every four years, and as well as the usual athletic disciplines that includes sports popular throughout the Commonwealth such as bowls.

It is the successor of the British Empire, that was largely dismantled after World War II, partly owing to the influence of the famous Indian pacifist Mohandas Gandhi and partly owing to the British Government's straitened circumstances resulting from the cost of the war.

Commonwealth Members:

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