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The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 54 independent member states. All members except Mozambique and Rwanda were part of the British Empire, out of which the Commonwealth developed.

The member states cooperate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion ofdemocracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace.^[1] The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation in which countries with diverse social, political and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status.

Activities of the Commonwealth are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General, and biennial meetings ofCommonwealth Heads of Government. The symbol of their free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held byQueen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II is also monarch, separately and independently, of 16 Commonwealth members, which are known as the "Commonwealth realms".

The Commonwealth is a forum for a number of non-governmental organisations, collectively known as the Commonwealth Family, which are fostered through the intergovernmental Commonwealth Foundation. The Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth's most visible activity,^[2] are a product of one of these organisations. These organisations strengthen the shared culture of the Commonwealth, which extends through common sports, literary heritage, and political and legal practices.^[3] Due to this, Commonwealth countries are not considered to be "foreign" to one another.^[4] Reflecting this, diplomatic missions between Commonwealth countries are designated as High Commissions rather than embassies.

The prime ministers of five members of the Commonwealth at the 1944Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference.

In 1884, while visiting Australia, Lord Rosebery described the changing British Empire, as some of its colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations".^[5] Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, leading to the creation of the Imperial Conferences in 1911.^[6] The Commonwealth developed from the Imperial Conferences. A specific proposal was presented by Jan Christiaan Smuts in 1917 when he coined the term "the British Commonwealth of Nations," and envisioned the "future constitutional relations and readjustments in essence at the all-important Versailles Conference of 1919 by delegates from the dominions as well as Britain.^[7][8] The term first received imperial statutory recognition in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.^[9]

In the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, Britain and its dominions agreed they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". These aspects to the relationship were formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The statute applied to Canada without the need for ratification, but Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland had to ratify the statute for it to take effect. Newfoundland never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, the Government of Newfoundland voluntarily ended, and governance reverted to direct control from London. Newfoundland later joined Canada as its tenth province in 1949.^[10] Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively.^[11][12]

[edit]Remaining members gain independence

After World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled to the 14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word "British" was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature.^[13] Burma (also known as Myanmar, 1948) and Aden (1967) are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Former British protectorates and mandates that did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt (independent in 1922), Iraq (1932),Transjordan (1946), British Palestine (part of which became the state of Israel in 1948), Sudan (1956), British Somaliland (which united with the former Italian Somaliland in 1960 to form Somalia), Kuwait(1961), Bahrain (1971), Oman (1971), Qatar (1971), and the United Arab Emirates (1971). *

-  Wekipedia.

* Sorang Lelaki Melayu yang tinggal lama di London, keluar masuk Istana Ratu Inggeris, Parlimen Inggeris dan bertemua dengan beberapa orang penting dalam ‘Ketuanan Inggeris’ membisikkan kepada saya:

“Mana - mana atau semua Negara yang dijajah Inggeris dan diberi kemerdekaan, tidak diberi kemnerdekaan sepenuhnya. Negara itu masih dibawah rantai kuasa Inggeris.

Malaysia termauk negara - negara tersebut.

Mana - mana Negara umat Islam, tidak dapat menubuhkan Negara Islam, menjalankan sesuatu yang tidak digemari oleh Inggeris dan sebagainya.

Berbeza dengan negara yang merdeka di luar Komenwel dan membentuk diri masing - amsiang sebagai sebauah Negara Republik, mencapai taraf kemerdekaan yang penuh atau merdeka sebenarnya.