What does the Commonwealth do?
Commonwealth countries work together to improve the quality of life of their citizens and to build a better world. Members help each other to make their economies stronger, to operate accountable and democratic systems of government and to improve the skills of their people. They agree among themselves on issues of wider international concern – be they on fair trade, debt relief or combating terrorism – and seek recognition for their concerns to be taken into account in global and other discussions.
The Commonwealth runs a whole range of programmes of direct benefit to its members. These programmes include assistance with election monitoring, and the training of judges and public servants; help with education, whether through scholarships, distance learning schemes or teacher training; assistance in alleviating environmental degradation and in implementing environmentally sustainable solutions; and help in combating disease and in training medical personnel.
Commonwealth Heads of Government meet to discuss how best to work together and meetings at ministerial and official level are also held regularly. Every country, large or small, rich or poor, has an equal voice and decisions are taken by consensus: that is, with the agreement of all.
The moral authority of the Commonwealth is strong and its members work together to encourage the maintenance of common standards. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) was established in 1995 to deal with serious or persistent violations of the Harare Declaration which sets out the Commonwealth's fundamental political values. Composed of the Foreign Ministers of eight Commonwealth member countries, plus one or two additional ministerial representatives from the region concerned, CMAG assesses the nature of an infringement and recommends measures for collective Commonwealth action aimed at the speedy restoration of democracy and constitutional rule. This is just one of the ways in which the Commonwealth works to uphold democracy and human rights.
The Joint Office for Commonwealth Permanent Missions to the UN, based in New York, is another excellent example of Commonwealth cooperation. The office, funded by a number of Commonwealth members, exists to enable small state members to maintain a permanent presence at the UN. It acts as a base for envoys of eleven Commonwealth countries to operate in representing their respective states. The eleven small states that currently have Permanent Representatives working from the New York Office are Dominica, The Gambia, Grenada, Maldives, Nauru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.