ORAL ENGLISH: ALEX G, ANDREU P. & CHRISTIAN Z.

This is our dialogue:

We are Alex G., Andreu P. and Christian Z., and our group do the work of the commonwealth. We would like to explain you a brief look about what is Commonwealth and what it means. We will talk about the members, the history, the objectives and activities, the structure and who and why are members.

The Commonwealth:

The Commonwealth of Nations normally referred to as The commonwealth. Is an intergovernmental organization of 54 countries.

Members

The Commonwealth is the home of two billion citizens of all faiths and ethnicities. Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa to Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and the South Pacific, until a total of fifty-four states.

India is the most populated country in the Commonwealth and Tuvalu is the smallest member.

The land area of the Commonwealth nations is about twenty-one per cent of the total world.

History

In 1884, while visiting Australia, Lord Rosebey, a British politician, described the changing British Empire, as some of its colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations".

Remaining members gain independence:

After the Second World War ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Among the former British protectorates and mandates, for example are Egypt, Qatar, etc.

Since nineteen forty-nine, in the London Declaration, the states members of the Commonwealth don’t need to recognize the British Sovereign  as their head of state, but they can be republics, or constitutional monarchies with their own monarchs, while some countries retained the same monarch as the United Kingdom

The term "New Commonwealth" has also sometimes been used in the United Kingdom (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) to refer to recently decolonized countries, which are predominantly non-white and developing. It was often used in debates about immigration from these countries.

Objective

The commonwealth’s objectives were first outlined in the 1971 Singapore Declaration, which committed to the institution of world peace, promotion of representative democracy and liberty.

The Commonwealth is active in development, democracy, debt management and trade.

The Commonwealth Secretariat has a Strategic Plan for the four year period between two thousand and eight and two thousand and twelve. The Plan has two Goals reflecting its emphasis on the promotion of democracy and development:

Goal 1: Peace and Democracy

Support member countries to prevent or resolve conflicts.

Goal 2: Pro-Poor Growth and Sustainable Development
Help to develop the capacities of the state members to sustainable growth.

Structure

Under that formula of the London Declaration, Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, a title that is currently individually shared with that of Commonwealth realms.

The main decision-making forum of the organization is the biennial. The commonwealth heads of government meeting. There the ministers have assembles and meetings.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main agency of the organization.

With headquarter in London, the Secretariat organizes Commonwealth summits and other meetings; it facilitates communication among the member governments. It also provides technical assistance to governments in the development of their countries.

The Secretariat is headed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is elected by Commonwealth Heads of Government for no more than two four-year terms.

Membership

The criteria for membership of the Commonwealth of Nations have developed over time from a series of separate documents. The Statute of Westminster 1931, as a fundamental founding document of the organization, laid out that membership required dominion hood.

Sudan, Algeria, south Sudan, Somaliland and Yemen have applied to join the commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group can suspend a member for "serious or persistent violations" of the Harare Declaration, particularly in abrogating their responsibility to have democratic government.

Suspended members are not represented at meetings of Commonwealth leaders and ministers.

In recent years, the Commonwealth has suspended several members "from the Councils of the Commonwealth" for "serious or persistent violations" of the Harare Declaration, particularly in abrogating their responsibility to have democratic government.

Webgraphy

We found all this information on the commonwealth.org ’s web and on the Wikipedia ’s web.

Thanks

We are very grateful to you for your patience hearing us, and we hope our explanation have clarified some ideas.

Alex G., Andreu P. and Christian Z.


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