The Commonwealth: rediscovering its radical voice could make it relevant again
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) shakes hands with Rwandan President Paul Kagame (left) at the Commonwealth summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2013. Sri Lankan Government/Getty Images
Monday, March 8, 2021 7:38 AM UTC
The Commonwealth, an association of 54 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific, has always been a rather mysterious organisation. It evolved gradually over the course of the 20th Century, making it difficult to pinpoint a precise starting date.
Also, it operates more on precedent than formal agreements leading to further ambiguity. It’s also unclear what tangible benefits Commonwealth citizens derive from the organisation.
In July 2019, the Commonwealth Secretariat s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Unit launched a project called
Amader Porichoi (Our Identity) in Bangladesh. It included teachers, government officials and students from various universities. They shared views on cross-generational experiences of the Bangladeshi identity, both pre- and post-1971, including awareness of misinformation and fake news. A film named
Shongram, produced by British-Bangladeshi Munsur Ali, was also screened. The government welcomed the innovative project in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh s independence.
Furthermore, from 2011 to 2013, the then Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dr Dipu Moni, chaired the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG). Subsequently, in 2020, the current Foreign Minister, Abdul Momen, was appointed Chair of the CMAG to resolve the Maritime Territorial Dispute between British Guyana and Venezuela.
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The Commonwealth: rediscovering its radical voice could make it relevant again
By Philip Murphy - The Conversation LISTEN
MAR 7, 2021
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) shakes hands with Rwandan President Paul Kagame (left) at the Commonwealth summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2013. - Source: Sri Lankan Government/Getty Images
The Commonwealth , an association of 54 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific, has always been a rather mysterious organisation . It evolved gradually over the course of the 20th Century, making it difficult to pinpoint a precise starting date.
Also, it operates more on precedent than formal agreements leading to further ambiguity. It s also unclear what tangible benefits Commonwealth citizens derive from the organisation.
The organisation consists of a variety of networks developed over decades
The Commonwealth, an association of 54 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific, has always been a rather mysterious organisation. It evolved gradually over the course of the 20th Century, making it difficult to pinpoint a precise starting date.
Also, it operates more on precedent than formal agreements leading to further ambiguity. It’s also unclear what tangible benefits Commonwealth citizens derive from the organisation.
And perhaps the biggest mystery of all is why a group of nations that struggled to win their independence from the UK should have chosen to reconstitute themselves in an organisation that closely resembles the shape of the former British Empire.