With all the rather more urgent issues President Jagdeo had to deal with on his return from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), in Kampala, Uganda, last month, he might be forgiven for not briefing the nation on the wider official and informal discussions taking place there about the future composition and leadership of the Commonwealth.
As most of us know, Guyana joined the Commonwealth on attaining independence from Great Britain in 1966 and the organization has been an important source of political solidarity and technical cooperation for our young, developing nation. In addition, the Commonwealth Youth Programme has one of its four Regional Centres in Georgetown, serving the Commonwealth Caribbean, and Canada. And of course Guyanese Sir Shridath Ramphal was Commonwealth Secretary-General from 1975 to 1990, the first Secretary-General from a developing country and the longest serving to date.
The Commonwealth today is a genuinely global association of 53 independent states, ranging from first world nations to micro-states like St Kitts and Nevis, and counting almost 2 billion people, roughly 30 per cent of the world’s population, embracing a broad range of faiths, races and cultures. Until the admission of francophone Cameroon and the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique in 1995, its common denominator was the English language and a shared heritage arising from British colonialism. The majority of Commonwealth countries are now republics, with only a small number recognizing Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. The Queen, now 81, however, still serves as the symbolic Head of the Commonwealth.
Ten years ago, at the Edinburgh CHOGM, the rules of the club were relaxed further to open membership to any country with a “constitutional association” with an existing member, not just the United Kingdom. Since then, there has been ongoing consideration of the nature of the Commonwealth and its future.
In Kampala, following the submission of a report last year on membership by a committee under the chairmanship of former Jamaican Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, CHOGM agreed on a four-step process for considering applications for membership. As a consequence, membership is now formally open to countries with “a historic constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member, save in exceptional circumstances,” a demonstrated commitment to the fundamental values of the Common-wealth and acceptance of Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth.
Among possible contenders for membership of an already diverse club are supposedly countries like Israel and the Palestinian territories, Rwanda, Yemen, Somalia and Algeria. These would, obviously, not only add to the rich social and cultural diversity of the Commonwealth, but would also undoubtedly add to the complexity of managing political relations among members who lack a common historical legacy and the cultural unity of the English language. One doesn’t need a PhD in Political Science to recognize the potential headache of dealing with Israel-Palestine issues in the councils of the Common-wealth.
One thing appears certain: the Commonwealth is prepared to broaden its base and extend its membership and potential influence as a global player, although any new member will have to be accepted by all members.
But just to complicate matters even more, Prince Charles, the 59-year-old heir to the British throne, turned up on a parallel visit to Uganda at the same time as his mother was opening CHOGM, prompting feverish speculation that he was on a “diplomatic charm offensive” to succeed the Queen as Head of the Common-wealth.
Commonwealth observers were quick to point out, however, that even though the Queen has been Head of the Commonwealth since her accession to the throne in 1952, the position is not enshrined in law and her heir does not automatically succeed her. Her Commonwealth status is largely symbolic and not vested in the British crown and, on her death, Commonwealth heads will decide on their new figurehead.
Indeed, most Commonwealth members are republics and only 16, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, have the Queen as Head of State. But republican sentiment is growing, in countries as different as Australia and Barbados, and it appears that it is the very persona of the Queen, her own belief in the spirit and unity of the Commonwealth and the respect and affection she herself inspires, that explains the durability of the links between the British Queen and the Common-wealth.
As for Prince Charles, it is not only in Britain that he arouses ambivalent sentiments regarding the role of the monarchy, and it may well be that Commonwealth leaders opt for some sort of rotational policy to succeed the Queen. It has to be said, however, that the Prince, through his Prince’s Trust, does have many links with several Commonwealth countries and is remarkably close to many leaders on his views on education, climate change and the environment.
The Commonwealth now appears to be standing on the threshold of momentous change. We would do well to develop an appreciation of this and what it might mean for Guyana and our own place in the Commonwealth.
