Introducing the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth is an association of sovereign nations which support each other and work together towards international goals. It is also a 'family' of peoples. With their common heritage in language, culture, law, education and democratic traditions, among other things, Commonwealth countries are able to work together in an atmosphere of greater trust and understanding than generally prevails among nations. At the start of 2010, there were 54 member countries in the Commonwealth.
However, the Commonwealth has no formal constitutional structure. It works from understood procedures, traditions, and periodic statements of belief or commitment to action. Intergovernmental consultation is its main source of direction, enabling member governments to collaborate to influence world events, and setting up programmes carried out bilaterally or by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the association's main executive agency. The most widely-used definition of the Commonwealth is taken from the Declaration of Commonwealth Principles, 1971:
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent sovereign states ... consulting and cooperating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding and world peace.