When did the British Commonwealth of Nations come into existence? Commonwealth of Nations and British Dependencies Countries commonwealth

15.06.2019

The war of the American British colonies for independence ended, as you know, with the victory of the colonies. The British Empire lost 13 colonies, leaving only Canada on the North American continent.

In this regard, the mother country began to form two different points of view on the future policy of Britain in relation to overseas possessions. Supporters of one advocated the expansion of British influence in India and the Far East, while supporters of the second believed that it was certainly necessary to expand influence, but it was necessary to allow the development of self-government in the colonies in order to prevent a repetition of the War of Independence of the North American colonies.

Gradually, reforms began to be carried out, as a result of which the differences became even more obvious between those colonies in which the development of territories was carried out by immigrants from Britain and where there were already prospects for the development of self-government, and those territories where, after the conquest, direct forms of British government were established.

Despite a lot of differences, both those and other colonies as a more or less independent state entity with a local government that had the right to pursue an independent policy.

This approach gave impetus to the development of parliamentary forms of government in the colonies and the ability to establish the rule of law. The latter was greatly facilitated by the spread in English, its use in administrative and educational spheres.

While the mother country was discussing the development of self-government in the colonies, Canada took the initiative in its own hands and in 1837 Upper and Lower Canada revolted. The main demand was to consolidate the rights of colonial self-government, which were first established by the American revolutionaries 60 years ago.

The authorities reacted quite quickly and in 1839 Lord Durham, Governor General of the British North America, proposed to form a government cabinet in the colonies by analogy with the British.

This colonial assembly and the executive branch responsible to it were given the right to exercise control over internal politics, however, the UK retained the right to a decisive vote in the following areas of colonial policy:

control for state lands,
form of colonial constitutions,
foreign policy,
international trade,
defense.

All these restrictions were lifted before the end of the First World War.

Development

The term "Commonwealth of Nations" was first used by British Prime Minister Lord Roseberry in 1884. The basis of the new colonial policy and the status of the Commonwealth were officially fixed at the colonial conference held in 1887 in London.

The most developed colonies acquired the status of dominions. Now they have become, de jure, autonomous quasi-state entities, and de facto - independent states. However, this did not affect their entry into the British Commonwealth of Nations - an association designed to unite the huge British Empire.

Among the first dominions to stand out were Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand, later - the Union of South Africa, the Dominion of Newfoundland and Ireland.

One of the most significant stages in the history of the Commonwealth was the Second World War. After its completion, or rather, from 1946 from the "British Commonwealth of Nations", this association became simply the "Commonwealth of Nations".

Events in India, which gained independence in 1947 and established a republican form of government on its territory, prompted a fundamental revision of the provisions on the existence of the Commonwealth.

In addition to changing the name, the goals of the association's activities were also adjusted: now humanitarian missions, educational activities, and so on are put at the forefront. Within the framework of the Commonwealth, states with different levels of development and the nature of their economies got the opportunity to cooperate at a new level as equal partners.

According to the new agreements, each of the Commonwealth countries has the unconditional right to unilaterally withdraw from the organization.

Participating countries

The Commonwealth today includes 17 countries (not counting the UK), which are also called the Commonwealth Realms. Total population The population of the Commonwealth countries is about 1.8 billion, which is approximately 30% of the total population of the planet. Formally, the head of these states is recognized as the British monarch, who is represented by the Governor General.

This does not prevent most of the participating countries from not recognizing the authority of the British crown, which in no way affects their status within the Commonwealth. It is not originally political organization and therefore Great Britain has no right to interfere in the politics of its members.

Not all countries that are part of the Commonwealth today had colonial ties with the British Empire. Mozambique was the first of these countries to join the organization. The Commonwealth has never included: Burma and Aden, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. There were cases of secession from the Commonwealth (Zimbabwe), including with the subsequent restoration of membership. For example, this was the case with Pakistan, South Africa.

Structure of the British Commonwealth

The head of the Commonwealth of Nations is the British monarch, today this post is occupied by Elizabeth II. The post of head of the Commonwealth is not a title and is not hereditary. When the monarch changes, the heads of government of the Commonwealth member countries will have to make a formal decision on the appointment of a new head of the organization.

Administrative direction is provided by the Secretariat, which has been headquartered in London since 1965. Since 2008, the Commonwealth Secretariat has been headed by Kamalesh Sharma (India).

Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Commonwealth of Nations".
Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "British Empire".
Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Overseas territories".
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Having lost its industrial monopoly, Great Britain was still the largest colonial power. About 500 million people were under its dominion. The territory of the metropolis was 140 times smaller than the colonies. According to the state-legal statute, British possessions were divided into four groups: dominions, protectorates, colonies and mandated territories.

So, dominions(translated from English - possession) - Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa - used independence, which has been constantly increasing. They not only had their own parliaments, governments, armies and finances, but sometimes they themselves owned colonies, such as Australia. Protectorates became colonial countries with a relatively developed state power and public relations. In them, the colonial policy was carried out in the form indirect control: There were two levels of colonial government. supreme power belonged to the British governor generals. Unlike the governors of the dominions, who rather represented the interests of the British crown, the governors of the protectorates were the absolute masters of the subject countries. Along with them was native administration(local rulers, leaders), which enjoyed limited independence, was endowed with certain judicial and police powers: the right to collect local taxes, had its own budgets. colonies were dependent territories that were directly ruled and subordinated to London, with minimal or no rights to self-government. The exception was the crown colonies with a significant stratum of the white population, who had great privileges and even their own colonial parliaments.

Nevertheless, under the pressure of the national liberation movement, which expanded as a result of the development of its own economies, the formation of the national bourgeoisie, the system of colonial administration was gradually reorganized. changed types British colonial policy. In 1917, at the imperial conference, the status of dominions was recognized autonomous states British Empire. Participating in the work of the Paris Peace Conference, the Canadian delegation won the right for the dominions to independently sign peace treaties, to have a separate representation from England in the League of Nations. At the imperial conference held in 1923, England recognized the dominions the right to enter into contracts with foreign countries, as well as determine in each individual case their participation or non-participation in international treaties concluded by England. English government in 1919–1921 was forced to admit independence Afghanistan, Egypt, rank dominions Ireland. However, even after these countries were granted independence, British capital retained key positions in the economy there. Thousands of British advisers provided big influence on the domestic and foreign policy of the governments of these countries. The governments of Iran, China, Turkey experienced a strong influence of England. In 1921, under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, six north-eastern counties (Ulster), which constitute the most industrially developed part of Ireland, were torn away from England and formed a dominion of the British Empire called Irish Free State.

To maintain control over the resources of these countries in new form– in the form of indirect (indirect) control, at the all-imperial dominion conferences in 1926 and 1930. was developed Constitution British Empire. December 11, 1931 entered into force Statute of Westminster. He secured the unification of the English dominions into the British Commonwealth of Nations and created confederation. The statute states that Great Britain and the Dominions are "the essence of the autonomous state units of the British Empire, equal in statute, in no respect subordinate to one another in any sense whatsoever in their internal and foreign affairs, albeit united by common allegiance to the crown and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. "The system of colonial management has been significantly transformed. According to the Statute of Westminster English king officially declared the head of the British Commonwealth of Nations, which included: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland. The act abolished the right of the British government to interfere in the internal affairs of the dominions. The Colonial Laws Validity Act of 1865 no longer applied to the dominions. The Statute of Westminster gave the dominions the right to independently decide on issues of internal and foreign policy, exchange diplomatic representatives with other countries, participate in international agreements.

Now the English Parliament could not make laws for the dominions except at their request or with their consent. Laws passed by the parliaments of the dominions could not be repealed, even if they were contrary to English law. The statute had a noteworthy proviso: "However, the principle of equality and similarity conferred on status do not universally apply to functions." Governor General dominion could be appointed by the king only by recommendations prime minister of the dominion. He was no longer considered authorized by the metropolitan government, but only representative king. In addition to the governor-general, British ambassadors were sent to the dominions, called high commissioners. Their role was formally reduced to diplomatic representation. For their part, the dominions received right appoint the same representatives (ambassadors) to the metropolis. Statute of Westminster expanded state independence of the dominions, eliminated a number of disagreements between the bourgeoisie of the dominions and the mother country. For all that, the position of the colonies, protectorates and mandated territories remained the same. For solutions critical issues imperial conferences began to be convened annually prime ministers countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

After World War II, a period of upsurge in the national liberation movement in the colonies began. India, Pakistan, Ceylon in 1946 received the status dominion. As a result of the colonial wars, independence Ghana, Federation of Malaya (1957). In 1960, Cyprus and Nigeria became independent. At numerous constitutional conferences of the 40-60s. In the 20th century, which discussed the future of British possessions, their state structure, Great Britain, formally participating in them as an intermediary, actually sought to maintain a British presence in all areas of future independent states. And she succeeded. So, in order to open the possibility of joining commonwealth for those colonies that have accepted dominion status, but have established republican form of government, the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in April 1949 decided to repeal the formula of the 1931 Statute of Westminster that "the members of the Commonwealth are united by a common allegiance to the Crown" and consider English king only "the symbol of the free association of independent nations members of the Commonwealth and as such the head of the Commonwealth". However, in 1948 Great Britain was forced to recognize Ireland's decision to withdraw from the British Commonwealth and proclaim the Republic of Ireland.

AT contemporary The Commonwealth is an association of former dominions that recognize the head of state of the English monarch, and a number of other countries with various forms boards with own chapter states (such as Ghana, Kenya, Sri Lanka). At present, the British Commonwealth of Nations unites 53 states and represents a modern type confederation. It would seem that the confederations are doomed to disintegration, but the experience of the Commonwealth allows us to speak about the certain stability of this integration entity. The annual conferences of the Commonwealth work out solutions to the social economic problems in the former dominions, mainly located in Africa.

COUNTRY TYPOLOGY. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

BRITISH COMMONWEALTH

States within the Commonwealth . This is - special shape state structure in member countries of the Commonwealth (British), which recognize the head of state of the Queen of Great Britain.

In 1931, Great Britain, which began to lose dependent territories, united its former and present colonies as part of the British Commonwealth of Nations, since 1947 it became known as the Commonwealth.

By the beginning of 2007, the Commonwealth included 53 independent states and territories dependent on Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in which 1.7 billion people lived (30% of the world population).

The head of the Commonwealth is the Queen of Great Britain. Most member countries of the Commonwealth republics (32), 6 - monarchies(Brunei, Lesotho, Malaysia, Swaziland, Samoa, Tonga), 16 countries recognize the Queen of Great Britain as head of state, i.e. formally are constitutional monarchies. The Commonwealth includes formally equal countries, but differing in level economic development, ethnic, religious composition of the population.

Member countries of the Commonwealth have single state language- English, similar systems of legislation, education, public service. All states that are members of the Commonwealth have full sovereignty in their internal and external affairs. commonwealth does not have a single constitution, no union-treaty agreements, no official attributes; it does not act in the international arena (for example, in the UN, in any international actions, etc.). The decisions of its annual conferences are not valid for a country that did not vote for them.

Members of the Commonwealth may be excluded from its composition for actions contrary to the charter (military coups, violation of human rights, civil wars ), and also have an unconditional right of unilateral exit. So, in 1972, the Commonwealth withdrew Pakistan, was re-admitted in 1989, expelled in 1999 and re-admitted in 2004. In 1961, expelled for the policy of apartheid South Africa, which re-entered in 1994. Fiji was expelled in 1987, membership was renewed in 1997, suspended in 2006, expelled in 1995 Nigeria, then re-adopted in 1999, excluded in 2002 by Zimbabwe.

The Commonwealth finances and organizes international protection programs for its members environment, education, scientific and technical cooperation, takes measures to increase mutual trade, etc.

Member countries of the British Commonwealth

№	Countries - members of the Commonwealth	head of state	Year of entry	Notes
1.	Antigua and Barbuda	Queen Elizabeth II	1981
2.	Australia	Queen Elizabeth II	1931	Dependencies: about. Norfolk, Territory of the Coral Sea Islands, Heard and McDonald Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, about. Christmas, Ashmore and Cartier Islands
3.	Bahamas	Queen Elizabeth II	1973
4.	Bangladesh	The president	1972
5.	Barbados	Queen Elizabeth II	1966
6.	Belize	Queen Elizabeth II	1981
7.	Botswana	The president	1966
8.	Brunei	Sultan	1984
9.	United Kingdom	Queen Elizabeth II		Dependent Territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British territories in Indian Ocean, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Hendenson, about. St. Helena and administratively subordinate islands of Tristan da Cunha and Christmas, South. George and Yuzh. Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
10.	Vanuatu	The president	1980
11.	Ghana	The president	1957
12.	Guyana	The president	1966
13.	Gambia	The president	1965
14.	Grenada	Queen Elizabeth II	1974
15.	Dominica	The president	1978
16.	Samoa	head of state for life - Chief Malietoa Tanumafili II	1970
17.	Zambia	The president	1964
18.	Zimbabwe	The president	1980	Membership suspended in 2002, expelled in 2003
19.	India	The president	1947
20.	Cameroon	The president	1995
21.	Canada	Queen Elizabeth II	1931
22.	Kenya	The president	1963
23.	Cyprus	The president	1961
24.	Kiribati	The president	1979
25.	Lesotho	King	1966
26.	Mauritius	The president	1968
27.	Malawi	The president	1964
28.	Malaysia	Sultan	1957
29.	Maldives	The president	1982
30.	Malta	The president	1964
31.	Mozambique	The president	1995
32.	Namibia	The president	1990
33.	Nauru	The president	1968
34.	New Zealand	Queen Elizabeth II	1931	Tokelau, as well as self-governing states in free association with New Zealand - the Cook Islands and Niue
35.	Nigeria	The president	1960	Deleted in 1995, re-adopted in 1999.
36.	Pakistan	The president	1989	Withdrew in 1972, re-adopted in 1989, expelled after the military coup in 1999, re-adopted in 2004.
37.	Papua New Guinea	Queen Elizabeth II	1975
38.	Swaziland	King	1968
39.	Seychelles	The president	1976
40.	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Queen Elizabeth II	1979
41.	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Queen Elizabeth II	1983
42.	Saint Lucia	Queen Elizabeth II	1979
43.	Singapore	The president	1965
44.	Solomon Islands	Queen Elizabeth II	1978
45.	Sierra Leone	The president	1961
46.	Tanzania	The president	1961
47.	Tonga	King	1973
48.	Trinidad and Tobago	The president	1962
49.	Tuvalu	Queen Elizabeth II	1978
50.	Uganda	The president	1962
51.	Fiji	The president	1997	Left in 1987, re-admitted in 1997, membership suspended in 2006 after a military coup
52.	Sri Lanka	The president	1948
53.	South Africa	The president	1994	Withdrew in 1961, re-adopted in 1994.
54.	Jamaica	Queen Elizabeth II	1962

The content of the article

COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS, association of independent states formerly part of the British Empire, recognizing the British monarch as a symbol of free unity. The Commonwealth includes (at the beginning of 1999): Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Malaysia, Singapore, Cyprus, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi, Malta, Gambia, Botswana, Guyana, Lesotho, Barbados, Mauritius, Swaziland, Nauru, Tonga, Western Samoa, Fiji, Bangladesh, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua - New Guinea, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Kiribati, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Zimbabwe, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Maldives, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Brunei, Vanuatu.

STORY

Empire to Commonwealth.

Control of public lands in the colonies quickly passed to local governments, who won the right to make their own constitutions and judicial systems. As early as 1859, Canada began setting its own tariffs, limiting Britain's control over foreign trade.

Less noticeable was progress in foreign affairs and defense. Although, over time, Great Britain recognized the need to consult with the Dominions on matters of foreign policy, she still retained her right to a decisive vote here. The British fleet continued to protect the empire as a whole, but ground troops were withdrawn from self-governing colonies that assumed the functions of self-defense.

Thus, in the colonies, the tendency to expand the sphere of responsibility in matters of local government was strengthened, which was accompanied by the growth of national self-awareness. The merger of the colonies into larger territorial entities also required greater independence in domestic politics. In 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick united to form the Dominion of Canada (formally, Canada was considered a confederation). The six Australian colonies formed the Commonwealth of Australia in 1900. In 1910 the four South African colonies formed the Union of South Africa.

At the end of the 19th century the empire established two important institutions to maintain contact between Britain and the self-governing colonies. In 1879 the government of Canada appointed a high commissioner to protect the interests of the country in London. British government refused to give him the status of ambassador, but an important precedent was nevertheless set, and other colonies also appointed high commissioners. In 1887 the government of Great Britain invited the governments of the self-governing colonies to send delegates to the colonial conference in London. Meetings of this kind were held periodically in the following decades, and from 1907 they became known as imperial conferences; it was decided that subsequent meetings should be held with the participation of the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the Prime Ministers of the self-governing colonies. At the imperial conference of 1926, such colonies received the official name of dominions.

Evolution of the Commonwealth.

The First World War was a turning point in the development of the Commonwealth. Great Britain declared war on behalf of the entire empire without consulting the colonies; however, the dominions were still represented in imperial military cabinets and conferences. The resolution of the imperial conference of 1917 recognized that the dominions were vested with the right to vote in deciding the foreign policy of the empire and that further cooperation would be carried out on the basis of "permanent consultations and joint actions." Proceeding from this, the general course of foreign policy was pursued both during the war and at the conclusion of peace. The new orientation towards the relative independence of the dominions in foreign policy received symbolic expression in the act of signing the Treaty of Versailles by the dominions and India.

The nature of the association has changed along with the status of its members. The term "Commonwealth of Nations", first used in 1884, became widespread from 1917, denoting the association of Great Britain, Canada, the Union of South Africa, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland (which lost dominion status in 1933 as a result of the economic crisis, and in 1949 became the tenth province of Canada). At the imperial conference of 1926, the famous Balfour formula was proposed, which defined the dominions as " autonomous communities British Empires, equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another in any aspect of their domestic or foreign policy, yet united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and constituting a free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations." This principle was approved by the Statute of Westminster of 1931, adopted by the British Parliament at the request of the Dominions. The Statute essentially fixed the existing state of affairs, legally securing the equality of the British Parliament and the Parliaments of the Dominions; the legislation of each dominion was recognized as independent and had sovereign force. External relations also became an area of sovereign decision for each dominion. In addition, the document stipulated that henceforth the order of succession to the throne of Great Britain would be regulated by members of the Commonwealth.

During the interwar period, the dominions put forward demands for complete independence, which made it impossible to develop a common foreign policy outlined at the imperial conferences during the First World War, although consultations continued on a regular basis. The reaction of the dominions to the British declaration of war in 1939 showed that they were free to choose their course of action. The parliaments of the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand expressed their full support for Great Britain and, together with her, on September 3, 1939, declared war on the Axis. Canada entered the war on its own, six days after Great Britain. There was a split in the Union of South Africa on this issue, and the country's parliament only voted by a small majority in favor of declaring war. The Irish Free State remained neutral.

In 1947 India was divided into two independent states: India and Pakistan. In 1949, India declared itself a republic, thereby designating new step in the evolution of the Commonwealth. India expressed a desire to remain in the Commonwealth, although Balfour's condition of a common commitment to the crown as a republic no longer suited her. At the 1949 Prime Ministers' Conference, India adopted the British monarch as the symbol of free association of member states and as head of the Commonwealth, a title that was never clearly defined. With this wording, other members of the Commonwealth began to proclaim themselves as republics. After 1947, the term "dominion" fell into disuse, as it no longer corresponded to the status of those members of the Commonwealth who refused to recognize the British monarch as head of state.

In 1960, in a referendum held by the government of the Union of South Africa, which consisted mainly of members of the Afrikaner National Party, the white population (only they participated in the referendum) voted by a small majority for a republic, which was proclaimed in May 1961. To remain in the Commonwealth, South - The African Republic has asked other members for its recognition. This caused a sharp reaction, especially from the countries - members of the Commonwealth with non-white populations, who condemned the system of apartheid and white domination in South Africa. As a result, South African Prime Minister H. Verwoerd withdrew his country's application to continue membership in the Commonwealth. In 1994, a new democratic government requested that the country be restored to the Commonwealth, and this request was granted.

After 1945 the character of the Commonwealth changed significantly. When India became a republic, but at the same time remained within the association, doubts about the compatibility of national independence with membership in the Commonwealth finally disappeared. The Commonwealth is now a multilingual, multiracial and multicultural community.

COMMONWEALTH RELATIONS

Commonwealth has always been open organization, even in the past, when it included ethnically homogeneous colonies. In the period between the two world wars, the inhabitants of the Dominions and Great Britain were connected by a common origin, citizenship, language, adherence to the British crown, a common heritage in the form of political institutions of the British model, the type of education, as well as close economic ties.

Between 1947 and 1978, 34 new members were admitted to the Commonwealth, and one state, Pakistan, withdrew from it. The majority were African and Asian countries, with a predominantly local population and a predominance of non-European cultures. The informal rules of membership changed accordingly. Former English colonies, having gained independence, did not automatically become members of the Commonwealth, but entered into it with the consent of other members. The British monarch had to be recognized as a symbol of free association, and some members of the Commonwealth had to reckon with this even if they became republics. None of the requirements were considered binding anymore, and no damage to the sovereignty of the member countries was allowed. At the same time, some of the former colonies, having become independent states, decided not to join the Commonwealth - for example, British Somalia, which became part of the state of Somalia, South Cameroon, which became part of the state of Cameroon, Sudan, Burma, the Emirates of the Persian Gulf.

With the simplification of the procedure for joining the Commonwealth, some of the old ties have disappeared, others have changed in accordance with the status and needs of new members.

constitutional connections.

The Commonwealth has no constitution, and in international law it is not considered a single entity. However, the constitutions of Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Bahamas, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Great Britain recognize the British monarch as the official head of state. In each of these states (except Great Britain), the monarch is represented by a governor-general, who occupies a position in relation to the government similar to that of the monarch in Great Britain. Republics are usually led by presidents, but Malaysia, Swaziland, Tonga and Lesotho are independent monarchies. These states do not express allegiance to the British monarch, but recognize him as head of the Commonwealth.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final authority for appeals by member countries of the Commonwealth. However, many countries, including Canada and Australia, do not apply to this authority.

citizenship and nationality.

Although the UK and some countries recognize potential Commonwealth immigrants as having the general status of British subjects or "Commonwealth citizens", all of these countries currently have restrictions on immigration from other Commonwealth countries. In the past, the UK has hosted all Commonwealth citizens. But in 1962, under British law, restrictions were imposed on immigration from the West Indies, and in 1968 a quota was determined for the entry into England of persons of Asian origin living in Kenya. Thereafter, the benefits of common citizenship in the Commonwealth became questionable, and the factor of citizenship lost its importance as a link.

legacy of British rule.

The internal unity of the countries of the Commonwealth is still found in political institutions of the British type, in the continuity of forms of education, in the expansion of the scope of the English language, especially in administration, secondary and higher education.

However, the situation is changing. In republics and even in some countries that recognize the British monarch as head of state, the Westminster model has undergone radical changes. In most Afro-Asian countries, completely different socio-political conditions have developed than in Great Britain - and, accordingly, other state institutions. Some of these countries have become essentially one-party states or military oligarchies. In some cases, the civil services have not escaped politicization, although their very structure has retained traces of British origin.

Economic ties.

After the First World War, Great Britain took the path of protectionism; At the 1932 imperial conference in Ottawa, a system of preferential discounts in intra-imperial trade was developed, linking together all British colonies and dominions. In the late 1930s, Canada began to pursue its own trade policy, and after World War II, the United States became its main market and source of capital inflows. But the preferential customs tariffs established in Ottawa continued to stimulate trade between Great Britain and other members of the Commonwealth. Attempts to introduce free trade after the Second World War, for example, relying on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which did not at all prevent the search for new trading partners, in fact, could not abolish the existing system of preferences within the Commonwealth.

Britain's entry into the Common Market in 1973 ended most Commonwealth benefits as Britain began to introduce Common Market tariffs. Nevertheless, in the 1960s, many Commonwealth countries, anticipating this course of events, tried to protect themselves by diversifying their markets. Partly for this reason, and partly because of the uncompetitiveness of British exports in the 1960s, some Commonwealth countries reduced trade with Great Britain, which was disproportionately large due to the insignificant mutual trade between these states. As exports declined, British imports from the Commonwealth countries also fell, which was caused by the country's inconsistent policy in dealing with the difficulties associated with the imbalance of payments. Between 1949 and 1969, the share of British imports (by value) from the Commonwealth fell from 36% to 23%, and the share of British exports to the Commonwealth fell from 36% to 22%.

Previously, being in the sterling zone was an important link between the Commonwealth countries (with the exception of Canada, which moved to the dollar zone). These countries are accustomed to keeping most of their financial reserves in British currency, using the pound for settlements and pegging their currencies to it. However, in 1967, after the devaluation of the British pound sterling, most Commonwealth member countries did not depreciate their national currencies, and when the pound fell further in the early 1970s, many of them began to keep their reserves in other currencies. As a result, the area of action of the British pound began to disintegrate by 1973, and the entry of Great Britain into the Common Market completed this process.

For the Commonwealth countries, the UK remains the main partner for bilateral technical cooperation, the main source of economic aid and investment. The Colombo Plan, which provides for the creation of multilateral funds for economic and technical assistance to the less developed countries of Southeast Asia, is not limited to the Commonwealth. There is also a targeted Assistance Plan African countries Commonwealth.

political institutions.

The nature of the Commonwealth institutions is intended to emphasize the freedom of ties between countries. The Prime Ministers' Conferences (periodic meetings of the heads of government of the member countries of the Commonwealth) retain continuity with the former imperial conferences, representing the most effective institution of cooperation. These meetings are informal, although joint communiqués are issued after they are completed. As a rule, conferences work out formal decisions only on the question of membership in the Commonwealth. Even in the case when the conference determines the general course, the decision regarding its implementation is made by each state independently. No mechanism is provided for inducing any of the Commonwealth countries to act contrary to their interests.

High Commissioners in the rank of ambassadors at first provided only two-way channels of communication between Great Britain and its former colonies, and now they also perform mediation functions between some other independent countries - members of the Commonwealth. The High Commissioners meet periodically in London with British Foreign Office officials to discuss issues of mutual interest. The Commonwealth Coordination Department provides all its members with relevant information.

Although each of the member countries individually is responsible for the state of its defense, constant consultations are also held in this area. Security issues are often discussed at prime ministerial conferences, military leaders exchange visits and convene their annual conferences. There is also the Commonwealth Defense Advisory Committee, which conducts military exercises, provides for the exchange of staff members, technical specialists, and retrains personnel.

The member countries of the Commonwealth have established institutions for the exchange of information on economic issues, including the Commonwealth Economic Advisory Council, which consists of ministers of economy and finance ministers from different countries.

Other advisory joint bodies are the Commonwealth Air Transport Council, scientific and research organizations, the Commonwealth Scientific Committee. Additional links are Commonwealth Press Union, Commonwealth Broadcasting Conference, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

At the Commonwealth Conference, held in November 1999 in Durban (South Africa), it was decided to introduce the post of chairman of the Commonwealth. They become the head of government of the country - the organizer of the conference, at the moment it is the President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki. The Chairman of the Commonwealth performs a representative role, primarily in relations with intergovernmental organizations in the period between conferences of heads of government, which are held once every two years. Thabo Mbeki will lead a presidential panel tasked with "redefining the Commonwealth's role and making recommendations on how the association can meet the challenges of the 21st century."

The Presidential Group, which will also define the mandate of the Ministerial Action Group (SMAG), includes 10 other heads of state and government, including the British Prime Minister, the Presidents of Zimbabwe and Tanzania. She is to report to the next Commonwealth Conference to be held in Sydney in 2001.

COMMONWEALTH AND WORLD

Each country - a member of the Commonwealth is fully independent in pursuing its foreign policy. All of them are members of the UN, but have not formed their blocs in this organization. The UK and older members of the Commonwealth tend to vote jointly with the US, while Afro-Asian states are more likely to be neutral.

The countries of the Commonwealth are members of organizations that unite states that are not members of it. For example, the UK and Canada are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand were members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) until its dissolution in 1977. African members of the Commonwealth are members of the Organization of African Unity.

At present, membership in the Commonwealth does not impose special obligations even on Great Britain. While not possessing power prerogatives, Great Britain nevertheless cherishes its symbolic prestige as the head of the Commonwealth and the oldest member of the organization. Other countries are content with the benefits of sustained cooperation.

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Krushinsky V.Yu. The Commonwealth of Nations and the Problem of the Elimination of the Racist-Colonial Regime in Southern Africa. – Herald Kyiv University. Series " International relationships", vol. 31. Kyiv, 1990
Ostapenko G.S. British Conservatives and Decolonization. M., 1995
New data. – Nezavisimaya Gazeta, October 29, 1997

Purpose of the lecture:

Main questions:

1. The history of the occurrence of BSN

2. Evolution of the Commonwealth .

3. The history of the occurrence of BSN

An association of independent states formerly part of the British Empire, recognizing the British monarch as a symbol of free unity. The Commonwealth includes (at the beginning of 1999): Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Malaysia, Singapore, Cyprus, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi, Malta, Gambia, Botswana, Guyana, Lesotho, Barbados, Mauritius, Swaziland, Nauru, Tonga, Western Samoa, Fiji, Bangladesh, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua – New Guinea, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Kiribati, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Zimbabwe, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Maldives, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Brunei, Vanuatu.

Empire to Commonwealth. After the British Empire lost 13 American colonies, leaving behind Canada, India, some possessions in the West Indies and a number of scattered and remote settlements, two political lines emerged in the mother country. The first assumed an orientation towards the expansion of British influence in India and Far East. The second line, along with the expansion of this influence (in the interests of British industry and in order to save public spending) allowed the development of self-government in the colonies in order to prevent a repetition of the War of Independence of the North American colonies. In the process of implementing these installations, the differences between the colonies mastered by English settlers and, in the opinion of the mother country, capable of self-government (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, later the provinces of South Africa), and those conquered colonies in which direct forms of British control were established ( territories in Asia and parts of Africa). At the same time, in both cases, Great Britain considered each colony as a relatively independent entity with a local government that had the right to pursue an independent policy. This attitude encouraged the development of parliamentary forms of government in the colonies and the establishment of the rule of law, which was facilitated by the spread of the English language and its use in the administrative sphere and in the educational system.

The Commonwealth followed the principle of open association based on the nature of the relationship Britain had with the settler colonies. Canada created a model for the development of parliamentary democratic forms of government in the colonies. In 1837, Upper and Lower Canada revolted, demanding that the rights of colonial self-government, first established by the American revolutionaries 60 years earlier, be consolidated. In response to this demand, the Governor-General of British North America, Lord Durham (Dergham, Derham) in 1839 made a report in which he proposed to introduce the so-called. "responsible government". This involved the formation of a government cabinet along the lines of the British. Durham recognized that an elected colonial assembly and an executive responsible to it would be able to exercise control over domestic politics. At the same time, he specifically stipulated that Great Britain reserves the right to a decisive voice in the following five main areas of colonial policy: control of public lands, the form of colonial constitutions, foreign policy, foreign trade, defense. All of these restrictions were gradually lifted in Canada, Australia and New Zealand from the 1840s until the end of the First World War.

Less noticeable was progress in foreign affairs and defense. Although, over time, Great Britain recognized the need to consult with the Dominions on matters of foreign policy, she still retained her right to a decisive vote here. The British fleet continued to protect the empire as a whole, but the ground forces were withdrawn from self-governing colonies, which took on the functions of self-defense.

At the end of the 19th century The Empire established two important institutions to maintain contact between Britain and the self-governing colonies. In 1879 the government of Canada appointed a high commissioner to protect the interests of the country in London. The British government refused to give him the status of an ambassador, but an important precedent was nevertheless set, and other colonies also appointed high commissioners. In 1887 the government of Great Britain invited the governments of the self-governing colonies to send delegates to the colonial conference in London. Meetings of this kind were held periodically in the following decades, and from 1907 they became known as imperial conferences; it was decided that subsequent meetings should be held with the participation of the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the Prime Ministers of the self-governing colonies. At the imperial conference of 1926, such colonies received the official name of dominions.

4. Evolution of the Commonwealth.

First World War was a turning point in the development of the Commonwealth. Great Britain declared war on behalf of the entire empire without consulting the colonies; however, the dominions were still represented in imperial military cabinets and conferences. The resolution of the imperial conference of 1917 recognized that the dominions were vested with the right to vote in deciding the foreign policy of the empire and that further cooperation would be carried out on the basis of "permanent consultations and joint actions." Proceeding from this, the general course of foreign policy was pursued both during the war and at the conclusion of peace. The new orientation towards the relative independence of the dominions in foreign policy received symbolic expression in the act of signing the Treaty of Versailles by the dominions and India.

The nature of the association has changed along with the status of its members. The term "Commonwealth of Nations", first used in 1884, became widespread from 1917, denoting the association of Great Britain, Canada, the Union of South Africa, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland (which lost dominion status in 1933 as a result of the economic crisis, and in 1949 became the tenth province of Canada). At the Imperial Conference of 1926, the famous Balfour formula was proposed, which defined the dominions as "autonomous communities of the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another in any aspect of their domestic or foreign policy, but at the same time united by a common commitment to the crown and constituents free association of members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. This principle was approved by the Statute of Westminster of 1931, adopted by the British Parliament at the request of the Dominions. The Statute essentially fixed the existing state of affairs, legally securing the equality of the British Parliament and the Parliaments of the Dominions; the legislation of each dominion was recognized as independent and had sovereign force. External relations also became an area of sovereign decision for each dominion. In addition, the document stipulated that henceforth the order of succession to the throne of Great Britain would be regulated by members of the Commonwealth.

In 1947 India was divided into two independent states: India and Pakistan. In 1949, India proclaimed itself a republic, thus marking a new step in the evolution of the Commonwealth. India expressed a desire to remain in the Commonwealth, although Balfour's condition of a common commitment to the crown as a republic no longer suited her. At the 1949 Prime Ministers' Conference, India adopted the British monarch as the symbol of free association of member states and as head of the Commonwealth, a title that was never clearly defined. With this wording, other members of the Commonwealth began to proclaim themselves as republics. After 1947, the term "dominion" fell into disuse, as it no longer corresponded to the status of those members of the Commonwealth who refused to recognize the British monarch as head of state.

Questions for self-control

1. What are the causes and prerequisites for the occurrence of BS?

2. Expand the problems and prospects for the development of BS.

1. Artemova A.F. United Kingdom. Book for reading on regional studies. M.: AST, 2006 - 499s.

2. Barnes D. England, England. M.: AST, 2004 - 290s.

3. Gromyko A. A. Great Britain. The era of reforms .. M .: AST, 2005. - 347 p.

4. Daniel K. England. History of the country. M.:. Eskmo 2004. - 490s.

Topic 8 NATO, CST

Purpose of the lecture: to study the stages of the sample planning process in marketing research.

Main questions:

NATO is the largest and most organized and stable military alliance. It was created at the initiative of the United States as a counter to the spread of the communist threat. This alliance includes the following countries: USA, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, Holland, Norway, Great Britain, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Spain and France. However, France in 1963 demanded the withdrawal of NATO headquarters and troops from its territory. Now the office is located in Brussels.

The main point in the NATO treaty is that aggression against any country of this military bloc is considered as aggression against all members of the bloc. In accordance with the treaty, the national troops of the member countries remain subordinate to their states, and only through state channels can any order be given.

The basis for NATO's activities are consultations, cooperation and discussions, which are carried out in such a way that each member of the organization has complete freedom.

NATO forces are located in Europe, where the largest contingent of troops belongs to the United States and Germany. The leading role in the organization belongs to the United States, but the issues of interaction between national, united and supranational bodies have not yet been resolved. supreme body is the North Atlantic Council, in which all decisions require unanimity. The council meets twice a year at the level of foreign ministers and the permanent representatives meet weekly at the ambassadorial level. The Council is chaired by the Secretary General of NATO. To determine military policy in accordance with the current moment, there is a defense planning committee, in which permanent representatives of the participating countries sit. All structures (administrative, military and others) operate under the auspices of the Council.

The Secretary General, in addition to leading the work of the Council, prepares the organization's budget, develops the agenda for meetings, hires and fires staff, and represents NATO in relations with governments and organizations. NATO committees deal with politics, defence, armaments, economics, science, information and culture. There are special committees for space exploration, pipelines and telecommunications.

Military structures are headed by the heads of military committees or their representatives. military area is divided into three parts in accordance with the current teams: European, Atlantic, including the English Channel and Canadian-American.

During the period of détente, NATO began to focus on reducing the balance of power in Europe and developing trade relations with the countries of the former Soviet bloc. After the collapse of the USSR, the organization began to develop tendencies of turning the military bloc into a military-political structure.

Organization of the collective security(CSTO) is a military-political union created by the former Soviet republics on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty (CST), signed on May 15, 1992. The contract is renewed automatically every five years.

CSTO members

On May 15, 1992, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed a Collective Security Treaty (CST) in Tashkent. Azerbaijan signed the agreement on September 24, 1993, Georgia on September 9, 1993, Belarus on December 31, 1993.

The treaty entered into force on April 20, 1994. The contract was for 5 years and could be extended. On April 2, 1999, the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a protocol on the extension of the agreement for the next five-year period, but Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to extend the agreement, in the same year Uzbekistan joined GUUAM.

At the Moscow session of the Collective Security Treaty on May 14, 2002, a decision was made to transform the Collective Security Treaty Organization into a full-fledged international organization - the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On October 7, 2002, the Charter and the Agreement on the Legal Status of the CSTO were signed in Chisinau, which were ratified by all CSTO member states and entered into force on September 18, 2003.

On August 16, 2006, a decision was signed in Sochi on the full accession (restoration of membership) of Uzbekistan to the CSTO.

Russia has recently pinned great hopes on this organization, hoping to strengthen its strategic positions in Central Asia with its help. Russia considers this region a zone of its own strategic interests.

At the same time, the US Manas air base is located here on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, and Kyrgyzstan does not intend to do anything to close it. In early 2006, Tajikistan agreed to a significant increase in the French military group located on its territory, operating as part of the coalition forces in Afghanistan.

To strengthen the position of the CSTO, Russia proposes to reform the collective rapid deployment forces of the Central Asian region. These forces consist of ten battalions: three each from Russia and Tajikistan, two each from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Total population personnel collective forces - about 4 thousand people. The aviation component (10 planes and 14 helicopters) is located at the Russian Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan.

A proposal is being considered to expand the sphere of activity of the collective forces - in particular, their use in Afghanistan is expected.

In connection with Uzbekistan's entry into the CSTO, it is noted that back in 2005, the Uzbek authorities came up with a project to create international "anti-revolutionary" punitive forces in the post-Soviet space within the framework of the CSTO. In preparation for joining this organization, Uzbekistan prepared a package of proposals for its improvement, including the creation of intelligence and counterintelligence structures within its framework, as well as the development of mechanisms that would allow the CSTO to give guarantees of internal security to the Central Asian states.

Leads the organization general secretary. Since 2003, this is Nikolai Bordyuzha.

All members of the G7, with the possible exception of Kazakhstan, are in strong political, economic and military dependence on Moscow and need its diplomatic cover.

- The tasks of the CSTO are directly interconnected with the integration processes in the post-Soviet space, and this relationship is growing stronger. The progress of military-political integration in the CSTO format contributes to the deployment integration processes, actually forms the "integration core" in the CIS, contributes to the optimal "division of labor" in the Commonwealth. As for the place and role of the CSTO in Eurasian Union, if one is formed, then they can be very significant, since the Organization's area of responsibility covers vast expanses of Eurasia, and the Organization's activities are aimed at creating a system of collective security in Europe and Asia, - said Nikolai Bordyuzha, commenting on the goals of creating the CSTO for the press.

On September 5, at a summit in Moscow, the leaders of the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization adopted a declaration in which they condemned Georgia for aggression, supported Russia's actions and advocated "for ensuring lasting security for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The CSTO countries warned NATO against expanding to the East and announced plans to strengthen the military component of the organization.

Like Shanghai Organization cooperation, the CSTO called for Russia's active role in promoting peace and cooperation in the region. However, the main thing - the joint recognition by the members of the Organization of the two Transcaucasian republics - did not happen.

The Russian President reiterated the need to strengthen the military component of the CSTO. Actually, there is nothing unusual in this, because the CSTO is a military organization created to protect the member countries from external encroachments. There are also mutual obligations in case of an attack on one of the members of the organization. As Medvedev himself admitted, it was this topic that became the main one during his negotiations with his colleagues.

The main part of the document was devoted to the current situation in the world and the role of the CSTO itself in it. In the very first lines of the declaration, the leaders CSTO countries notify global community that from now on they "are determined to adhere to close coordination of foreign policy interaction, the line for the progressive development of military and military-technical cooperation, and the improvement of the practice of joint work on all issues." At the same time, declaring its firm intention to ensure security in its zone of responsibility, the G7 warned against encroachments on this zone, frankly making it clear how it would cooperate: “Serious conflict potential is accumulating in the immediate vicinity of the CSTO zone of responsibility. CSTO members call on NATO countries to weigh everything possible consequences expansion of the alliance to the East and deployment of new missile defense facilities near the borders of member states”.

Questions for self-control

1. What are the causes and prerequisites for the emergence of NATO?

2. Expand the problems and prospects for the development of NATO.

3. What are the causes and prerequisites for the emergence of the CSTO?

4. Expand the problems and prospects for the development of the CSTO.

1. Nikolaenko V. D. Organization of the Collective Security Treaty (origins, formation, prospects). M., 2004.

2. Kuzmin V., Falaleev M., Gavrilov Yu. The sum of forces: the CSTO created a collective rapid reaction force// Russian newspaper central issue #4842 dated February 5, 2009

3. Smirnov N.E. The new strategic concept of NATO and the place of partner countries in it. Information and analytical material, M., 1999, etc.

4. Brzezinski 3. Grand chessboard. M., 1998.

Topic 9 Non-regional economic international organizations: WTO, OPEC

Purpose of the lecture: to study the stages of the sample planning process in marketing research.

Main questions:

History of creation

World trade Organization(WTO) was founded in 1995. It is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded immediately after the Second World War.

In 1998, the Golden Jubilee of GATT was celebrated in Geneva. This system, designed to regulate world trade through the mechanism of deterrence of unilateral actions, has existed for almost 50 years and has proven its effectiveness as a legal basis for multilateral trade. The years after World War II were marked by an exceptional growth in world trade. The growth of exports of goods averaged 6% per year. Total trade in 1997 was 14 times the 1950 level.
The system evolved in the process of conducting a series of trade negotiations (rounds) within the framework of the GATT. The first rounds focused on tariff cuts, but later the talks expanded to other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures. The last round - 1986-1994, the so-called. The Uruguay Round led to the creation of the WTO, which greatly expanded the scope of the GATT to include trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. Thus, the GATT mechanism has been improved and adapted to modern stage trade development. In addition, the GATT system, while actually being an international organization, was not formally one.

Structure of the WTO

The WTO is both an organization and at the same time a set of legal documents, a kind of multilateral trade agreement that defines the rights and obligations of governments in the field of international trade in goods and services. legal basis The WTO consists of the General Agreement on Trade in Goods (GATT) as amended in 1994 (GATT-1994), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The WTO agreements have been ratified by the parliaments of all participating countries.

"The main tasks of the WTO are the liberalization of international trade, ensuring its fairness and predictability, promoting economic growth and improving the economic well-being of people. The WTO member countries, of which there were 148 as of May 2005, solve these problems by monitoring the implementation of multilateral agreements, conducting trade negotiations, trade settlement in accordance with the WTO mechanism, as well as assistance to developing countries and review of the national economic policies of states.
Decisions are made by all member states, usually by consensus, which is an additional incentive to strengthen agreement in the ranks of the WTO. Decision-making by a majority of votes is also possible, but there has not been such a practice in the WTO yet; within the work of the predecessor of the WTO, GATT, such isolated cases occurred.
Decisions at the highest level in the WTO are made by the Ministerial Conference, which meets at least once every two years. The first conference in Singapore in December 1996 confirmed the course of the participating countries towards trade liberalization and added to the existing organizational structure The WTO has three new working groups dealing with the relationship between trade and investment, the interaction between trade and competition policy, and transparency in public procurement. The second conference, held in 1998 in Geneva, was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the GATT/WTO; in addition, WTO members agreed to study the issues of global electronic commerce. The third conference, which was convened in December 1999 in Seattle (USA) and was supposed to decide on the start of a new round of trade negotiations, ended in fact without results. The next Ministerial Conference is to be held in November 2001 in Doha (Qatar).
Subordinate to the Ministerial Conference is the General Council, which is responsible for the execution of day-to-day work and meets several times a year at its headquarters in Geneva, consisting of representatives of WTO members, usually ambassadors and heads of delegations of member countries. The General Council also has two special body: Trade Policy Analysis and Dispute Resolution. In addition, committees on trade and development report to the General Council; on trade balance restrictions; budget, finance and administration.
The General Council delegates functions to three councils at the next level of the WTO hierarchy: the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services and the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
The Council for Trade in Goods, in turn, manages the activities of specialized committees that monitor compliance with the principles of the WTO and the implementation of the GATT-1994 agreements in the field of trade in goods.
The Council for Trade in Services oversees the implementation of the GATS agreement. It includes the Financial Services Trading Committee and the Professional Services Working Group.

The Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, in addition to monitoring the implementation of the relevant agreement (TRIPS), also deals with the prevention of conflicts related to the international trade in counterfeit goods.
Numerous specialized committees and working groups deal with individual agreements of the WTO system and issues in such areas as environmental protection, problems of developing countries, WTO accession procedure and regional trade agreements.

The WTO Secretariat, which is based in Geneva, has about 500 full-time employees; it is headed CEO. The WTO Secretariat, unlike similar bodies of other international organizations, does not make decisions, since this function is entrusted to the member countries themselves. The main responsibilities of the Secretariat are to ensure technical support various councils and committees, as well as the Ministerial Conference, provide technical assistance to developing countries, analyze world trade and explain WTO provisions to the public and the media. The Secretariat also provides some form of legal assistance in the dispute resolution process and advises governments of countries wishing to become members of the WTO. To date, there are more than twenty such countries.

Similar information.

When did the British Commonwealth of Nations come into existence? Commonwealth of Nations and British Dependencies Countries commonwealth

Development

Participating countries

Structure of the British Commonwealth

STORY

Empire to Commonwealth.

Evolution of the Commonwealth.

COMMONWEALTH RELATIONS

constitutional connections.

citizenship and nationality.

legacy of British rule.

Economic ties.

political institutions.

COMMONWEALTH AND WORLD

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