Commonwealth Talks Unity As Relevance Under Scrutiny

Kigali, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jun, 2022 ) :Prince Charles says Commonwealth nations are free to farewell the monarchy and become republics, acknowledging changes well under way in a colonial-era organisation trying to define its modern profile and purpose.

The 54-nation club meeting in Rwanda this week has faced pointed questions about its relevance, the future role of the royal family, and the legacy of its colonial past.

- Royals to republics - Born out of the British Empire, and representing countries as diverse as tiny Tuvalu and behemoth India, the Commonwealth has been championed by Elizabeth II since she became queen in 1952.

At that time, all Commonwealth nations bar India were monarchies but the majority today are republics.

Of the 14 nations outside the UK where the queen is still head of state, republican movements are gaining traction.

Member state Barbados became the world's newest republic last year, and other Caribbean nations are pushing to follow suit.

Charles -- who inherits the Commonwealth leadership when he becomes king -- told Commonwealth leaders on Friday: "Each member's constitutional arrangement, as republic or monarchy, is purely a matter for each member country to decide." The royal family had been consistent on this point for decades, said Philip Murphy, Commonwealth expert at the Institute of Historical Research.

"What matters to them is not whether countries remain monarchies -- that is up to them. It is that they remain in the Commonwealth," the director of history and policy at the London-based institute told AFP.

- Fresh faces - Membership has expanded to include nations with no historic ties to Britain, most recently Mozambique in 1995 and this year's summit host Rwanda in 2009.

Two further non-Anglophone countries -- the west African states of Togo and Gabon -- are expected to become the newest members this weekend.

"More and more countries want to join it. They see the value of it," said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Murphy said Commonwealth membership had become "almost a mark of international respectability" for countries with reputation problems or a desire to pivot away from France.

Togo, once a German then French colony, said membership would bring it closer to the English-speaking world and afford greater market access to 2.5 billion consumers.

"Togo joining the Commonwealth is better for many people than sharing the French language and culture, which at the end of the day has not promoted development," said Togolese political analyst Mohamed Madi Djabakate.

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