26 April 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the London Declaration, which brought the modern Commonwealth into being.  

26 April 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the London Declaration, which brought the modern Commonwealth into being.   

The origins of the Commonwealth stretch back much further than 60 years but 1949 marks the pivotal point at which the Commonwealth’s colonial legacy was positively transformed into a partnership based on equality, choice and consensus.

Prior to this the Balfour Declaration of 1926 had established all member countries as ‘equal in status to one another, in no way subordinate one to another’, and this was in turn adopted into law with the 1931 Statute of Westminster. However it was India’s desire to adopt a republican form of constitution while simultaneously retaining its link with the Commonwealth that prompted a radical reconsideration of the terms of association.

In April 1949, Heads of Government from Australia, Britain, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs met in London to discuss the future of the Commonwealth. The outcome was the Declaration of London.

Their final communiqué was both innovative and bold in a number of ways. It stated that His Majesty King George VI would be recognised as ‘the symbol’ the Commonwealth association. Thus India could remove King George VI as head of their state but recognise him as Head of the Commonwealth. The Declaration also repeatedly emphasised the freedom and equality of its members not just in their relationship to the Head of the Commonwealth as a ‘free association of [..] independent nations’ but also in their cooperative ‘pursuit of peace, liberty and progress’. It was also at this juncture that the prefix British was dropped from the title. When King George VI died, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II assumed the role of Head of the Commonwealth.

After the end of World War II the Commonwealth became the natural association of choice for many of the new nations emerging out of decolonisation. Starting with Ghana in 1957, the Commonwealth expanded rapidly with new members from Africa, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific.  

The Commonwealth is now a unique association of 53 independent states consulting and co-operating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding. It comprises a diverse range of countries from all major continents of the world. In the 60 years since the Declaration, the relevance and value of the relationship has repeatedly been reaffirmed and consolidated.