Yesterday (March 14) was marked as Commonwealth Day; a day set aside by The Commonwealth, otherwise known as the Commonwealth of Nations, to celebrate friendship, spirit of unity, and achievements of the Commonwealth.
The day falls on the second Monday of March, meaning the day will fall on seven different dates beginning with March 8 and ending with March 14.
The Ghanaian Times congratulates The Commonwealth on its special day.
Boasting 2.5 billion citizens, The Commonwealth comprises 54 member countries spread across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific, most of whom are former British colonies.
With its roots going back to the British Empire, The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal countries, including advanced economies and developing nations that share goals like development, democracy and peace.
Broadly, The Commonwealth is committed to world peace; promotion of representative democracy and individual liberty; pursuit of equality and opposition to racism; the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease; and free trade.
These objectives were set out in 1971 and captured in what has come to be known as the 1971 Singapore Declaration.
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Delivering a common future’.
The achievements of The Commonwealth include how the member states are innovating, connecting, and transforming to help achieve goals such as combating climate change, promoting good governance; amplifying the voice of small and vulnerable states, championing the promotion of justice and human rights; upholding the rule of law; and boosting trade.
The Commonwealth is generally committed to providing all manner of services and assistance in its member-states.
For instance, The Commonwealth sends election observers to monitor presidential and parliamentary elections in member countries and presents reports on such elections for enhancing democracy in those states.
It is deeply dedicated to improving technical cooperation, capacity building, technology transfer, and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a collection of 17 inter-related global goals designed by the United Nations in 2015 as the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
The Commonwealth also has the Commonwealth COVID-19 Response Centre, which is a directory of useful information data and resources for the governments of Commonwealth countries as well as others who are involved in responding to COVID-19-related emergency in the various member-countries.
A critical analysis of the objectives of The Commonwealth would show that it has not been successful in achieving all of them in the various member states. This is not unexpected because even though member states may ascribe to those objectives, the different ideologies of the leaders of member states can stand in its way.
The question then is whether it is worth it for a country to commit to being a member of the Commonwealth.
This question may attract different answers but the Ghanaian Times ascribes to the affirmative because the world is now made up of various groupings, including clubs, associations and blocs targeting various objectives.
The situation is such that any one country or two cannot easily take isolationist stance.
Depending on the nature and objectives of the groupings, every member can leverage its membership for the benefits accruing to them at the right time and for addressing specific problems.
In other words, the various groupings are for specific purposes and so there is the need for members to be committed to their membership and the relevant rules and regulations.
While some groupings are just political or trade blocs, The Commonwealth is a multi-purpose grouping and so member states, as the records show, stand the advantage of benefiting in different ways from it.
To this end the member-states should do everything in their power to sustain The Commonwealth and endeavour to make it a better grouping for their current and future generations of citizens.
The Ghanaian Times once again congratulates The Commonwealth on its special day, particularly for defying the odds to come this far.
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