Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: What is the most recent country to join the Commonwealth of Nations?
The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1931 when the Statute of Westminster gave legal recognition to the sovereignty of dominions. Known as the "British Commonwealth", the original members were the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Irish Free State, and Newfoundland, although Australia and New Zealand did not adopt the statute until 1942 and 1947 respectively.[4] In 1949, the London Declaration was signed and marked the birth of the modern Commonwealth and the adoption of its present name.[5] The newest member is Rwanda, which joined on 29 November 2009.[6] The most recent departure was the Maldives, which severed its connection with the Commonwealth on 13 October 2016.
The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy (QCC') is an initiative begun in 2015 as a network of forest conservation programmes throughout the 53 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. By 2016, 16 countries had become involved, with the remainder expected to join by 2018.
In most countries, suffrage is limited to citizens and, in many cases, permanent residents of that country. However, some members of supra-national organisations such as the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union have granted voting rights to citizens of all countries within that organisation. Until the mid-twentieth century, many Commonwealth countries gave the vote to all British citizens within the country, regardless of whether they were normally resident there. In most cases this was because there was no distinction between British and local citizenship. Several countries qualified this with restrictions preventing non-white British citizens such as Indians and British Africans from voting. Under European Union law, citizens of European Union countries can vote in each other's local and European Parliament elections on the same basis as citizens of the country in question, but usually not in national elections.
Anglosphere Commonwealth Special Relationship, the common name for the relations between the United Kingdom and the United States Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of Post-Soviet states outside the European Union Community of Portuguese Language Countries, an equivalent grouping of Portuguese-speaking countries and territories English-speaking world List of country groupings List of multilateral free-trade agreements List of Commonwealth of Nations countries by GDP Representatives of the Commonwealth of Nations
This is a list of countries and territories with a flag that incorporates the Union Jack. Six Commonwealth nations have the Union Jack on their national flag. The first Commonwealth country to drop the Union Jack was Canada in 1965, after adopting a new national flag. The most recent country to drop the Union Jack from its flag was South Africa in 1994, after adopting a new national flag. The only overseas territory without the Union Jack on its current flag is Gibraltar.
The president of Nauru is Baron Waqa, who heads a 19-member unicameral parliament. The country is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Asian Development Bank and the Pacific Islands Forum. Nauru also participates in the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. Recently Nauru became a member country of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The Republic of Nauru became the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund in April 2016.
Ten countries are full members of both La Francophonie and the Commonwealth (Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Ghana, Mauritius, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, and Vanuatu) and Mozambique is an observer. In the wake of the genocide there, Francophonie member Rwanda has made recent moves away from France's sphere of influence, has replaced French with English as an official language, and joined the Commonwealth at the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The declaration was made by India to allow it to continue its membership of the Commonwealth despite its decision, implemented on January 26, 1950, to adopt a new Constitution and become a republic, abolishing the monarchy. Thus, India became the first republic within the Commonwealth. This set a precedent that all other countries were free to follow, as long as they each recognised the position of Head of the Commonwealth. A compromise between the Indian government and those, such as Jan Smuts, who wished not to allow republics membership, the Declaration read:
Following their independence from the United Kingdom, most Commonwealth countries retained Elizabeth II as head of state, who was represented in the country by a governor general. The monarch adopted a title to indicate individual sovereignty of each of these nations (such as "Queen of Barbados"). With time, many of these countries became republics, passing constitutional amendments or holding referendums to remove the monarch as their head of state, and replacing the governor general with an elected or appointed president. This was especially true in post-colonial Africa. Most African realms became republics within a few years of independence. As of 2018, there are 16 states headed by Queen Elizabeth II, which are known as Commonwealth realms.
Suspension from the Commonwealth of Nations is the most serious punishment that can be administered to members of the Commonwealth. In the absence of any mechanism by which to expel countries that breach its rules, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) may choose to suspend members from the 'Councils of the Commonwealth', which amounts to the suspension of their formal membership of the organisation, although their participation in activities of the Commonwealth Family of organisations is not necessarily affected.
On its 1962 independence, Trinidad and Tobago joined the United Nations and Commonwealth of Nations. In 1967, it became the first Commonwealth country to join the Organization of American States (OAS).
As South Africa was a foreign country (under United Kingdom law) between 1 January 1973, the date the Immigration Act 1971 came into force in the UK, and 1 January 1983 (when the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force) South African Citizens cannot have right of abode in the UK unless they also held before 1983 and still hold citizenship of another Commonwealth country (such as by descent from their parent, e.g. Australia or Zimbabwe which did not cease to be Commonwealth Nations under U.K. Law) or of the UK itself, the holders would most likely have acquired that Citizenship by descent from a parent who was a Citizen of that Commonwealth Country at the time of their birth or through marriage. A Present Day Commonwealth country refers to any country within the Commonwealth of Nations, for instance, Australia, New Zealand or Canada. Since Queen Elizabeth II is not the head of state in South Africa (Queen/ monarch), as South Africa is a Republic, the Queen is the head of the Commonwealth of Nations only and is not the Constitutional Monarch which is the case for systems of the Monarchy for 16 of the Commonwealth nations which are known as realms (including the United kingdom).
The status of "Member in Arrears" is used to denote those that are in arrears in paying subscription dues. The status was originally known as "special membership", but was renamed on the Committee on Commonwealth Membership's recommendation.[63] There are currently no Members in Arrears. The most recent Member in Arrears, Nauru, returned to full membership in June 2011.[64] Nauru has alternated between special and full membership since joining the Commonwealth, depending on its financial situation.[65]
The term New Commonwealth has been used in the UK (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) to refer to recently decolonised countries, predominantly non-white and developing. It was often used in debates about immigration from these countries.[31] Britain and the pre-1945 dominions became informally known as the Old Commonwealth, or more pointedly as the white Commonwealth.[32]
The UK promised to spend £61m to combat the pollution of the world's oceans by plastics and announced that it would ban plastic straws, microbeads, and other waste and to help developing countries curb plastics and other environmental pollutants from contaminating the oceans, and urged other Commonwealth countries to do the same. Five countries have joined the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance: the UK, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Ghana.Overall, 47 out of 53 Commonwealth states were represented at the summit by their heads of government, with foreign ministers being the most senior attendees of the remaining countries.
The games are the Commonwealth's most visible activity[139] and interest in the operation of the Commonwealth increases greatly when the Games are held.[141] There is controversy over whether the games—and sport generally—should be involved in the Commonwealth's wider political concerns.[140] The 1977 Gleneagles Agreement was signed to commit Commonwealth countries to combat apartheid through discouraging sporting contact with South Africa (which was not then a member), whilst the 1986 games were boycotted by most African, Asian, and Caribbean countries for the failure of other countries to enforce the Gleneagles Agreement.[142]
A special member was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations whose participation was limited in certain functions. Originally, it was a status held by a few newly joined countries, whose involvement was limited by its own limited financial resources. More recently, the name has been changed to member in arrears, from the 2007 CHOGM on the recommendation of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership. The guidelines came from the 2003 CHOGM in Abuja that strengthened and replaced the 1999 CHOGM Durban guidelines. 
Rwanda became the 54th nation to join the Commonwealth at the 2009 CHOGM. It became the second country (after Mozambique) not to have any historical ties with the United Kingdom. Rwanda had been a colony of Germany in the 19th century and of Belgium for the first half of the 20th century. Later ties with France were severed during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. President Paul Kagame also accused it of supporting the killings and expelled a number of French organisations from the country. In recent years, English has replaced French as the official language in parts of Rwanda. Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Tun Razak stated that Rwanda's application "was boosted by its commitment towards democracy as well as the values espoused by the Commonwealth". Consideration for its admission was also seen as an "exceptional circumstance" by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOG) is the collective name for the government leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. They are invited to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings every two years, with most countries being represented by either their head of government or head of state.
In general, a Commonwealth citizen is a citizen of a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. This designation is given legal effect in the nationality laws of some Commonwealth countries, and Commonwealth citizens may enjoy some privileges in the United Kingdom and, less commonly, other member states. Each Commonwealth country determines what special rights, if any, are accorded to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. The status is most significant in British law and has little effect in many other Commonwealth countries, such as Australia.
Although the rights and privileges (if any) for non-national Commonwealth citizens differ from country to country, a number of Commonwealth countries grant them more privileges than 'aliens' (i.e. non-Commonwealth foreign nationals), but not the full privileges enjoyed by the country's own nationals.
Due to their shared constitutional histories, several countries in the Commonwealth have similar legal and political systems. The Commonwealth requires its members to be functioning democracies that respect human rights and the rule of law. Most Commonwealth countries have the bicameral Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association facilitates co-operation between legislatures across the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum promotes good governance amongst local government officials. Most Commonwealth members use common law, modelled on English law. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the supreme court of 14 Commonwealth members.[161]
At a time when Germany and France, together with Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, were planning for what later became the European Union, and newly independent African countries were joining the Commonwealth, new ideas were floated to prevent Britain from becoming isolated in economic affairs. British trade with the Commonwealth was four times larger than trade with Europe. The British government under Prime Minister Anthony Eden considered in 1956 and 1957 a "plan G" to create a European free trade zone while also protecting the favoured status of the Commonwealth.[33][34][35] Britain also considered inviting Scandinavian and other European countries to join the Commonwealth so it would become a major economic common market. At one point in October 1956 Eden and French Prime Minister Guy Mollet discussed having France join the Commonwealth.[36] Nothing came of any of the proposals.[37]
"Commonwealth" is what four states of the United States have named themselves, these being Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. A number of independent states use "Commonwealth" in their style, such as the Commonwealth of Australia or the Commonwealth of The Bahamas; historically the Commonwealth of England, the Icelandic Commonwealth, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth have also used the style in English. Here it relates to its original definition, as a translation of the Latin res publica. "Commonwealth" is part of the name of the Commonwealth of Nations, a group of independent nations, voluntarily joined by common bonds of various kinds and whose bonds are subject to unilateral revocation by any of the parties. "Commonwealth" is also used in the Commonwealth of Independent States, formerly parts of the Soviet Union, but now a group of independent nations, voluntarily joined by common bonds of various kinds.
Mozambique is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and ranks among the moderate members of the African bloc in the United Nations and other international organisations. Mozambique also belongs to the African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity) and the Southern African Development Community. In 1994, the government became a full member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, in part to broaden its base of international support but also to please the country's sizeable Muslim population. Similarly, in 1995 Mozambique joined its Anglophone neighbours in the Commonwealth of Nations. At the time it was the only nation to have joined the Commonwealth that was never part of the British Empire. In the same year, Mozambique became a founding member and the first President of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and maintains close ties with other Portuguese-speaking countries.
The use of the English language in most member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations was inherited from British colonisation. English is spoken as a first or second language in most of the Commonwealth. In a few countries, such as Cyprus and Malaysia, it does not have official status, but is widely used as a lingua franca. Mozambique is an exception – although English is widely spoken there, it is a former Portuguese colony which joined the Commonwealth in 1996.