The Charter of the Commonwealth 2011-13: origins, text and potential – Part 2

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Part 1 of this article, the semi-accidental circumstances in which the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) of the Commonwealth of Nations came in 2010 to develop the idea of a charter of Commonwealth values were described. In this second part, an attempt is made to analyse the Charter and to indicate how the final version, as adopted, differed from the EPG draft. The Charter has, in the view of the author, the potential to strengthen the Commonwealth by identifying and applying its core values and aspirations.