The 'Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting', abbreviated to 'CHOGM', is a
biennial summit meeting of the
heads of government from all
Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective
Prime Minister or
President. Most meetings include an appearance by
Queen Elizabeth II, who is the
Head of the Commonwealth. From
1944 until 1971, the meetings were known as 'Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conferences' and were generally held in
London, although the Commonwealth leaders met in
Lagos in
1966. The first CHOGM was held in 1971.
In the past, CHOGMs have attempted to orchestrate common policies on certain contentious issues and current events, with a special focus on issues affecting member nations. In the past, CHOGMs have discussed the continuation of
apartheid rule in
South Africa and how to stop it, military
coups in
Pakistan and
Fiji, and allegations of electoral fraud in
Zimbabwe. Sometimes the member states agree on a common idea or solution, and release a joint statement declaring their opinion.
Under the
Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme, each CHOGM is responsible for renewing the remit of the
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, whose responsibility it is to uphold the
Harare Declaration on the core political principles of the Commonwealth.
[1]
The meeting's agenda has become more and more relaxed and its relevance questioned. The Commonwealth has grown larger in recent years (it now has over 50 members) and as a result is becoming an increasingly difficult forum to establish any sort of political consensus.
Fears have also been raised that the Commonwealth's agenda is unfairly monopolized by
African issues. This is unpopular with non-African member states, who resent the exclusion of the affairs of their regions, but also with the African states themselves. Some African states view the Commonwealth as a neo-colonial organization dominated by the "Old Commonwealth", that is to say those
Anglosphere countries who are also members of the Commonwealth.
History of CHOGM meetings
Incidents and actions
★ '1978' - A bomb went off outside the venue of the 1978 CHOGM in Sydney, known as the
Hilton Bombing.
★ '2001' - CHOGM 2001, slated to be held in Brisbane on October 6-9, was cancelled for security reasons in the aftermath of the
9/11 attacks. The Meeting was adjourned to March 2002, and held in the seaside resort of Coolum,
Queensland.
★ '2003' - Amongst other protests,
Amnesty International ran a substantial campaign pressuring CHOGM attendees on issues relating to abuses of
human rights, especially in
Nigeria and
Zimbabwe.
Footnotes
1. The Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration, 1995
External links
★
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting page on the Commonwealth Secretariat web site
★
''Kampala' 2007'', CHOGM 2007 Official page
★
''CHOGM count Down'', CHOGM News
★
CHOGM 2007, CHOGM 2007 Kampala Uganda, Updates and information
★
CHOGM 07 Kampala, Uganda, CHOGM 2007 News & Highlights
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