The '''Commonwealth of Nations''', also known as te '''British Commonwealth''', is a free association of 53 mostly former [[British]] crown dependencies and colonies. The '''Commonwealth''', as it is commonly known, brings together countries on every continent and encompasses nearly 2 billion citizens. The Commonwealth does not have a constitution; instead it is governed by a set of core beliefs, espoused by declarations or statements made at meetings of the Commonwealth. These fundamental beliefs are encapsulated by the 1st major Commonwealth statement in 1971.[http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/20723/32987/singapore_declaration_of_commonwealth_principles/] | The '''Commonwealth of Nations''', also known as te '''British Commonwealth''', is a free association of 53 mostly former [[British]] crown dependencies and colonies. The '''Commonwealth''', as it is commonly known, brings together countries on every continent and encompasses nearly 2 billion citizens. The Commonwealth does not have a constitution; instead it is governed by a set of core beliefs, espoused by declarations or statements made at meetings of the Commonwealth. These fundamental beliefs are encapsulated by the 1st major Commonwealth statement in 1971.[http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/20723/32987/singapore_declaration_of_commonwealth_principles/] |