Policy paper

The Commonwealth Charter

The Commonwealth Charter was presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 4 March 2013

• From: Foreign & Commonwealth Office and The Rt Hon William Hague
• Published: 4 March 2013

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Documents

The Commonwealth Charter

Ref: ISBN 9780101857222, Cm. 8572

201 KB

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Details

The Commonwealth Charter was agreed by all Commonwealth Heads of Government on 14 December 2012.

The Government sees the Commonwealth Charter as an important outcome of the modernisation process and a milestone for the Commonwealth. For the first time in its 64 year history, the Commonwealth has a single document setting out the core values of the organisation and the aspiration of its members.

A strong Commonwealth will help us promote UK objectives of democracy and human rights, good governance and, in turn, the future prosperity of all its members. Over the past two years, the UK has played a leading role in efforts to strengthen and reform the organisation to ensure it remains relevant, fulfils its potential and is effective in the future. Strong, clear values are crucial to the future credibility and success of the Commonwealth.

Published 4 March 2013