6 Facts About British Commonwealth

1. The British Commonwealth has published the Anthem, performed by the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra, with and without an introductory narrative.

2. The British Commonwealth requires its members to be functioning democracies that respect human rights and the rule of law.

3. The British Commonwealth Boxing Council has long maintained Commonwealth titles for the best boxers in the Commonwealth.

4. The British Commonwealth is not a private club of the governments or the secretariat.

5. In recent years, the British Commonwealth has suspended several members "from the Councils of the Commonwealth" for "serious or persistent violations" of the Harare Declaration, particularly in abrogating their responsibility to have democratic government.

6. In 1997 the British Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed that, to become a member of the Commonwealth, an applicant country should, as a rule, have had a constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member; that it should comply with Commonwealth values, principles and priorities as set out in the Harare Declaration; and that it should accept Commonwealth norms and conventions.