Word: commonwealths
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...this occasion, Her Majesty was also something of a power behind the throne. As nominal leader of the Commonwealth, a loose association of 48 former British colonies, she was working quietly "behind the scenes," as one aide put it, to tighten the ties that still bind those nations. She held private talks with each of the 36 heads of government who had assembled in New Delhi for the Commonwealth's seventh biennial meeting...
...Queen's distinctly informal role fits the summit's deliberately improvised format. Almost the only rule of Commonwealth summits is that there are no written rules and no formal votes. Instead, the leaders, who represent one quarter of the world's people, gather for a week-long discussion about matters of mutual concern. The summit's closed-door sessions are conducted on a first-name basis and, of course, in English. Actions are taken only by consensus...
...informality that loosens tongues among Commonwealth leaders sometimes serves to tie their hands. When, for example, it was suggested that the Commonwealth provide its own "umbrella of security" for its smaller members, including Grenada, many strongly opposed the move as too formal and forceful a gesture. But the body finally did agree to lend support to a new security force to be formed by the Eastern Caribbean states...
Those troublesome debates delayed consideration of a favorite Commonwealth topic: a "new world economic order" that would allow fairer distribution of resources to poorer nations. The Commonwealth is not a rich man's club: its countries include 80% of all people in the world earning less than $200 a year. In the economic arena, too, disenchantment with the U.S. was in evidence. In a report to his colleagues, Shridath Ramphal, 55, a former Guyanese Foreign Minister who serves as the Commonwealth's secretary-general, decried "the tendency of the United States, the world's richest nation...
...will provide only general guidelines for policy within the Commonwealth. Cities and towns will be able to establish additional provisions, as long as they do not deviate from the basic outline. Rosalyn Jordon, legislative spokesman for OCD, explained yesterday...