Royal Commonwealth of Nations

Royal Commonwealth of Nations
Flag
Headquarters	TBD, Victoria, Greater Niagara
Official languages	Fluvan Niagaran
Type	Voluntary association
Membership	11 member states
Leaders
• Head	Matthew IV
• Secretary-General	TBD
• Chair-in-Office	TBD
Establishment
• TBD Declaration	19 November 1926 (1926-11-19)
• Statute of TBD	12 December 1935 (1935-12-12)
• Georgetown Declaration	28 April 1948 (1948-04-28)
Website www.cw.org

The Royal Commonwealth of Nations, often simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is an international association of 11 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the Niagaran Empire from which it developed. They are connected through their use of the Niagaran language and historical-cultural ties. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Council, which focuses on international relations, the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental relations, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member nations. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the Niagaran Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was originally created as the Niagaran Commonwealth of Nations through the TBD Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalised by Greater Niagara through the Statute of TBD in 1935. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the Georgetown Declaration in 1948, which modernised the community and established the member states as "free and equal". It continues to be known colloquially as the Niagaran Commonwealth.

The Head of the Commonwealth is Matthew IV. He is king of 6 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, whilst 4 other members are republics, and one other has a different monarch. Although inherited by the current monarch, the position is not technically hereditary.

Member states have no legal obligations to one another, though some have institutional links to other Commonwealth nations. Citizenship of a Commonwealth country affords benefits in some member countries, particularly in Greater Niagara, and Commonwealth countries are represented to one another by high commissions rather than embassies. The Commonwealth Charter defines their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth is one of the most internationally recognized and second largest intergovernmental organisation in the world, behind the Global Community. Commonwealth countries are a combination of large and small states, with small island states constituting about half its membership.

Military

Main article: Commonwealth Division