Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
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The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President. Most meetings include an appearance by Queen Elizabeth II, who is the titular Head of the Commonwealth. From 1944 until 1971, the meetings were known as Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conferences and were generally held in London although the Commonwealth leaders met in Lagos in 1966. The first CHOGM was held in 1971.
In the past, CHOGMs have attempted to orchestrate common policies on certain contentious issues and current events, with a special focus on issues affecting member nations. In the past, CHOGMs have discussed the continuation of apartheid rule in South Africa and how to stop it, military coups in Pakistan and Fiji, and allegations of electoral fraud in Zimbabwe. Sometimes the member states agree on a common idea or solution, and release a joint statement declaring their opinion.
As the cultural and economic links between the Commonwealth countries continue to decline, the meeting's agenda has become more and more relaxed and its relevance questioned. The Commonwealth has grown larger in recent years (it now has over 50 members) and as a result is becoming an increasingly difficult forum to establish any sort of political consensus.
Fears have also been raised that the Commonwealth's agenda is unfairly monopolized by African issues. This is unpopular with non-African member states, who resent the exclusion of the affairs of their regions, but also with the African states themselves. Some African states view the Commonwealth as a neo-colonial organization dominated by the "Old Commonwealth", that is to say those Anglosphere countries who are also members of the Commonwealth. The future of the Commonwealth thus remains in doubt.
History of CHOGM meetings
Incidents and actions
- 1978 A bomb went off outside the venue of the 1978 CHOGM in Sydney, known as the Hilton Bombing.
- 2001 CHOGM 2001, slated to be held in Brisbane on October 6-9, was cancelled for security reasons in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The Meeting was adjourned to March 2002, and held in the seaside resort of Coolum, Queensland.
- 2003 Amongst other protests, Amnesty International ran a substantial campaign pressuring CHOGM attendees on issues relating to abuses of human rights, especially in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
In popular culture
CHOGM has been humourously backronymed to Chappies Holidaying On Government Money.External links
- [Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting page on the Commonwealth Secretariat web site]
- [Durban '99], CHOGM 1999 Official page
- [Abuja' 2003], CHOGM 2003 Official page
- [Valletta 2005], CHOGM 2005 Official page
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