“Just to be clear, reparations are not on the agenda for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting. Technically, the (UK) Government's position on this has not changed. We do not pay reparations,” said Downing Street official spokesperson, when asked what PM Keir Starmer's view on paying reparations for Britain's involvement in the slave trade was.
Baroness Jennifer Chapman of Darlington has been appointed UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 18 July 2024.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has confirmed that it is considering multiple proposals to Host the 2026 Games, so it was announced following the April meeting of the Executive Board, with confirmation by the end of the month. And in related news UK Department for Sports highlighted the financial success of the Birmingham Games in 2022.
The 2026 edition of the Commonwealth Games, are again in trouble with no hosts on sight. In April 2022, the Australian state of Victoria was awarded hosting rights for the 2026 edition, when over 70 nations were expected to participate. But just over a year later, it backed out.
The Venezuelan Government of President Nicolás Maduro must abide by the principles of international law regarding the oil-rich Essequibo region, the Commonwealth Secretariat said in a statement in support of Guyana's response to Caracas passing the so-called Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba.
Richard Hyslop, the Falkland Islands Government Representative to the UK & Europe, along with Member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly, Jack Ford MLA, participated in a series of events in London to commemorate Commonwealth Day.
In September 2022 the Legislative Assembly approved amendments to the Falkland Islands Status Ordinance 1998. The amended Ordinance narrows the definition of a “qualified person” (which at the moment includes a Commonwealth citizen), limiting the definition to include a British citizen, a British Overseas Territory citizen or a British Overseas citizen.
Australia's new Five Dollar bill will replace an image of British monarch Charles III with one honoring Australian Indigenous cultures. It is the last banknote in Australia that still bears the head of recently deceased Queen Elizabeth II.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has made public a page with brings together information on UK government support to people who were born on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and their descendants.
Leaders of some 54 countries – from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Southern America – have converged on Kigali, Rwanda, until 25 June for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Philip Murphy, a professor of Commonwealth history (School of Advanced Study) examines the expectations and limitations of the Kigali conference.