Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will this morning announce that plans for the state to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 will be cancelled, the ABC understands.
New members must “as a general rule” have a direct constitutional link to an existing member. In most cases, this is due to being a former colony of the United Kingdom, but some have links to other countries, either exclusively or more directly (e.g., Samoa to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea to Australia, and Singapore to Malaysia).
Rwanda was permitted to join despite the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) finding that “the state of governance and human rights in Rwanda does not satisfy Commonwealth standards”, and that it “does not therefore qualify for admission”.[70] CHRI commented that: “It does not make sense to admit a state that already does not satisfy Commonwealth standards. This would tarnish the reputation of the Commonwealth and confirm the opinion of many people and civic organisations that the leaders of its governments do not really care for democracy and human rights, and that its periodic, solemn declarations are merely hot air.”
In the case of Rwanda, joining the Commonwealth was also intended as a diplomatic slap in the face to the French government from a Francophone country. Rwanda was a German colony, then a Belgian mandate, and was never under British rule. But the central Africa nation has been viewed as a French enclave in Africa.
Rwanda has been bickering with France for nearly 30 years, over involvement in the 1994 genocide. It’s only since the 2021 visit to Kigali by President Emmanuel Macron that relations seem to have taken a positive turn.
The BBC makes a similar point, albeit phrased a little more diplomatically:
Gabon and Togo have moved to strengthen their diplomatic armoury in a bid to ease their reliance on France.
Some relevant Wikipedia quotes:
And from an article on The Conversation:
The BBC makes a similar point, albeit phrased a little more diplomatically:
So a lot of FU to France in that