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The '''Commonwealth Secretariat''' is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting]]s (CHOGM); assisting and advising on policy development; and providing assistance to countries in implementing the decisions and policies of the Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/subhomepage/151087/ |title=Commonwealth Secretariat |
The Secretariat has [[United Nations General Assembly observers|observer]] status in the [[United Nations General Assembly]]. It is located at [[Marlborough House]] in London, the United Kingdom, a former royal residence that was given by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], [[Head of the Commonwealth]].
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==History==
[[File:Marlborough House.jpg|thumb|[[Marlborough House]], London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution]]
The Secretariat was established by Heads of Government in 1965, taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom Government's [[Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations|Commonwealth Relations Office]], as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. At the same time, the United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, the [[Commonwealth Foundation]] was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the [[Commonwealth Family]] network of civil societies.<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/40203725 |last=McIntyre |first=W. David |
The creation of the Secretariat itself was a contentious issue. The United Kingdom and other long-established countries had hoped to slow the tide of expansion of Commonwealth membership to prevent the dilution of their traditional power within the Commonwealth (particularly after the admission of [[Cyprus]]).<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" /> This may have involved a dual-tiered Commonwealth, requiring the continuation of the organisation of Commonwealth co-operation by meetings, rather than a central administration. However, the new African members were keener to create an independent inter-governmental 'central clearing house' (as [[Ghana]]'s [[Kwame Nkrumah]] described it) to remove power from the older dominions.<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" /> [[Milton Obote]] of [[Uganda]] was the first to propose a specifically titled 'secretariat', which was then formally proposed by [[Eric Williams]] of [[Trinidad and Tobago]], who wished to see it based upon the secretariats of the [[Organization of American States|OAS]], [[European Economic Community|EEC]], and [[Organisation of African Unity|OAU]].<ref name="Canada and the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat" />
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==Staff==
The chief executive of the Secretariat, and of the Commonwealth as a whole, is the [[Commonwealth Secretary-General]].<ref>{{cite news
The secretary-general is assisted by three [[Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General|deputy secretaries-general]]: one responsible for economic affairs (currently Deodat Maharaj), one for political affairs (Josephine Ojiambo), and one for corporate affairs (Gary Dunn). The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at his own discretion, provided the Secretariat can afford it, whilst the more senior staff may be appointed only from a shortlist of nominations from the Heads of Government.<ref name="Doxey">{{cite journal |last=Doxey |first=Margaret |date=January 1979 |title=The Commonwealth Secretary-General: Limits of Leadership |journal=[[International Affairs (journal)|International Affairs]] |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=67–83 |doi=10.2307/2617133}}</ref> In practice, the secretary-general has more power than this; member governments consult the secretary-general on nominations, and the secretary-general has also at times submitted nominations of his own.<ref name="Doxey" />
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==Headquarters==
The Secretariat is headquartered at [[Marlborough House]], in London, the United Kingdom.<ref name="History of Marlborough House">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/34467/151305/marlborough_house_history/ |title=The History of Marlborough House |
The [[Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966]], which applied retroactively from the establishment of the Secretariat in 1965, first granted the organisation full [[diplomatic immunity]]. This has been subjected to a number of lawsuits challenging this, including ''Mohsin v Commonwealth Secretariat'', and in 2005, ''[[Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat]]''. The 1966 Act had been interpreted by [[England and Wales|English]] courts as allowing the courts to exercise supervisory jurisdiction under the [[Arbitration Act 1996]] over the Commonwealth's arbitration tribunal, which had been envisaged as the sole organ to arbitrate on matters related to the Secretariat's operations in the United Kingdom.<ref name="International Organisations Bill">{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmbills/069/en/05069x--.htm |title=International Organisations Bill |
==See also==
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