Outcome of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018

From 16 to 20 April 2018, the leaders of Commonwealth countries met in the London to discuss global issues such as climate change and human rights, in addition to succession planning for the Head of the Commonwealth role. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) focused on delivering four outcomes under the theme of working ‘towards a common future’. The desired outcomes and actions were: prosperity, by boosting intra-Commonwealth trade and investment; security and cooperation to tackle issues such as cybercrime and human trafficking; fairness, by promoting democracy across the Commonwealth; and sustainability, through building the resilience of smaller states to deal with the effects of climate change and global crises.

This Briefing examines what was agreed to at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It also provides an overview of some of the commentary and responses to the meeting, in particular, with regard to trade and rights issues.