“The Commonwealth has, in the past two decades, faced several major up-heavals which threatened its very existence. The omens for the Commonwealth Conference held in Lusaka in early August 1979 were probably as bad as in 1961 when South Africa’s continued membership caused deep divisions in the association. Once again, the Commonwealth has confounded the prophets of doom and emerged from the Lusaka Conference with a degree of cohesion which was considered virtually unattainable before the meeting. This is largely attributable to the painstaking diplomatic process which preceded the Conference.”
