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Non-Aligned Movement

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The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded in the 1950s; as of 2007, it has 118 members. The purpose of the organization as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, Zionism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics. They represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations's members and comprise 55 percent of the world population.

Important members have, at various times, included: Yugoslavia, India, Pakistan, Algeria, Libya, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Indonesia, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, post-1994 South Africa, Iran, Malaysia, and, for a time, the People's Republic of China. Brazil has never been a formal member of the movement, but shares many of the aims of NAM and frequently sends observers to the Non-Aligned Movement's summits. While the organization was intended to be as close an alliance as NATO or the Warsaw Pact, it has little cohesion and many of its members were actually quite closely aligned with one or another of the great powers. For example, Cuba was closely aligned with the former Soviet Union during the Cold War era. India was effectively aligned with the Soviet Union against China for many years. Additionally, some members were involved in serious conflicts with other members (e.g. India and Pakistan, Iran and Iraq). The movement fractured from its own internal contradictions when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. While the Soviet allies supported the invasion, other members (particularly Muslim nations) of the movement found it impossible to do so.

The Non-Aligned Movement has struggled to find relevance since the end of the Cold War. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, a founding member, its successor states of Yugoslavia have expressed little interest in membership though some have observer status. In 2004, Malta and Cyprus ceased to be members and joined the European Union.

The origin of the Non-Aligned Movement

The term "Non-Alignment" itself was coined by Indian Prime Minister Nehru during his speech in 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In this speech, Nehru described the five pillars to be used as a guide for Sino-Indian relations, which were first put forth by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Called Panchsheel (five restraints), these principles would later serve as the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement. The five principles were:

  • Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
  • Mutual non-aggression
  • Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs
  • Equality and mutual benefit
  • Peaceful co-existence

A significant milestone in the development of the Non-aligned movement was the 1955 Bandung Conference, a conference of Asian and African states hosted by Indonesian president Sukarno. The attending nations declared their desire not to become involved in the Cold War and adopted a "declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation", which included Nehru's five principles.

Six years after Bandung, an initiative of Yugoslav president Tito led to the first official Non-Aligned Movement Summit, which was held in September 1961 in Belgrade.

The founding fathers of the Non-aligned movement, apart from Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia and Tito of Yugoslavia, were Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Their actions were known as The Initiative of Five.

From the 1960s onwards, critics came to see the movement as unduly dominated by states allied to the Soviet Union. Many questioned how countries in close alliance with the Soviet Union, such as Cuba, could claim to be non-aligned. The movement divided against itself over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Secretaries General

Between summits, the Non-Aligned Movement is run by the Secretary general elected at last summit meeting. As a considerate part of the movement's work is undertaken at the United Nations in New York, the chair country's ambassador to the UN is expected to devote time and effort to matters concerning the Non-Aligned Movement. A Co-ordinating Bureau, also based at the UN, is the main instrument for directing the work of the movement's task forces, committees and working groups.

Secretaries-general of the Non-Aligned Movement
Name Country From To
Josip Broz Tito 1961 1964
Gamal Abdel Nasser (United Arab Republic) 1964 1970
Kenneth Kaunda 1970 1973
Houari Boumédienne 1973 1976
William Gopallawa 1976 1978
Junius Richard Jayawardene

 1978 1979
Fidel Castro 1979 1983
N. Sanjiva Reddy 1983
Zail Singh 1983 1986
Robert Mugabe 1986 1989
Janez Drnovšek 1989 1990
Stjepan (Stipe) Mesić

 1991
Branko Kostić

 1991 1992
Dobrica Ćosić

 1992
Suharto 1992 1995
Ernesto Samper Pizano 1995 1998
Andrés Pastrana Arango

 1998
Nelson Mandela 1998 1999
Thabo Mbeki

 1999 2003
Tun Mahathir bin Mohammad 2003
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

 2003 2006
Fidel Castro. 2006

Member Countries and Representatives

Observers

The following nations have observer status:

See also

External links

References



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