M.

Aamir Sultan

Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
is an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned
with or against any major power bloc.

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."

Members : It was founded in April 1955; as of 2007, it has 118 members.

They represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations’ members and comprise 55 percent of the
world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the third world.
Members included: 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. 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 Islamic nations) of the
movement did not.
The Non-Aligned Movement was formed as an attempt to thwart the Cold War and has struggled
to find relevance after the Cold War ended. 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

Independent countries, who chose not to join any of the Cold War blocs, were also known as
nonaligned nations. 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 Non-Aligned Movement is a Movement of 115 members representing the interests and
priorities of developing countries. The Movement has its origin in the Asia-Africa Conference
held in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955. The meeting was convened upon the invitation of the Prime
Ministers of Burma, Ceylon, India, Indonesia and Pakistan and brought together leaders of 29
states, mostly former colonies, from the two continents of Africa and Asia, to discuss common
concerns and to develop joint policies in international relations. Prime Minister Nehru, the
acknowledged senior statesman, along with Prime Ministers Soekarno and Nasser, led the
conference. At the meeting Third World leaders shared their similar problems of resisting the
pressures of the major powers, maintaining their independence and opposing colonialism and
neo-colonialism, specially western domination.
Following this meeting a preparatory meeting for the First NAM Summit Conference was held in
Cairo, from 5-12 June 1961. Where the invitations for Bandung were on a regional basis, the
invitations for the first Summit were based on each invited country’s commitment to a set of
shared principles.

The criteria are the following:

1. The country should have adopted an independent policy based on the coexistence of
States with different political and social systems and on non-alignment or should be
showing a trend in favour of such a policy.
2. The country concerned should be consistently supporting the Movements for National
Independence.
3. The country should not be a member of a multilateral military alliance concluded in the
context of Great Power conflicts.
4. If a country has a bilateral military agreement with a Great Power, or is a member of a
regional defence pact, the agreement or pact should not be one deliberately concluded in
the context of Great Power conflicts.
5. If it has conceded military bases to a Foreign Power the concession should not have been
made in the context of Great Power conflicts.

At the Cairo preparatory meeting the participants discussed in detail the principal aims and
objectives of a policy of non-alignment. These were adopted as criteria for membership as well
as for the invitations to the First Summit Conference.

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'.

Organizational Structure & Membership

While the NAM is an organization of united countries, much like the United Nations or NATO,
it is unique to some of these organizations in its organization and structure. First, it considers
itself to be non-hierarchal in nature in that there are no countries that contain veto power or have
special privileges in certain areas. The chair is rotated officially at each summit. The
administration of the organization falls to the responsibility of a rotating chair (currently Cuba)
and the rotation is consistent and fair. Secondly, the organization does not have any sort of
constitution as many similar organizations do. This was done out of recognition that with so
many countries having so many varying viewpoints and priorities, any formal sort of
administrative structure would increase divisiveness and eventually lead to the collapse of the
organization.
Membership in the organization has changed from the original requirements as well. As the
organization has matured and international political circumstances have changed, so too have the
requirements. There is an obvious attempt to integrate the requirements of the NAM with the key
beliefs of the United Nations. The latest requirements are now that the candidate country has
displayed practices in accordance with:
• Respect for fundamental human rights and for the purposes and principles of the Charter
of the United Nations.
• Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
• Recognition of the equality of all races and of the equality of all nations, large and small.
• Abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country.
• Respect for the right of each nation to defend itself singly or collectively, in conformity
with the Charter of the United Nations.
• Refraining from acts or threats of aggression or the use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of any country.
• Settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means, in conformity with the Charter
of the United Nations.
• Promotion of mutual interests and co-operation.
• Respect for justice and international obligations.

Contemporary Relevance

Since the end of the Cold War and the formal end of colonialism, the Non-aligned movement has
been forced to redefine itself and reinvent its purpose in the current world system. A major
question has been whether many of its foundational ideologies, principally national
independence, territorial integrity, and the struggle against colonialism and imperialism, can be
applied to contemporary issues. The movement has emphasized its principles of multilateralism,
equality, and mutual non-aggression in attempting to become a stronger voice for the global
South, and an instrument that can be utilized to promote the needs of member nations at the
international level and strengthen their political leverage when negotiating with developed
nations. The Jakarta Summit in 1992 was a turning point in Non-Aligned history since this was
the first Summit after the end of the Cold War. It allowed the Movement to shift its focus in a
direction that also enabled It to work across to groupings such as the G-7 and the EU. South
Africa assumed the position as the Chair at a time when this transitional phase was still ongoing.
In its efforts to advance Southern interests, the movement has stressed the importance of
cooperation and unity amongst member states, but as in the past, cohesion remains a problem
since the size of the organization and the divergence of agendas and allegiances present the
ongoing potential for fragmentation. While agreement on basic principles has been smooth,
taking definitive action vis-à-vis particular international issues has been rare, with the movement
preferring to assert its criticism or support rather than pass hard-line resolutions. The movement
continues to see a role for itself, as in its view, the world’s poorest nations remain exploited and
marginalized, no longer by opposing superpowers, but rather in a uni-polar world, and it is
Western hegemony and neo-colonialism that that the movement has really re-aligned itself
against. It opposes foreign occupation, interference in internal affairs, and aggressive unilateral
measures, but it has also shifted to focus on the socio-economic challenges facing member states,
especially the inequalities manifested by globalization and the implications of neo-liberal
policies. The non-aligned movement has identified economic underdevelopment, poverty, and
social injustices as growing threats to peace and security.
 Current Activities and Positions
Anti-American Sentiments:
In recent years the US has become a target of the organization. The singular superpower the US
invasion of Iraq, its attempts to stifle Iran and North Korea's nuclear plans, and its other actions
have been denounced as human rights violations and attempts to run roughshod over the
sovereignty of smaller nations. The movement’s leaders have also criticized the US overt control
over the United Nations and other international structures, and the war on terrorism. While the
organization has rejected terrorism, it condemns the association of terrorism with a particular
religion, nationality, or ethnicity, and recognizes the rights of those struggling against
colonialism and foreign occupation.
Anti-Israel Sentiments :
NAM's Havana Declaration of 1979 adopted anti-Zionism as part of the movement's agenda. The
movement has denounced Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It has called
upon Israel to halt its settlement activities, open up border crossings, and cease the use of force
and violence against civilians. The UN has also been asked to pressure Israel and to do more to
prevent human rights abuses.
Southern Development
The movement is publicly committed to the tenets of sustainable development and the attainment
of the Millennium Development Goals, but it believes that the international community has not
created conditions conducive to development and has infringed upon the right to sovereign
development by each member state. Issues such as globalization, the debt burden, unfair trade
practices, the decline in foreign aid, donor conditionalities, and the lack of democracy in
international financial decision-making are cited as factors inhibiting development.[9]
Reforms of the UN
The Non-Aligned Movement has been quite outspoken in its criticism of current UN structures
and power dynamics, mostly in how the organization has been utilized by powerful states in
ways that violate the movement’s principles. It has made a number of recommendations that
would strengthen the representation and power of ‘non-aligned’ states. The proposed reforms are
also aimed at improving the transparency and democracy of UN decision-making. The UN
Security Council is the element considered the most distorted, undemocratic, and in need of
reshaping.
South-South Cooperation
Lately the Non-Aligned Movement has collaborated with other organizations of the developing
world, primarily the Group of 77, forming a number of joint committees and releasing statements
and document representing the shared interests of both groups. This dialogue and cooperation
can be taken as an effort to increase the global awareness about the organization and bolster its
political clout.
Cultural Diversity and Human Rights
The movement accepts the universality of human rights and social justice, but fiercely resists
cultural homogenization. In line with its views on sovereignty, the organization appeals for the
protection of cultural diversity, and the tolerance of the religious, socio-cultural, and historical
particularities that define human rights in a specific region.