NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT (NAM)

Non-alignment is a political and economic doctrine of newly independent states seeking to assert their freedom and identity on international scene.  It also refers to a new block, which is not aligned to either the western bloc (capitalist) or eastern block (socialist). Non-aligned Movement also refers to the movement, which was formed as a result of ideological conflicts between the super powers of USA and the Soviet Union.

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 of India, the acknowledged senior statesman, along with Prime Ministers Soekarno of Indonesia and Nasser of Egypt, 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, especially western domination.

Following this meeting a preparatory meeting for the First NAM Summit Conference was held in Cairo, from 5-12 June 1961. While 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.

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 criteria are the following:

·        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.

·        The country concerned should be consistently supporting the Movements for National Independence.

·        The country should not be a member of a multilateral military alliance concluded in the context of Great Power conflicts.

·        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.

·        If it has conceded military bases to a Foreign Power the concession should not have been made in the context of Great Power conflicts.

The above criteria and principles of NAM, adopted at the Cairo preparatory meeting, have been reaffirmed by the Heads of State or Government during the XI Summit in Cartagena.

The first Conference of Non-Aligned Heads of State or Government, at which 25 countries were represented, was convened at Belgrade in September 1961, largely through the initiative of Yugoslavian President Tito.

At that stage his biggest concern was that an accelerating arms race might result in war between the Soviet Union and the USA.

On the Political Issues, since its inception the Movement therefore attempted to create an independent path in world politics that would not result in Member States becoming pawns in the struggles between the major powers.

This resulted in a large part of its history being influenced by the global tension of the Cold War between the two super powers. The Movement therefore took this issue as a priority item on its agenda and its work.

However, the Cold War was not the sole or only critical issue on the agenda of the Non-Aligned Movement.

A cursory glance at the history of the Movement reveals three basic elements which influenced the approaches of the Movement to international issues.

These are the right of independent judgement, the struggle against imperialism and neo-colonialism, and the use of moderation in relations with all big powers.

In the present day context the Movement not only remains focused on the above areas but also works towards the restructuring of the international economic order.

On the Economic Issues, because of great power rivalry during the Cold War Era many economic projects were set up in developing countries as part of the rivalry but suffered as a result of the quest for influence. During the years the focus of Non-Aligned Summits therefore shifted away from essentially politically issues, to the advocacy of solutions to global economic and other problems.

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-77 and the EU. South Africa assumed the position as the Chair at a time when this transitional phase was still ongoing.

On the side of Administration, the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement and their successors recognised that the Movement would probably be best served if it operated without a formal constitution and a permanent secretariat. The practice of a rotating Chair was instead created which at the same time place the onus of an administrative structure on the country assuming the Chair. The Summit Conferences are the occasions when the Movement formally rotates its Chair to the Head of State or Government of the host country of the Summit. The Foreign Ministry and Permanent Mission in New York of the Chair at the same time assume the responsibility of the administrative management of the Movement.

The Heads of State or Government entrusted the Coordinating Bureau with the task of intensifying its action to further strengthen co-ordination and mutual co-operation among Non-Aligned countries, including unified action in the United Nations and other international fora, on issues of common concern.

Uganda’s membership in the Non-Aligned Movement has reflected her strong commitment to the promotion of South Cooperation, North-South dialogue as well as the strengthening of international cooperation.  In this regard Uganda participated in the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Cuba and Uganda will continue to lend vital support to this important forum for developing countries. 

The first Conference of Non-Aligned Heads of State, at which 25 countries were represented, was convened at Belgrade in September 1961, largely through the initiative of Yugoslavian President Tito.

 NAM Summits

First Conference - Belgrade, September 1-6, 1961

Second Conference - Cairo, October 5-10, 1964

Third Conference - Lusaka, September 8-10, 1970

Fourth Conference - Algiers, September 5-9, 1973

Fifth Conference - Colombo, August 16-19, 1976

Sixth Conference - Havana, September 3-9, 1979

Seventh                - New Delhi, March 7-12, 1983

Eighth Conference - Harare, September 1-6, 1986

Ninth Conference - Belgrade, September 4-7, 1989

Tenth Conference - Jakarta, September 1-7, 1992

Eleventh -Cartagena, October 18-20, 1995

Twelfth       -Cape Town October 19-22, 1999

MEMBERS OF NAM

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic, Republic of Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan, Arab Jamahirya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan,, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, *Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe   *Suspended

MAIN OBJECTIVES DRAWN AT THE HAVANA CONFERENCE

Independence: To preserve the national independence sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the non-aligned countries.

Eliminate interference: Elimination of foreign interference and intervention in the internal and external affairs of independent states.

To strengthen the non-aligned bloc, which was threatened by two great super power blocks. Spread and expand the non-aligned philosophy worldwide.

Eliminate colonialism: To eliminate colonialism, neocolonialism and racism and support of all national liberation struggles against colonial and foreign domination.

Unity: To promote unity, solidarity and cooperation among non-aligned countries with view to the achievement of objectives of non-alignment, thus preserving its essential character, ending the arms race particularly the nuclear arms race.

Promote Development: To establish a new international economic order with view to accelerating development of developing countries eliminating the inequality between developed and developing countries.

Eradicate poverty: Eradication of poverty, hunger, sickness and illiteracy in LDCs (Havana meet 1986).

Equality: Establish equality in solving international issues.  The third world also has the right to discuss peace and war.  Why? Because all wars have always affected the third world countries.  Nuclear wars can affect the whole world.

Democracy: To establish democratic systems of international relations based on equality of states, respect for and preservation of human rights and fundamental freedom.

Strengthen the UNO: To strengthen the United Nations organizations as an effective instrument for promoting international peace and security.

Withdraw of foreign troops: To withdraw all foreign troops and dismantling of foreign military bases.

Economic co-operation: To promote economic cooperation among the non-aligned countries.

Peaceful settlement of disputes: To seek settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means such as negotiations, reconciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means.