HIS-129

NAM {NON ALIGNED MOVEMENT}

SUBMITTED BY:-
SUBMITTED TO :-
ANJALI
Dr. Mohd Iqbal Dar
11907091
 24761
ROLL NO. 13
B.A LLB (HONS)
L1901
  MEANING OF NON-ALIGNMENT -
It is the international policy of a sovereign state according to which it does not align itself with any of the power
blocs and at the same time actively participates in the world affairs to promote international peace, harmony and
cooperation.

 EVOLUTION OF NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT -

The origin of the NAM can be traced back to the Asian Relations Conference held in New Delhi in March
1947 in which Nehru highlighted the dangers posed by the hostility between the two power blocs.

In 1949, another convention for Asian unity was held at New Delhi to discuss the Indonesian problem which
called upon the Dutch troops to withdraw from the areas under the control of Indonesia.

In 1954, The five principles of 'Panchasheel' were given practical shape at a conference held in Bandung in
April 1955 which was attended by 29 Afro-Asian countries.

The delegates at the conference condemned colonialism and emphasised the need for economic growth in the
third world countries. The conference paved the way for cooperation among newly independent nations which
later blossomed into the Non-Aligned Movement.

The group was started in Belgrade in 1961. It was created by Yugoslavia's President, Josip Broz Tito, India's
first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Neheru, Egypt's second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghana's first
president Kwame Nkrumah, and Indonesia's first President, Sukarno.
All five leaders believed that developing countries should not help either the Western or Eastern blocs in
the Cold War. They also believed that developing countries should not be capitalist or communist, but should
try to find a different way to help their people.

 The Havana Declaration of 1979 said that the purpose of the organization is to help countries keep
their "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries"
in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neocolonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign
aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc
politics."

 THE FIRST NAM SUMMIT -

The NAM was formally launched at its first summit held in September 1961 at Belgrade in Yugoslavia. It was
attended by 23 Afro-Asian and one European country.

Pandit Nehru, Joseph Tito and Nasser are considered as 'founding fathers'  of NAM. Several problems such as
problems of Berlin and Congo, question of Chinese representation in the UN and the issue of apartheid in South
Africa were discussed. The summit demanded immediate and total abolition of colonialism and called for
complete disarmament. 
 ROLE OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU IN NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT -
India was the first country to initiate the policy of non-alignment under the leadership of Nehru. He called upon
the Afro-Asian countries to keep themselves away from the politics of the two opposing camps ( USA and the
Soviet Union), which had already brought about two world wars.

Nehru led the Afro-Asian countries towards the concept of non-alignment. He led the Bandung conference
along with Joseph Tito, Nasser, Kwame Nkrumah and many others. Nehru was acknowledged as the greatest
spokesman for the neutrality of Afro-Asian states in the Cold War era. He did not approve of military and
economic alliances of SEATO, NATO, the Warsaw Pact, Cominform, etc.

Nehru was against the philosophy advocated by the two power blocs. He was against the policy of apartheid
being followed in South Africa. Nehru also called for disarmament and abolition of stockpiles of nuclear
weapons. 

 Principles :-
As J.L Nehru was founding members, the principles of NAM was largely guided by Panchsheel principles,
some of them are:

 Respect for the principles enshrined in the charter of the United Nations and international law.
 Respect for sovereignty, sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all States.
 Peaceful settlement of all international conflicts in accordance with the charter of the United Nations.
 Respect for the political, economic, social and cultural diversity of countries and peoples.
 Defence and promotion of shared interests, justice and cooperation, regardless of the differences existing
in the political, economic and social systems of the States, on the basis of mutual respect and the equality of
rights.
 Respect for the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence, in accordance with the charter of
the United Nations
 Non-interference in the internal affairs of States. No State or group of States has the right to intervene
either directly or indirectly, whatever the motive, in the internal affairs of any other State.
 Promotion and defence of multilateralism and multilateral organisations as the appropriate frameworks
to resolve, through dialogue and cooperation, the problems affecting humankind.

 Objectives :-
 NAM has sought to "create an independent path in world politics that would not result in member States
becoming pawns in the struggles between the major powers."
 It identifies the right of independent judgment, the struggle against imperialism and neo-colonialism,
and the use of moderation in relations with all big powers as the three basic elements that have influenced its
approach.
 At present, an additional goal is facilitating a restructuring of the international economic order.
  NAM in Cold War Era
1. Against Apartheid: The evil of apartheid was massively prevalent in African countries like South
Africa, its was on the agenda of NAM right from first conference. During 2nd NAM conference at Cairo the
government of South Africa was warned against the discriminatory practices of apartheid.
2. Disarmament: The Non-aligned Movement repeatedly comes out for maintenance of peace,'the
cessation of arms race and the peaceful coexistence of all States. In the General Assembly, India submitted a
draft resolution declaring that the use of nuclear weapons would be against the charter of the United Nations
and crime against humanity and should therefore be prohibited.
3. UNSC reforms: Right from its inception NAM was in the favour of UNSC reforms, it was against the
domination of US and USSR. It wanted the representation of third world countries to make UNSC more
democratic. Members echoed with same demand at 17th NAM conference at Venezuela.
4. Failed to resolve regional tensions: In the era of cold war the tension in South Asia escalated due to
regional conflict between India- China and India-Pakistan. NAM failed to avoid tensions in the region, that
further led to the the nuclearisation of the region.

 India’s Position :-
 India being a founder and largest member in NAM was an active participant in NAM meetings till 1970s but
India’s inclination towards erstwhile USSR created confusions in smaller members. It led to the weakening of
NAM and small nations drifted towards either US or USSR.
 Further disintegration of USSR led the unipolar world order dominated by US. India’s New Economic
Policy and inclination towards US raised questions over India’s seriousness over non alignment.
 Prime Minister of India skipped the 17th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit held in Venezuela in
2016, it was only second such instance when Head of a state didn’t participate in NAM conference.
 Moreover, NAM continued losing relevance for India in a unipolar world, especially after the founding
members failed to support India during crisis. For instance, during 1962 War with China, Ghana and
Indonesia, adopted explicitly pro-China positions. During 1965 and 1971 wars, Indonesia and Egypt took an
anti India stance and supported Pakistan.
 India in particular, but also most other NAM countries, have integrated themselves to varying degrees
within the liberal economic order and have benefited from it.
 India is a member of the G20 and has declared itself as a nuclear weapons power and has for all practical
purposes abandoned the call for global nuclear disarmament.
 India has also engaged itself with new and old global powers. India joining the Quadrilateral Security
Dialogue, a coalition seen by many as a counterforce to China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific and Shanghai
cooperation organisation led by China shown India’s balancing approach in new world order.
 India is striving hard for a multipolar world order and asserting itself as one of the player. Multi polar world
order is very much closed to NAM principles.
  Relevance of NAM
NAM continues to hold relevance as a platform and due to its principles.

 World peace - NAM has played an active role in preserving world peace.It still stands by its founding
principles, idea and purpose i.e. to establish the peaceful and prosperous world. It prohibited invasion of any
country, promoted disarmament and a sovereign world order.
I Territorial integrity and sovereignty - NAM stands with this principle and proved its repeated relevance
with the idea of preserving the independence of every nation.
II Third World nations - Third world countries fighting against socio-economic problems since they have
been exploited for a long time by other developed nations, NAM acted as a protector for these small countries
against the western hegemony.
III Support of UN - NAM’s total strength compromises of 118 developing countries and most of them being a
member of UN General Assembly. It represents two third members of general assembly, hence NAM
members act as important vote blocking group in UN.
IV Equitable world order - NAM promotes equitable world order. It can act as a bridge between the political
and ideological differences existing in the international environment.
V Interest of developing countries - If disputes arise between developed and developing nation at any point
of a concerned topic for example WTO, then NAM act as a platform which negotiates and conclude disputes
peacefully securing the favorable decisions for each member nation.
VI Cultural diversity and human rights - In the environment of gross human right violation, it can provide a
platform to raise such issues and resolve the same through its principles.
VII Sustainable development - NAM supported the concept of sustainable development and can lead the world
toward sustainability. Can be used as larger platform to make consensus on global burning issues like
climate change, migration and global terrorism.
VIII Economic growth - The countries of NAM has inherent assets, such as a favourable demography, demand
and favourable location. The cooperation can lead them to higher and sustainable economic growth. Can be
an alternative to regional groupings like TPP and RCEP.

 FUTURE OF NAM -
Today NAM stands for a broader objective of international peace as well as independence of foreign policy of
each sovereign State. It continues to be an effective forum for seeking economic justice. With the emergence of
neo-colonialism, NAM has become all the more relevant. Since many small and weak countries are unable to
preserve their sovereignty in the economic field due to the interference of international financial institutions like
World Bank, IMF, etc. the NAM can come forward and counteract these moves. The USA has emerged as a
superpower dictating its own terms. In such a situation the NAM could try and prevent the US domination. It
still continues to be dynamic, positive and a constructive movement aimed at achieving universal peace,
disarmament and development.
  Principal Organs

NAM does not have a formal constitution or permanent secretariat, and its administration is non-hierarchical
and rotational. Decisions are made by consensus, which requires substantial agreement, but not unanimity.

 Chair

At each Summit, a new Head of State formally becomes the chair, and assumes that position until the next
Summit. The chair is responsible for promoting the principles and activities of NAM, and the Foreign Ministry
and Permanent Mission in New York of the Chair's State assumes administrative responsibility.

 CURRENT CHALLENGES

Current Challenges facing the NAM include the necessity of protecting the principles of International law,
eliminating weapons of mass destruction , combating terrorism, defending human rights, working toward
making the United Nations more effective in meeting the needs of all its member states in order to preserve
International Peace , Security and Stability, as well as realizing justice in the international economic system.

On the other hand, the long-standing goals of the Movement remain to be realized.

Peace, development, economic cooperation and the democratization of international relations, to

mention just a few, are old goals of the non-aligned countries.

 In conclusion,

The Non-Aligned Movement, faced with the goals yet to be reached and the many new challenges that are
arising, is called upon to maintain a prominent and leading role in the current International relations in defense
of the interests and priorities of its member states and for achievement of peace and security for mankind.