The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc.
As of 2018, the movement had 125 members and 25 observer countries.
The Non-Aligned movement was never established as a formal organization, but became the name to refer to the participants of the Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries first held in 1961. The term "non-alignment" itself was coined by V.K. Krishna Menon in 1953 remarks at the United Nations. Menon's friend, Jawaharlal Nehru used the phrase in a 1954 speech in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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, who gave a significant contribution to promote this movement.
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 Josip Broz Tito led to the first Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which was held in September 1961 in Belgrade.
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 Josip Broz Tito led to the first Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which was held in September 1961 in Belgrade.
The founding fathers of the Non-aligned movement were: Sukarno of Indonesia, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Their actions were known as 'The Initiative of Five'.
Principles
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
Summits
The conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries, often referred to as Non-Aligned Movement Summit is the main meeting within the movement and are held every few years.
| Date | Host country | Host city | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1–6 September 1961 | Yugoslavia | Belgrade |
| 2nd | 5–10 October 1964 | United Arab Republic | Cairo |
| 3rd | 8–10 September 1970 | Zambia | Lusaka |
| 4th | 5–9 September 1973 | Algeria | Algiers |
| 5th | 16–19 August 1976 | Sri Lanka | Colombo |
| 6th | 3–9 September 1979 | Cuba | Havana |
| 7th | 7–12 March 1983 | India | New Delhi |
| 8th | 1–6 September 1986 | Zimbabwe | Harare |
| 9th | 4–7 September 1989 | Yugoslavia | Belgrade |
| 10th | 1–6 September 1992 | Indonesia | Jakarta |
| 11th | 18–20 October 1995 | Colombia | Cartagena de Indias |
| 12th | 2–3 September 1998 | South Africa | Durban |
| 13th | 20–25 February 2003 | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur |
| 14th | 15–16 September 2006 | Cuba | Havana |
| 15th | 11–16 July 2009 | Egypt | Sharm El Sheikh |
| 16th | 26–31 August 2012 | Iran | Tehran |
| 17th | 13–18 September 2016 | Venezuela | Porlamar |
| 18th | 25–26 October 2019 | Azerbaijan | Baku |
