Non-aligned Movement: Make It Vibrant
Yuba Nath Lamsal
At the 17th conference of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) that concluded recently in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, a country that had played a key role in the foundation of the organisation, Nepal was represented by its foreign minister. In the conference, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahendra Pandey voiced Nepal’s concerns with stronger emphasis on greater and effective unity and solidarity among the NAM member countries ‘on all outstanding issues and problems’, and called for a cohesive approach to make the Non-aligned Movement more effective and dynamic.
This has been the consistent position and stance of Nepal ever since it joined the organisation. In principle, Nepal’s policy and position have remained unchanged on NAM’s relevance and the need for making this movement more meaningful, vibrant and effective in tackling a wide range of problems and issues that the world, in general, and the developing world, in particular, are facing.
During the conferences held regularly at intervals of two years, all member countries have been speaking loud, highlighting the significance and relevance of the Non-aligned Movement and calling for developing this movement into a genuine voice and organisation of the developing world. However, there has been a glaringly lack of commitment and action plan on the part of the members to make this organisation so.
The Non-aligned Movement was founded way back in 1961 during the height of the Cold War when two power blocs dominated the world. However, many newly independent countries of the ‘Third World’ did not want to align with any of them but maintain friendly relations with the countries belonging to both. This necessitated the creation of a loose international forum independent of the two power blocs.
As a result, NAM was born with the core objectives and goals of fostering greater cooperation not only among the countries of the developing world but also seeking assistance, sympathy and goodwill from both the blocs. This was possible thanks to the bold efforts of its founding fathers who included Joseph Broz Tito of former Yugoslavia, Myanmar’s U Nu, Indonesia’s Sukarno, Egypt’s Gamal Abdul Nasser, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumuh.
Soon NAM became an international symbol for national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony. With its lofty goals and firm stance for the cause of the developing countries, NAM, which had initially 21 countries, has now grown into an international organisation of 120 countries - the second biggest after the United Nations.
With the end of the Cold War and a bipolar world, some, however, started questioning the validity of NAM. According to them, NAM was relevant only as long as there were two power blocs, but in the present unipolar world, the validity of the Non-aligned Movement is over. In fact, NAM’s relevance is as valid as it used to be during the Cold War. The objective of NAM is not merely to refrain from siding with the power blocs but also to side with the truth, justice and world order.
The fundamental objectives and ideals of NAM are the five principles of peaceful co-existence, which have been the principal guideline of international relations and diplomacy. Thus, the Non-aligned Movement has not lost relevance. Instead its necessity is pronounced even more in the present crisis-ridden world, and it is the responsibility of the Non-aligned members to act more vigorously to prove its importance.
The world has undergone a sea change in the last five or six decades. With the tremendous advancements in the field of science and technology, in general, and information technology, in particular, the world has become a small global village. But the world continues to be divided between the haves and have-nots, between the rulers and the ruled, between the exploiters and the exploited, and between the oppressors and oppressed. In this uneven world, NAM should play an even more effective role in creating a just and equitable world for the benefit of the larger humankind, who are poor and downtrodden and live mostly in the developing countries.
There was and still is a huge expectation from the Non-aligned Movement. It is true that NAM has not fully lived up to the popular expectations. But it would be unjust and unwise to dismiss the achievements and gains NAM has made in international politics and international relations. In its long journey, the movement has definitely achieved some significant gains. We cannot imagine what would have happened to the world if the Non-aligned Movement had not existed during the Cold War, which must be taken into account while evaluating and judging its performance and relevance.
In the recent years, however, especially after the end of the Cold War, NAM’s thrust has been less appealing than before. As a result, despite its relevance, NAM seems to exist only on paper rather than in action. The problem is not with its relevance but with the will and commitment of the member countries to translate its ideals into action in the present global situation.
When it comes to practicality and realism, the speed and height with which the leaders of 120-member organisation scramble to tell their own prescriptions during conferences for the remedy of the problems facing the planet, slowly subside and disappear once the conclave is over. This is why the movement has lost its momentum and thrust especially after the end of the Cold War.
The Non-aligned Movement has a lot more to accomplish in fully realising its noble causes and common goals of peace, justice and democracy. So far as Nepal is concerned, it has always championed and defended the core values of the movement. The great importance Nepal attaches to NAM can be gleaned from its foreign policy, which is based on the ideals and principles of the UN Charter and the Non-aligned Movement.
Nepal and the Nepalese people, thus, want the revitalisation of the Non-aligned Movement to achieve its lofty goals in the present world. The Nepalese people know the value of peace more than others because we, at present, are in the process of institutionalising peace and inclusive democracy, for which the principles of NAM are our principal guidelines.
It is against this background that Nepal is desirous to make NAM a more vibrant and effective international organisation, in which it wants to play an active role. However, Nepal’s diplomatic maneuvering, lately, appears not to have been as effective as it used to be at international forums like NAM and also in the overall conduct of its diplomacy.
Peace and neutrality have been the core values that NAM has been championing so far since its foundation. As the world has undergone tectonic change over the last few years, the Non-aligned Movement, too, is expected to widen in its scope. Peace is the foremost requirement for human existence and security. But, with the change of time, human needs and necessities and objective conditions too have changed. Democracy is not a mere political agenda but a basic human aspiration.
It would, thus, bode well for the Non-aligned Movement to include democracy, sustainable development, effective mechanisms to address climate change and greater commitment to eradicating global poverty in its core objectives and demonstrate a greater willingness to move ahead to achieve these goals in a more practical term. Failing to do so would make NAM a mere gossiping club, and people may see it as a waste of time, energy and resources that may, one day, lead to its demise.
At the 17th conference of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) that concluded recently in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, a country that had played a key role in the foundation of the organisation, Nepal was represented by its foreign minister. In the conference, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahendra Pandey voiced Nepal’s concerns with stronger emphasis on greater and effective unity and solidarity among the NAM member countries ‘on all outstanding issues and problems’, and called for a cohesive approach to make the Non-aligned Movement more effective and dynamic.
This has been the consistent position and stance of Nepal ever since it joined the organisation. In principle, Nepal’s policy and position have remained unchanged on NAM’s relevance and the need for making this movement more meaningful, vibrant and effective in tackling a wide range of problems and issues that the world, in general, and the developing world, in particular, are facing.
During the conferences held regularly at intervals of two years, all member countries have been speaking loud, highlighting the significance and relevance of the Non-aligned Movement and calling for developing this movement into a genuine voice and organisation of the developing world. However, there has been a glaringly lack of commitment and action plan on the part of the members to make this organisation so.
The Non-aligned Movement was founded way back in 1961 during the height of the Cold War when two power blocs dominated the world. However, many newly independent countries of the ‘Third World’ did not want to align with any of them but maintain friendly relations with the countries belonging to both. This necessitated the creation of a loose international forum independent of the two power blocs.
As a result, NAM was born with the core objectives and goals of fostering greater cooperation not only among the countries of the developing world but also seeking assistance, sympathy and goodwill from both the blocs. This was possible thanks to the bold efforts of its founding fathers who included Joseph Broz Tito of former Yugoslavia, Myanmar’s U Nu, Indonesia’s Sukarno, Egypt’s Gamal Abdul Nasser, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumuh.
Soon NAM became an international symbol for national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony. With its lofty goals and firm stance for the cause of the developing countries, NAM, which had initially 21 countries, has now grown into an international organisation of 120 countries - the second biggest after the United Nations.
With the end of the Cold War and a bipolar world, some, however, started questioning the validity of NAM. According to them, NAM was relevant only as long as there were two power blocs, but in the present unipolar world, the validity of the Non-aligned Movement is over. In fact, NAM’s relevance is as valid as it used to be during the Cold War. The objective of NAM is not merely to refrain from siding with the power blocs but also to side with the truth, justice and world order.
The fundamental objectives and ideals of NAM are the five principles of peaceful co-existence, which have been the principal guideline of international relations and diplomacy. Thus, the Non-aligned Movement has not lost relevance. Instead its necessity is pronounced even more in the present crisis-ridden world, and it is the responsibility of the Non-aligned members to act more vigorously to prove its importance.
The world has undergone a sea change in the last five or six decades. With the tremendous advancements in the field of science and technology, in general, and information technology, in particular, the world has become a small global village. But the world continues to be divided between the haves and have-nots, between the rulers and the ruled, between the exploiters and the exploited, and between the oppressors and oppressed. In this uneven world, NAM should play an even more effective role in creating a just and equitable world for the benefit of the larger humankind, who are poor and downtrodden and live mostly in the developing countries.
There was and still is a huge expectation from the Non-aligned Movement. It is true that NAM has not fully lived up to the popular expectations. But it would be unjust and unwise to dismiss the achievements and gains NAM has made in international politics and international relations. In its long journey, the movement has definitely achieved some significant gains. We cannot imagine what would have happened to the world if the Non-aligned Movement had not existed during the Cold War, which must be taken into account while evaluating and judging its performance and relevance.
In the recent years, however, especially after the end of the Cold War, NAM’s thrust has been less appealing than before. As a result, despite its relevance, NAM seems to exist only on paper rather than in action. The problem is not with its relevance but with the will and commitment of the member countries to translate its ideals into action in the present global situation.
When it comes to practicality and realism, the speed and height with which the leaders of 120-member organisation scramble to tell their own prescriptions during conferences for the remedy of the problems facing the planet, slowly subside and disappear once the conclave is over. This is why the movement has lost its momentum and thrust especially after the end of the Cold War.
The Non-aligned Movement has a lot more to accomplish in fully realising its noble causes and common goals of peace, justice and democracy. So far as Nepal is concerned, it has always championed and defended the core values of the movement. The great importance Nepal attaches to NAM can be gleaned from its foreign policy, which is based on the ideals and principles of the UN Charter and the Non-aligned Movement.
Nepal and the Nepalese people, thus, want the revitalisation of the Non-aligned Movement to achieve its lofty goals in the present world. The Nepalese people know the value of peace more than others because we, at present, are in the process of institutionalising peace and inclusive democracy, for which the principles of NAM are our principal guidelines.
It is against this background that Nepal is desirous to make NAM a more vibrant and effective international organisation, in which it wants to play an active role. However, Nepal’s diplomatic maneuvering, lately, appears not to have been as effective as it used to be at international forums like NAM and also in the overall conduct of its diplomacy.
Peace and neutrality have been the core values that NAM has been championing so far since its foundation. As the world has undergone tectonic change over the last few years, the Non-aligned Movement, too, is expected to widen in its scope. Peace is the foremost requirement for human existence and security. But, with the change of time, human needs and necessities and objective conditions too have changed. Democracy is not a mere political agenda but a basic human aspiration.
It would, thus, bode well for the Non-aligned Movement to include democracy, sustainable development, effective mechanisms to address climate change and greater commitment to eradicating global poverty in its core objectives and demonstrate a greater willingness to move ahead to achieve these goals in a more practical term. Failing to do so would make NAM a mere gossiping club, and people may see it as a waste of time, energy and resources that may, one day, lead to its demise.
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