Context:
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the first Asia-Africa summit which took place in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia.
Bandung Conference
- In April 1955, representatives from twenty-nine newly independent Asian and African nations gathered in Bandung, Indonesia for a historic conference.
- This meeting marked a turning point for the developing Global South as countries recently freed from colonial rule came together to assert their sovereignty and shape a collective future.
- Bandung was to set in motion a new wave of south-south cooperation and solidarity and served as the precursor of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
- The conveners of the conference aimed to establish a new direction for sovereign and collective action by newly independent developing nations who were dissatisfied with their marginal role in global affairs.
- For South Africa, the Bandung Conference was a critical platform to bring global attention to the oppressive apartheid regime that governed the country through White minority rule.
The conference also aimed to:
- Promote peace during the Cold War
- Address economic development and decolonization of nations
- Resist prevailing global marginalisation
• A key outcome of the conference was the signing of a 10-point declaration which incorporated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Panchsheel).
• A 10-point “declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation”, called Dasasila Bandung (Bandung’s Ten Principles or Bandung Spirit or Bandung Declaration) is as follows:
- 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 into 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
- Abstention from the use of arrangement of collective defense to serve the particular interests of any of the big powers, and abstention by any country from exerting pressures on other countries
- 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, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties’ own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations
- Promotion of mutual interests and cooperation.
- Respect for justice and international obligations.
• All the above principles echo the common resolve of leaders to work in cooperation and partnership in upholding and defending a rules-based global order underpinned by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
Non-Aligned Movement:
- The Non-Aligned Movement has its origins in the first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference, held on 18th- 24th April, 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia.
Formation of NAM
- The Non-Aligned Movement was formally established in September 1961 at its First Summit in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
- Twenty-five countries participated, including India, Egypt, Indonesia, Ghana, Yugoslavia, and others from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The core principles of the movement were inspired by the Bandung Principles.
- Currently, it has 121 members comprising 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 2 from Europe.
- 18 countries and 10 international organisations are observers at NAM.
Key Objectives and Role of NAM
- Upholding international peace and security in line with the UN Charter
- Advocating for nuclear disarmament and the creation of nuclear-free zones
- Combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations
- Supporting UN-led peacekeeping and peacebuilding initiatives
- Promoting global equity, especially during global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic where NAM played a significant role in advocating for fair recovery efforts
Structure of NAM
• Unlike other international organizations like the UN or the African Union, NAM has
- no formal charter, treaty or permanent secretariat
- Functioned through the rotating Chairmanship where the presiding country is responsible for coordinating the movement’s activities
UPSC Mains Practice Question
Q: Discuss the objectives and outcomes of the Bandung Conference. How did it contribute to the emergence of the Non-Aligned Movement and South-South cooperation?