Azerbaijani Chairmanship to the
Non-Aligned Movement
Parliamentary Network
HISTORY
History of NAM
The Non-Aligned Movement was created and founded during the collapse of the colonial system and the independence struggles of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the world and at the height of the Cold War. During the early days of the Movement, its actions were a key factor in the decolonization process, which led later to the attainment of freedom and independence by many countries and peoples and to the founding of tens of new sovereign States. Throughout its history, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has played a fundamental role in the preservation of world peace and security.
Historians consider that the Bandung Asian-African Conference is the most immediate antecedent to the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Conference was held in Bandung on April 18-24, 1955.
The principles that would govern relations among large and small nations, known as the "Ten Principles of Bandung", were proclaimed at that Conference. Such principles were adopted later as the main goals and objectives of the policy of non-alignment. The fulfilment of those principles became the essential criterion for Non-Aligned Movement membership; it is what was known as the "quintessence of the Movement" until the early 1990s.
In 1960, in light of the results achieved in Bandung, the creation of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries was given a decisive boost during the Fifteenth Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly, during which 17 new African and Asian countries were admitted.
Six years after Bandung, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries was founded on a wider geographical basis at the First Summit Conference of Belgrade, which was held on September 1-6, 1961. The Conference was attended by 25 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Yemen, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri-Lanka, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, and Iraq.
The Founders of NAM have preferred to declare it as a Movement, but not an organization in order to avoid the bureaucratic implications of the latter.
The membership criteria formulated during the Preparatory Conference to the Belgrade Summit (Cairo, 1961) show that the Movement was not conceived to play a passive role in international politics but to formulate its own positions in an independent manner so as to reflect the interests of its members.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries played an essential role in the struggle for the establishment of a new international economic order that allowed all the peoples of the world to make use of their wealth and natural resources and provided a wide platform for a fundamental change in international economic relations and the economic emancipation of the countries of the South.
Throughout its history, the Movement has played an important role in strengthening international peace and security, within the framework of its permanent quest for establishing a more peaceful and prosperous world. It persistently called for strict adherence to the norms and principles of international law and has provided major thrusts in the areas of disarmament, better economic wellbeing, social justice and environmental sustainability. During its nearly 60 years of existence, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has gathered a growing number of States which, in spite of their ideological, political, economic, social and cultural diversity, have accepted its founding principles and primary objectives and shown their readiness to realize them.
NAM Parliamentary Network
At the XVIII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 25-26, 2019, Heads of State and Government decided (para. 24.24, Baku Final Outcome Document) to expand and deepen interaction and cooperation with parliamentarians of NAM on the recognition that they can perform a constructive role towards the attainment of the principles, ideals and purposes of the Movement.
Acknowledging the significant role that parliamentarians of the NAM Member States can play in ensuring full and effective compliance with the founding principles of the Movement, the Chairmanship of Azerbaijan intended to initiate parliamentary cooperation within NAM.
Traditionally seen as part of domestic politics, parliamentarians mainly reflect and represent the visions of their populations. However, emerging parliamentary diplomacy highlights the role of parliamentarians as active members of international relations, who are able to translate international policies into national frameworks, and ensure accountability of the government’s compliance with their international obligations. This resulted in more and more institutionalized parliamentary cooperation examples on regional and international levels, founded with an aim to address expanding international agenda and its domestic effects.
Proceeding from the above-mentioned, the Chairmanship of Azerbaijan has proposed to establish the NAM Parliamentary Network, which included parliamentarians from the NAM Member States. With the initiative of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM PN) was established during the Inaugural Meeting on November 28, 2021, in Madrid, Spain. NAM PN is composed of members nominated by the Parliaments of the NAM Member States. Up to 200 representatives from about 50 countries participated in the Inaugural Meeting. At the meeting, the Madrid Declaration on the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network was adopted.
The First Conference of NAM PN was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 30 June-1July, 2022. Nearly 400 participants from more than 40 parliaments and 8 international interparliamentary organizations worldwide participated in the Baku Conference. NAM PN Baku Conference was an important milestone in the institutional development of the interparliamentary organization. During the Conference Baku Statute (Statute on working modalities of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network) and Baku Declaration were adopted.
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At the Baku Conference of the NAM PN Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan was elected as the Chairperson of the NAM PN. Mr. Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez, President of the National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Mr. Ali Ahmed Faysal, Vice-President of the National Council of Palestine and Mr. Fawzi Al-Taher Al-Nouiri, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Libya were elected as the Vice-chairpersons of the NAM PN.
The main objectives of the NAM PN are:
play a supplementary function in securing a better understanding and promotion of the ideas and principles of the Movement among and within populations of the NAM Member States;
ensure parliamentary support to the implementation of obligations of the NAM Member States deriving from the outcome documents of NAM high-level meetings;
provide a framework for cooperation and coordination among parliaments of the NAM Member States and for the exchange of parliamentary experience, in the field of peace, security human rights and development;
reflect on the issues of concern for the NAM Member States from the point of view of parliamentarians;
promote contacts with parliamentary networks of other international and regional organizations, with a view to advance the common principles and objectives.
