Chapter 3:   THE PEOPLE

Section 4:   Regional and other groups

 

Council members belonging to the Non-Aligned Movement increase by two in 2018

 

Of the countries serving terms on the Security Council in 2018, six are full members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM):  Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kuwait, and Peru.  This is two more than in 2017, when only four Council members belonged to the NAM.  In 2012, a high of eight Council members belonged to the Movement. 

 

The increase in the number of NAM members serving on the 2018 Security Council came about because Peru, a NAM member, took up the Latin American and Caribbean seat of outgoing member Uruguay, which does not belong.  Similarly, Kuwait, another NAM member, took up the Asia-Pacific seat of outgoing member Japan, which does not belong.  Poland, which began its two-year term on the Council on 1 January 2018, was formerly a NAM member, but withdrew in 2004, at the time it joined the European Union.

 

In addition to the six regular members of the Non-Aligned Movement, on the 2018 Security Council, Kazakhstan (which is in the last year of its term) holds the status of a NAM Observer State, as do permanent members China and the United Kingdom.

 

With 125 full members, the Non-Aligned Movement is the second largest international organization in the world, following after the United Nations itself, which has 193 members.  When the additional 25 States which have observer status with the Non-Aligned Movement are considered, only 43 UN Member States are without NAM affiliation.

 

As described in the book (pages 145-146), the NAM was originally defined by its independence from both the “Western bloc” of the United States and its European and other allies, and the Soviet Union and other Communist States.  Although less so than during the Cold War, the Non-Aligned Movement today can still be an important identification for those elected Council members which belong to it.  As described in the book,

 

“Under a convenor, which rotates each month in alphabetical order, the non-aligned Council members

meet periodically as a ‘caucus’, usually at the level of permanent representative.  For that purpose, there

is a designated ‘NAM Caucus Room’ adjoining the Quiet Room in the Security Council area. . . .  Membership

in the NAM also ties the non-aligned Council members to the very active NAM membership in the wider UN system. . . .  The NAM as a whole has a Joint Coordinating Bureau, in conjunction with the broader ‘Group

of 77’ developing countries, which coordinates action on specific issues, some of which relate to matters

before the Security Council, particularly the situation in the Middle East.  Occasionally, the country chairing

the Non-Aligned Movement at the United Nations makes a statement on behalf of the NAM in the Council’s open debates, including debates on the Council’s working methods.”

 

The NAM members serving on the Council since 2007 have been as follows:

 

2018 (6)   Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Peru

2017 (4)   Bolivia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal

2016 (5)   Angola, Egypt, Malaysia, Senegal, Venezuela

2015 (7)   Angola, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Venezuela

2014 (5)   Chad, Chile, Jordan, Nigeria, Rwanda

2013 (6)   Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan, Rwanda, Togo

2012 (8)   Azerbaijan, Colombia, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Pakistan, South Africa, Togo

2011 (6)   Colombia, Gabon, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, South Africa

2010 (4)   Gabon, Lebanon, Nigeria, Uganda

2009 (4)   Burkina Faso, Libya, Uganda, Viet Nam

2008 (6)   Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Libya, Panama, South Africa, Viet Nam

2007 (7)   Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Panama, Peru, Qatar, South Africa

 

(This update supplements pages 145-146 of the book.)