20 June 2022

Chapter 3:   THE PEOPLE

Section 4:   Regional and other groups

Five members belonging to the Non-Aligned Movement will sit on the Council in 2023

In 2022, there has been renewed public interest in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) after the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, with a number of commentators noting that many UN Member States are wary of completely aligning themselves either with the countries actively opposing the Russian aggression or with Russia itself.

Of the countries serving terms on the Security Council in 2023, five will be full members of NAM. They are (with the year of their accession): Ecuador (1983), Gabon (1970), Ghana (1961), Mozambique (1976) and the United Arab Emirates (1970). There have also been five NAM members sitting on the Council in 2022. The average since 2010 has been six members, with a high in this decade of eight Council members belonging to the Movement in 2012.

A sixth member of the 2022 and 2023 Security Council – Brazil – has Observer status with the Movement, as do permanent members China and the Russian Federation. Incoming Council member Malta no longer belongs to the NAM, but was a member from 1973 to 2004.

With 120 full members, the Non-Aligned Movement is the world’s second largest international organization after the United Nations itself, which has 193 members. When the additional 19 States which have Observer status with the Non-Aligned Movement are considered, only 54 UN Member States lack a 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 markedly less 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. . . . 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 . . .”

The NAM members serving on the Council since 2010 are as follows:

2023 (5):  Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Mozambique, United Arab Emirates

2022 (5):  Gabon, Ghana, India, Kenya, United Arab Emirates

2021 (6):  India, Kenya, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, Viet Nam. 

2020 (7):  Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Tunisia, Viet Nam

2019 (7):  Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Kuwait, Peru, South Africa

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

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