Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, known in India as the Panscheel, are a set of principles to govern relations between states. Their first formal codification in treaty form was in an agreement between China and India in 1954. These were included in the preamble on trade and intercourse for Sino-Indian relations.:
1. Mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty
2. Non-aggression
3. Non-interference in each other's internal affairs
4. Equality and mutual benefit
5. Peaceful co-existence.
A few days later, Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, recommended these principles to the Asian Prime Ministers Conference at Colombo for mutual relations of all countries.
The five principles seem to have partly originated in Indonesia where the nationalist leader Sukarno proclaimed these in 1945, fur year before gaining their freedom.
The newly independent countries liberated from colonial powers after the end of the Second World War did not want to be drawn into the Cold War between great powers.
Nehru used the term 'Non-alignment' in 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. However, the Non-alignment Movement (NAM) originated from a meeting of several Asian and African countries in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955. The original five principles were incorporated in modified form in a statement of ten principles. This showed that the post-colonial nations had something special to offer to the world for building global peace.
It took another six years for the first NAM meeting of the heads of state, convened in Belgrade in 1961, largely through the initiative of Tito.
The founding fathers of NAM were: Josip Bros Tito of Yugoslavia, Sukarno of Indonesia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Jawaharlal Nehru from India.
The NAM summit is held every three years or so. The Chair of the movement rotates to the head of state or government of the country that is hosting the summit.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the 16th Meeting the foreign ministers of 118 NAM member countries, at Nusa Dua, Bali. It was held from May 25- 27, 2011. As it coincided with the 50th Anniversary of NAM, the theme was “Shared Vision on the Contribution of NAM for the Next 50 Years.”
One of the many issues discussed was Climate change, which was emphasised in a message received from the United Nations. The Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had called on NAM to assist in “urgent global action” to combat the threat posed by it.
