The Soviet Union formally dissolves

Namibia became independent after UN-supervised elections and a long struggle led by SWAPO. Its independence fulfilled a core anti-colonial objective repeatedly advanced by NAM, the OAU and the...

Iraq’s invasion raised a sharp test for states that had long defended sovereignty and non-intervention. NAM members differed over how to respond, revealing the difficulty of applying principles...

The Council authorized states cooperating with Kuwait to use “all necessary means” if Iraq did not withdraw by 15 January 1991. The resolution exposed tensions between collective security, sovereignty...

The campaign followed Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait and Security Council authorization. NAM debates over the crisis highlighted the unequal influence of major powers over decisions about enforcement and...

The declarations accelerated the breakup of Yugoslavia, a founding NAM member and one of the movement’s key diplomatic centers. The crisis weakened one of the original pillars of non-alignment and...

The summit met after the end of the Cold War and called for the movement to participate actively in shaping the emerging international order. Leaders warned against leaving decisions to the largest...

The final documents addressed development, debt, Palestine and UN reform. They argued that the end of bloc rivalry had not ended unequal power and that developing countries needed a collective voice...

Resolution 47/19 called for ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. NAM members supported the resolution as a defense of sovereignty against unilateral coercive measures.

The declaration reaffirmed that human rights are universal while recognizing the importance of national and regional contexts. Global South states challenged selective enforcement and argued that...

The election ended the apartheid system of racial disenfranchisement and enabled the majority to choose a national government. The victory followed mass resistance, international campaigns and...