The XIV Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) took place from 17-19 August 2004 in Durban, South Africa.

Ministers addressed developments in the international situation, reviewed implementation of decisions taken at the XIII NAM Conference of Heads of State held in Kuala Lumpur in February 2003, and prepared for the next NAM Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Havana, Cuba in September 2006. The meeting concluded with a Ministerial Declaration that flagged concern at the “growing to resort to unilateralism and unilaterally imposed methods” and reaffirmed the Movement’s commitment to advancing multilateralism. While recognizing the limitations of the United Nations, the Movement highlighted the UN as the only platform for addressing many of today’s global challenges. The NAM identified underdevelopment and poverty as fundamental concerns of the South, urged all countries and international institutions to intensify partnerships and coordinate resources to address imbalances in the global agenda, and signaled its commitment to a rules-based global trading system. The meeting also heard discussions on revitalizing the UN General Assembly, strengthening ECOSOC’s role in formulating development programmes, and democratizing the Security Council.
The NAM has its roots in a 1955 meeting of African and Asian countries at which Heads of State addressed common concerns such as colonialism and Western influence. Following fears that the arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States would result in war, the first NAM Conference convened in Belgrade in 1961, which decided that member countries could not be engaged in alliances or defense pacts with the two then superpowers. The focus of the NAM has gradually shifted away from primarily political issues, to advocating solutions to global economic and social issues. The midterm review of the recent Durban Ministerial Conference considered global issues such as the UN Millennium Declaration, and strengthening, restructuring, revitalizing and democratizing the UN, and addressed social issues such as advancement of women, children and human rights. A wide range of economic issues were also considered, relating to globalization, FDI, sustainable development, food security, science and technology, ICT, South-South cooperation, and LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS.
Click here to view the Durban Declaration on Multilateralism and the XIV Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Midterm Review.