Opinion 70 years on, principles of Bandung Conference can guide Global South

Indian Express

26-04-2025

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the first Asia-Africa summit, which took place in Bandung, Indonesia from April 18 to 24, 1955. Twenty-nine newly independent Asian and African countries met in what was a historical gathering of the leaders of the developing south, recently freed from the devastation brought upon their countries by the ravages of colonial rule. Bandung was to set in motion a new wave of south-south cooperation and solidarity and served as the precursor of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The conveners of the conference were driven by the common goals of seeking to chart a new course of sovereign, independent and collective action in addressing the most pressing challenges as newly independent, developing nations dissatisfied with being at the margins of the global stage.
The reluctance and continued hegemonic actions by the former colonial overlords and other Western powers in their interactions with countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America served as a key factor in bringing the leaders together. For South Africa, the Bandung Conference was a critical platform to bring global attention to the oppressive apartheid regime that governed the country through White minority rule. The African National Congress (ANC), the foremost liberation organisation championing the freedom of the country both within and internationally, sent two delegates to the conference —Moses Kotane and Maulvi Chachalia — to lobby support internationally for South Africa's freedom struggle. The core principles that catalysed the coming together of Asian and African leaders are as relevant today as they were in 1955. These included political independence, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression and non-interference in internal affairs.
All the above principles echo the common resolve of leaders to work in cooperation and partnership in upholding and defending a rules-based global order underpinned by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
However, the rules-based multilateral system is under siege. There is a major trust deficit especially among the major powers, contributing to the highly polarised world we live in. 'Might is right' is the ruling mantra of the day. At a time when we need collective action to address the most pressing challenges facing humanity — from climate change to deepening levels of poverty and inequality, protracted conflicts and trade wars — the world is fragmenting into opposing camps.
Unfortunately, the architects of the UN system are at the forefront of dismantling the multilateral order. The UN in its current form is no longer fit for purpose. Repeated calls and numerous resolutions aimed at reforming the UN and its institutions have yielded no results. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking on American computer scientist Lex Freidman's podcast recently, noted that 'the international organisations that were created have become almost irrelevant, there is no reform in them. Institutions like the UN cannot play their role. People in the world who do not care about laws and rules are doing everything, no one can stop them.'
This paralysis of international organisations is most evident in the UN Security Council (UNSC). In December 1992, the General Assembly created an open-ended working group to review equitable representation in the UNSC. More than three decades later, despite regular meetings, there are still no tangible results. In October 2008, the UN formally launched intergovernmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation and an increase in the membership of the UNSC. After over 15 years of protracted discussions, no progress has been made, nor is there any serious desire on the part of the UNSC's five permanent members to give up their veto.
Despite the fact that most of the countries of the Global South were not present at the formation of the UN in June 1945, the leaders of the Bandung Conference recognised the centrality of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and reiterated their commitment to multilateralism and a rules-based global order. The Asia-Africa Summit gave birth to a new paradigm of south-south cooperation. It demonstrated the need for the Global South to work together to champion its collective aspirations on the world stage. Despite Bandung, the subsequent founding of the NAM in 1961 and the G77 in 1964, the Global South continued to be on the margins of global geopolitics and geoeconomics.
The economic rise of Global South countries — China, Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa, among others — over the past three decades has come with a tectonic change in the geopolitical and economic landscape. South-south cooperation has risen to the fore. This is most evident in the formation of BRICS, which is meant to challenge the political and economic dominance of the north and rebalance global power dynamics. In the current fractured and polarised world, the countries of the Global South have to proactively demonstrate leadership in forging new partnerships and alliances both among themselves as well as with like-minded Global North countries committed to addressing common challenges and shared interests. The Global South has to be at the forefront of shaping the evolving multipolar world to ensure it is focused on a fair, just, inclusive and equitable global community. The architects of Bandung would expect nothing less of us.