Structure
1. The Chair
2. The Troika
3.The Coordinating Bureau ( COB)
4.Working, Contact and Special Groups and Standing Committees
5. Group of Non-Aligned Countries in the Security Council (Caucus)
6. Joint Coordination Committee ( JCC )
Procedures
Meetings
1. High-level meetings
2. Other meetings
Structure
The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, an important forum for political coordination among the countries of the South, functions on the basis of an administration style intended to be unique, non-hierarchical, rotating and participative which allows all member States, with no differentiation or discrimination of any kind, to participate in global decision-making and world politics.
At the same time, the Movement has developed a body of methodological principles, concepts, programs and agreements that are the guide or basis for its functioning and represent a consensus among its member countries. They are contained in declarations, programs of action, resolutions, communiqués, reports and other texts adopted by the Summits or Ministerial Conferences.
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1. The Chair
Members from the different geographical regions that make up the Movement rotate as chair people. The Host Country of the Summit is automatically the Chair of the Movement until the next summit and it takes the responsibility of coordinating all the activities of this forum.
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2. The Troika
The concept of Troika started to emerge during the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of NAM in New Delhi on the 6th of April 1997, and it was announced that the first meeting of Troika (the past, present and future chairs) would take place at the 52nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Troika subsequently formally met for the first time in New York in September 1997.
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3.The Coordinating Bureau ( COB)
It was established at a ministerial level at the Algiers Summit (1973.) It is in charge of making preparations for the Summits and Ministerial Meetings. It is the focal point for coordinating the activities and positions of the member countries of the Movement, particularly in the United Nations. It verifies and harmonizes the activities of the Working Groups, the Contact Groups, the Special Groups and the Committees of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. It sessions in New York and one of its main functions is to promote concerted and unified action by non-aligned countries at the United Nations and other international fora.
In the course of years, the scope of the work by the Bureau has expanded to include virtually all the tasks that are required for the functioning of the Movement and part of its job has been delegated to ambassadorial level. Such division in the work by the Bureau was formalized at the Colombo Conference (1976) and the Bureau´s functional responsibility was expanded.
Conceived initially to have a membership limited to 25, its membership is now open for all the members of the Movement.
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4.Working, Contact and Special Groups and Standing Committees
The Working Groups function informally and play an important role in preparatory and coordination work. They work mainly in the framework of the main political bodies of the United Nations. They have existed formally since the Algiers Summit (1973) with the aim of defining "a common stance and suggest the adequate course of action at the General Assembly."
The Working Groups draft and put forward resolutions, call for support to them, arrange speakers on issues, etc. They are coordinated by several countries. At present, the most active Working Groups are those on Disarmament, Peace Keeping Operations, Palestine, Humans Rights and the Reform of the Security Council.
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5. Group of Non-Aligned Countries in the Security Council (Caucus)
Without any detriment to their sovereign rights, the non-aligned countries which are members of the Security Council are mandated to adopt common positions in that forum based on the decisions and positions agreed by the Movement in its gatherings.
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6. Joint Coordination Committee ( JCC )
It is in charge of coordination and cooperation between the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the Group of 77 in order to promote the interests of developing countries, avoid duality and achieve joint goals in the international fora.
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Procedures
Decision-making: All decisions are adopted by consensus, a mechanism designed to widen solidarity and unity in the Movement. Consensus in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries presupposes respect for diverging viewpoints and, even though it means an agreement by a considerable majority of its members, it does not demand nor does it imply unanimity. If a country does not agree it may record its reservations. For all practical purposes, consensus in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries can be read as the existence of an "overwhelming majority" in favor of a given proposal.
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Meetings
1. High-level meetings
- Conferences of Heads of State or Government (Summits.) They are held every three years following the principle of geographical rotation.
- Ministerial Conferences. They are held between Summits, following also the principle of geographical rotation.
- Ministerial Meetings of the Coordinating Bureau. They are held a few months prior to a Summit in order to coordinate positions for it. They take place in the country that is the Chair of the Movement.
- New York Ministerial Meetings during the Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly. They are held annually.
- Furthermore, other high-level meetings are held such as: Special Ministerial Meetings, Meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Methodology, Meetings of the Standing Ministerial Committee for Economic Cooperation, Ministerial Meetings on Various International Cooperation issues ( health, Labor , information,…..) Ministerial Meetings on Information, among others, concerning concrete themes of interest to the non-aligned countries.
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2. Other meetings
Other regular, lower-level meetings such as ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the Coordinating Bureau, meetings of the Working, Special and Contact Groups and of the Committees and meetings of the Joint Coordination Committee of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the Group of 77 also take place.