Bandung Conference

The Bandung Conference of 1955 was a meeting of Asian and African countries seeking cooperation, peaceful coexistence and autonomy from great-power rivalry. Its Final Communiqué adopted ten norms, known as the Ten Principles of Bandung or Dasasila Bandung, to guide international relations.

Setting and significance

The conference brought together representatives of 29 Asian and African countries at Bandung, Indonesia, in April 1955. Its principles drew upon the United Nations Charter and closely reflected the Panchsheel principles.

• Bandung strengthened Afro-Asian solidarity and helped prepare the political ground for the later Non-Aligned Movement.

Sovereignty, equality and non-interference

• States should respect fundamental human rights and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
• States should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
• States should recognize the equality of all races and of all nations, large and small.
• States should abstain from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country.
• Every nation has the right to individual or collective self-defence in conformity with the United Nations Charter.

Peaceful conduct and international cooperation

• States should not use collective defence arrangements to serve the particular interests of great powers, nor exert pressure on other countries.
• States should refrain from aggression, threats or force against another country's territorial integrity or political independence.
• International disputes should be settled through peaceful means, including negotiation, conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement.
• States should promote mutual interests and cooperation.
• States should respect justice and international obligations.