Bandung Conference of 1955

a conference of 29 Asian and African countries held in Bandung, Indonesia, Apr. 18–24.

The decision to convene the Bandung Conference was made at a meeting of the prime ministers of India, Burma, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Ceylon in Colombo, Ceylon, in April 1954. In addition to the sponsors, participants in the Bandung Conference included Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Chinese People’s Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Gold Coast, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Nepal, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Yemen. In their closing communique the participants in the conference condemned colonialism and racial segregation and discrimination. They addressed a petition to the UN Security Council supporting the admission of Cambodia, Ceylon, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, and United Vietnam to the UN, and they expressed the wish that the geographical principle be applied more equitably in distributing the nonpermanent seats on the Security Council to representatives of Asian and African countries. In the “Declaration on Promoting World Peace and Cooperation,” which was inserted into the closing communique and based on five principles of peaceful coexistence, the Bandung Conference called for economic and cultural cooperation among countries, disarmament, prohibition of the production, testing, and use of atomic and thermonuclear weapons, and resolution of all disputes by peaceful means. The Bandung Conference promoted national consciousness among the peoples of Asia and Africa and the further growth of the national liberation movement.