NATO is a political and military alliance
whose primary goals are the collective defence of its members and the
maintenance of a democratic peace in the North Atlantic area. All 28 Allies
have an equal say, the Alliance’s decisions must be unanimous and consensual,
and its members must respect the basic values that underpin the Alliance,
namely democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. NATO has a military
and civilian headquarters and an integrated military command structure but very
few forces or assets are exclusively its own. Most forces remain under full
national command and control until member countries agree to undertake
NATO-related tasks.
The following countries are members of the
Alliance: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
NATO is forging a growing network of
partnerships. The Alliance provides a unique forum for member and partner
countries to consult on security issues to build trust and help prevent
conflict. Through practical cooperation and multilateral initiatives, Allies
and partners are addressing new security challenges together. Partner countries
engage with the Alliance in ways that are individually tailored to their
specific interests and requirements. While they have a voice and offer valued political
and military contributions, they do not have the same decision-making authority
as a member country. Partnerships encompass not only countries in the
Euro-Atlantic area, the Mediterranean and the Gulf region but also countries
across the globe including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New
Zealand, Iraq, Afghanistan and Mongolia. In addition, NATO cooperates with a
range of international organizations including the United Nations and the
European Union.
NATO has three core tasks:
• Collective defence,
• Crisis management and
• Cooperative security through partnerships.
The Alliance is committed to protecting its
members through political and military means. It promotes democratic values and
is dedicated to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts
fail, it has the military capability needed to undertake collective defence and
crisis-management operations alone or in cooperation with partner countries and
international organizations. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
mission in Afghanistan is currently NATO’s main priority. There, NATO’s core
role is to assist the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in
exercising and extending its authority across the country while helping create
a stable and secure environment in which reconstruction and development can
take place.
In
addition, NATO has four other ongoing missions and operations:
• NATO has been leading a peace-support
operation in Kosovo since June 1999.
• The Alliance’s ships patrol the
Mediterranean, monitoring shipping to deter terrorist activity.
• The Alliance helps combat maritime piracy in
the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa.
• At the request of the African Union (AU),
NATO is providing assistance to the AU Mission in Somalia and capacity-building
support to its long-term peacekeeping capabilities.
Beyond its operations and missions, NATO
engages in a wide variety of other activities with Allies and partners. Areas
of cooperation include defence and political reform, military planning and
exercises, scientific collaboration and research, information sharing, and
humanitarian crisis relief.
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the
Alliance’s principal political decision-making body. The Council and a network
of committees provide the framework for Allies to consult, cooperate and plan
for multinational activities both political and military in nature.
The Council meets weekly at the level of
Allied ambassadors, and more frequently when needed. Regular meetings of the
Council also take place at the level of foreign or defence ministers. Every
year or two, NATO holds a Summit where Allied Heads of State and Government
decide on strategic questions facing the Alliance. Regular meetings also take
place with representatives from NATO’s partners. Within NATO Headquarters in
Brussels, each Ally has a permanent representative with the rank of ambassador.
He or she is supported by a national delegation consisting of diplomatic staff
and defence advisers, who either attend committee meetings themselves or ensure
that national experts participate. Each Ally’s sovereignty must be respected
and a final decision must have the full backing of all members. For this
reason, NATO’s decision-making process is based on unanimous consent, so
extensive discussions are often required before an important decision can be
taken. This process ensures that when NATO decides to take action, all Allies
stand behind the decision.
Political aspects of these decisions are
implemented through NATO’s civilian Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Military
aspects are implemented, under the political oversight of the Council, through
NATO’s Military Committee. This Committee liaises with NATO’s two strategic
commands: Allied Command
Operations located in Supreme Headquarters
Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) near Mons, Belgium, and Allied Command
Transformation, located in Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States. NATO has a
Secretary General who is appointed for approximately four years. He or she is a
senior politician from one of the member countries. The Secretary
General chairs meetings of the North Atlantic
Council and other important NATO bodies, helps to build consensus among
members, and serves as the principal spokesperson of the Alliance. In managing
day-to-day activities of the Alliance, he or she is supported by an
international staff of experts and officials from all NATO countries. The
current Secretary General is Anders Fogh Rasmussen, formerly Prime Minister of
Denmark.
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