MUN UNISABANA
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a political and military alliance established in 1949 as a collective defense organization, during the Cold War. It is composed of 28 independent countries from Europe and North America and its essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
The organization institutes a unique link among allies for consultation and decision related to defense, security, and the conduct of multinational crisis-management operations. It is based on the principle of collective defense4, whereby member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party in order to protect and defend their territories and populations5. So far, Article 5 has been invoked once - in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
NATO is not a United Nations (UN) organ, however, both institutions work closely as partners. The UN Security Council Resolutions have provided the mandate for several NATO’s operations. Both organizations, promote democratic values, solidarity, cohesion, and, are committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes; but NATO has the military capacity to undertake crisis-management operations, if diplomatic efforts fail.
NATO releases decisions that represent the will of all sovereign 28 member countries since all decisions are taken by consensus6. This means that agreements are reached through common consent, consequently, consultations take place until a decision that is acceptable to all is reached and member countries agree to disagree on an issue.