NATO AJP-3.4(A)

Abstract

<strong>Introduction</strong> <br>a. The need for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to be capable of responding to a crisis beyond the concept of "collective defence" under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty was first identified in the 1991 Strategic Concept and reiterated thereafter at the 1999 Washington Summit. The Washington Summit recognized that future NATO involvement in non-Article 5 crisis response operations (NA5CRO) is needed to ensure both the flexibility and ability to execute evolving missions not described under Article 5, including those contributing to effective conflict prevention. The Alliance's military mission of NA5CRO is focused on contributing to effective crises management when there appears to be no direct threat to NATO nations or territories that otherwise would clearly fall under Article 5 "collective defence". NA5CRO are a major part of the Alliance's contribution to effective crisis management. NA5CRO are intended to respond to such crises in a timely and coordinated manner where these crises could either affect the security of NATO nations, or threaten stability and lead to conflict on the periphery of the Alliance. NA5CRO encompass the Alliance's conduct of and participation in the full range of operations as directed by the North Atlantic Council (NAC). Also, NA5CRO may be conducted by NATO in any part of the world, as opposed to the specific Euro-Atlantic area defined for article 5 operations; this implies that NA5CRO may have an expeditionary nature. <br>b. NA5CRO will only be conducted under the political control and strategic direction of the NAC. NA5CRO may be conducted by NATO on its own or, more often, in association with other international organizations (IOs) or non- NATO host nations (HNs). The United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are organizations that deal with security matters and have political, economic, cultural or military relationships with NATO member nations. NATO may operate in areas where other IOs (either with a regional mandate, such as the African Union, or a specific one, such as the International Criminal Court or the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent) are involved. See AJP-01, <em>Allied Joint Doctrine</em> for a more detailed discussion on the strategic context, NATO command structures and response forces, and the NATO Crisis Response System (NCRS). Additionally, refer to AJP-9, NATO <em>Civil Military Cooperation Doctrine</em> for more details on organisations in the mission area.