19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, Kampala, Uganda, January 19-20
Firm Demand for Gaza Ceasefire and Support for Palestine's Right to Be
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held its 19th summit in Kampala, Uganda from January 19-20, preceded by high-level ministerial meetings from January 17-18. The theme of the summit was "Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence." One hundred and twenty countries make up the NAM -- 53 from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and two from Europe. This makes NAM the largest grouping of countries after the UN. Twenty countries and 11 organizations have observer status. Member states of the NAM are neither formally aligned with nor opposed to any major power bloc.[1]
Uganda took up the Chair of the NAM from Azerbaijan and will hold this position until 2027. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was elected by acclamation as the chair of the summit taking over from President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. In his opening remarks he cautioned leaders against imposing their narrow uni-ideological orientation to a society they live in, let alone the world.
"The oppressors miscalculate when they use their temporary advantage in science and technology to think that they can use that to indefinitely oppress other people. The oppressed will learn, catch up and defeat the oppressor. That is why Empires always collapse. The idea of Empires is an evil idea," President Museveni asserted. "Why do you not seek to influence people by your good example, instead of manipulation, lectures and threats? Chauvinists of race, religion, tribe or gender, should stop wasting our time and opportunities, with their shallow schemes. Action will, inevitably, invite counteraction. Oppression will invite Resistance. We are, therefore, not impressed and cannot be part of the morbid bigotry of uni-ideological thinking of this or that type. The universe has been here for the last 30 billion years, and human society has been here for the last four-and-a-half million years," he added.
One of the standout developments at the summit was the unreserved support for Palestine's right to be and the denunciation of Israel's genocidal military campaign on the Gaza Strip. Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa, for example, said in a speech to delegates on January 19, "Since October 7, we have witnessed one of the cruellest genocidal acts ever to be recorded by history. How can the Western countries, who claim to be so civilized, justify the murder of women and children in Gaza, the indiscriminate bombings of hospitals and schools and deprivation of access to safe water and food?" Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, called for an immediate end to what he called the "unjust war against the Palestinian people."
The grave concern over Palestine was reiterated in the Kampala Declaration issued at the end of the summit, which "Reaffirm[ed] the importance of the Question of Palestine to the Non-Aligned Movement and stress[ed] that the longstanding, common, and principled positions that have been responsibly constructed on this subject over the past sixty years shall be defended, preserved, and promoted, including through active participation in relevant meetings, conferences and other relevant events, especially within the context of the United Nations, as part of our continued efforts to put an end to colonialism, oppression, occupation and domination in the occupied Palestinian Territory."
The declaration also noted South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice under the Genocide Convention. It further called for "the provision of life-saving humanitarian aid at scale to Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip and ensur[ing] the protection of humanitarian actors." It strongly condemned "the illegal Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip, the indiscriminate attacks against Palestinian civilians, and civilian objects, and the forced displacement of the Palestinian population and further call[ed] for an immediate and durable humanitarian ceasefire."
At a January 17 ministerial meeting, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez proposed that the NAM speak out with unity and firmness to demand a fair, comprehensive and lasting solution to Israel's occupation of Palestine. He advocated for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees. He proposed that the NAM support the urgent sending of an international protection mission to the Gaza Strip, authorized by the United Nations General Assembly, with the mandate to guarantee the security and protection of the civilian population, as well as to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and food. Rodriguez expressed his country's support to hold an International Peace Conference with the fundamental purpose of contributing to the protection of the rights of the Palestinian people and establishing the sovereign state of Palestine. Several of these proposals were reflected in the Kampala Declaration.
Rodriguez also reiterated Cuba's rejection of unilateral coercive measures imposed on several member NAM member states. "Cuba appreciates the NAM's valuable support for its just demand for an end to the illegal United States blockade that flagrantly violates the human rights of all Cubans, and has been intensified to extreme levels since 2019," he remarked. To that end, the Kampala Declaration stated that the NAM continues to call for "the complete, immediate, and unconditional lifting of all Unilateral Coercive Measures, including those measures used as tools for political or economic and financial pressure against any country, particularly against developing countries." The Declaration said such measures are "in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and principles of international law" and especially "hinder the health and well-being of populations of the affected countries, and create obstacles to the full realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in these countries and their human rights and their national development Plans."
The Cuban Foreign Minister also expressed his country's support for the Western Saharan people's right to free self-determination, as well as Puerto Rico's self-determination and independence.
Another notable feature of the NAM summit was the body's reaffirmation of its commitment to the United Nations Charter and the rule of international law, while recognizing that the UN is in need of strengthening and renewal. The Kampala Declaration calls on the NAM's member states "to decisively address the challenges posed in the areas of peace and security, development, human rights and international cooperation, and for which we will make joint efforts to:
"Uphold and promote respect for the UN Charter and International Law especially the principles of sovereignty, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, non-interference, and peaceful settlement of disputes;
"Revitalize and reinvigorate the role of the NAM in the contemporary international situation, based on its founding principles and purposes, as stipulated in Bandung (1955) and Belgrade (1961), to strive towards a peaceful, equitable and prosperous world;
"Strengthen the United Nations, as the primary multilateral organization, providing it with a substantive capacity to fully and effectively meet the purposes and principles enshrined in its Charter, and at consolidating its democratic and inter-governmental character in particular, through the revitalization of the General Assembly and strengthening its authority, as the democratic, inclusive, equitable and representative body of the Organization, as well as expediting reform of the United Nations Security Council, in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 62/557 in a comprehensive and integrated manner, in order to make the security Council a more democratic, transparent and representative organ of the United Nations;
"Intensify the ongoing process of consultations, cooperation, and coordination between the UN and relevant regional and sub-regional organizations, arrangements, or agencies, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, as well as on their mandate, scope, and composition, which is useful and can contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the achievement of sustainable development;
"Reaffirm and underscore the validity and relevancy of the Movement's principles and positions concerning the right to self-determination of peoples under foreign occupation and colonial or alien domination."
Note
1. The NAM was established in 1961 in an effort to promote the interests of developing countries during the Cold War era, rejecting the arrangements in which the world was to be divided into camps aligned with the big powers. In 1979, Fidel Castro summed up the purpose of the NAM as ensuring "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics."
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 13 - February 23, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS541314.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca