| |
STATEMENT BY FELIPE PÉREZ ROQUE, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE COORDINATING BUREAU OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT.
NEW YORK, 28 SEPTEMBER 2007.
Distinguished Ministers:
We are gathered once again, a year after the meeting of our leaders in Havana during the XIV Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
That historic occasion agreed upon groundbreaking documents which have served as reference for the work of the Movement in various multilateral forums, particularly at the United Nations. The Final Document, the Declaration on Purposes and Principles and the Role of the NAM in the Current International Circumstances, the Plan of Action of the NAM and the other documents adopted by our Heads of State or Government at the Havana Summit have become the compulsory guide to follow up on the work of the Non-Aligned Movement.
With everyone’s active participation, sustained effort and support, we have moved forward in strengthening and revitalizing the Movement, thus following up on the work done by the Chairs of South Africa and Malaysia.
Today, the Cuban Chair submits for your consideration a thorough Report on the Movement’s performance in the period elapsed since the celebration of the XIV Summit in September 2006. The document, now being distributed in the hall, contains detailed information on the various actions undertaken, not only within the Coordinating Bureau in New York but also in the various multilateral venues in which the Movement is currently playing a role.
We believe that the main results of the first year of our Chairmanship are the following:
- The Coordinating Bureau in New York has managed the operate on a regular basis and its decisions are increasingly larger in scope and relevance;
- The coordination and harmonization of positions among the non-aligned countries is turning out to be effective in key processes within the UN. The activism displayed in this period by the various mechanisms of support for the Coordinating Bureau has ensured that the Movement’s interests cannot be disregarded in the Organization’s decision-making process. The activation and regular operation of the Movement’s Working Groups have made it possible to present to the Coordinating Bureau concrete proposals and courses of action to address the main consultation and negotiation processes on issues of interest and priority to the non-aligned countries.
- The Movement’s Caucus at the Security Council has been revitalized – and we have seen the creation of the Non-Aligned Caucus at the Peace-Building Commission.
- The Movement’s links and coordination of positions with other groupings of the South have been further enhanced, particularly with the Group of 77 and China. Also important has been the revitalization and the commendable work of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) between both groupings. The identification of common spaces for negotiation and influence by the JCC has enabled the joint defense of the positions of the South in processes such as mandate review, the System-Wide Coherence and the reorganization of the UN Secretariat’s Disarmament and Peacekeeping Operations Departments, all of which are directly linked with the Organization’s reform process.
- Progress has been made in the effective use of the Movement’s performance mechanisms in various multilateral venues. In addition to the work of the Coordinating Bureau in New York, its scope was expanded to Geneva and strengthened in Vienna. After more than two decades of inaction, it was reinstalled at UNESCO; and work resumed strongly at The Hague. That has made it possible to increase the profile and ability of the non-aligned countries in debating relevant and current issues.
- At the IAEA, we maintained an active coordination of positions and close monitoring of the treatment given to the Iranian nuclear issue; at the ILO, progress was made in the harmonization of positions about the changes required in such Organization’s operation and structures; at UNESCO, we managed to revitalize the Movement’s performance, particularly in relation to the ways and means to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention on Cultural Diversity; and at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons the non-aligned countries are active in defense of its positions in all areas of such Convention.
- A special mention should be made of the active role played by the Movement in the process of institutional building of the Human Rights Council. The joint defense of our positions made it possible for us to become a key player in the negotiations – and was instrumental in having such body include on its agenda matters of particular importance to the countries of the South, such as the human rights situation in Palestine and the occupied Arab territories, the right to development, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, among others.
- The Movement has managed to preserve its strategic interests. There has been an increase in its drawing power and ability to engage in dialogue; and it has become an active interlocutor at the most important debates taking place in the United Nations and in other international forums.
- The Movement’s voice has been heard through the many statements made by the Chairmanship of the Coordinating Bureau or by the respective Coordinators of the Working Groups at several UN bodies, at meetings, events or consultations taking place in New York or at the various multilateral venues where there are structures pertaining to the non-aligned countries. Another positive and tangible result has been the negotiation and adoption, in this period, of fourteen Declarations of the Coordinating Bureau on issues of particular interest and relevance to the Movement’s member countries.
- In 2007, we successfully held two of the meetings contained in the Plan of Action for the 2006-2009 period, adopted at the XIV Summit: firstly, the Meeting of Ministers of Labor held last June, which adopted two important declarations on issues of interest to the Movement at the ILO; and the Movement’s Ministerial Meeting on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, recently held in Tehran, which adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on this important issue, a landmark in the Movement’s performance.
This concise summary of the results and the various actions, which are explained in greater detail in the Report, underpins the criteria that in the past year we have seen some progress in recovering the role that is legitimately ours in international relations and in the United Nations, where we account for nearly two-thirds of its membership.
However, there is still a lot to be done. As a matter of fact, the main theme of the interactive debate bringing us together today is aimed at facilitating the exchange of views on new concrete measures or actions to strengthen the ability of the Non-Aligned Movement.
In order to contribute to this exchange, I will share with you some ideas about the main challenges that we will face in the coming year:
- We must consolidate the defense of the Movement’s positions within the Security Council, as well as to explore the possibilities for greater coordination by the Caucus with those members of the Security Council whose positions are closest to the stands defended by the Movement. It is imperative to utilize the existing room to enhance the role of the NAM Caucus in the Council and promote its coordinated action in favor of the interests of the non-aligned countries.
- Next year, we must celebrate the scheduled meetings. Our Ministers of Information will meet in Caracas, capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in the first quarter of the year; our Ministers of Health must meet in Geneva, in the context of the World Health Assembly in May 2008; the Coordinating Bureau must hold its Intra-Summit Ministerial Conference in May; the Movement’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs must meet in Havana in September to debate the issue of terrorism.
- The Chair is seriously thinking of the possibility for our Movement to undertake actions instrumental in completing the international legal framework against intolerance and discrimination, as these are phenomena that have seen an alarming increase in the last few years. We are currently preparing a Draft International Convention on Religious Intolerance, to systematize the provisions and rights recognized in various instruments adopted in the past.
- We believe it is important to complete the Coordinating Bureau’s support organs. The Working Group on Legal Affairs has been hard on the job this year, and we think that by 2008 we must create the Coordinating Bureau’s Contact Group for Humanitarian Affairs.
- We must promote an active role of the Movement in UNESCO-related issues in order to add concrete content to the revitalization of our coordination structures within such agency, which took place this year.
- We must consolidate the unity of action with the G-77 and China through the Joint Coordinating Committee and maintain the harmonization of positions that has been achieved, so as to be in a much better position to handle the negotiations on the issue of the System-Wide Coherence.
- Even though the first phase of the institutional building of the Human Rights Council has come to an end, to whose process we made a decisive contribution, we must remain alert in order to avoid any attempt to reopen and call into question the agreement reached in Geneva after a hard and difficult process. We must face the already obvious attempt to use the General Assembly to repeat the hackneyed and corrupt practices of the former Commission.
- It is essential that we form a united front allowing us to collectively resist the pressures, the threats and the blackmail that some of our members have been occasionally victims of a part of the attempts to undermine our positions, break our unity and prevent us from moving forward in defending the interests that we share.
- We must make sure that the conflicts occasionally involving several member countries of the Movement will not break our historical positions and hinder the adoption of consensus positions. It is necessary to overcome the differences separating some of our members on various occasions. At loggerheads, we are a sitting duck for the ruthless force of the pressures by the mightiest, who end up imposing their designs.
- We must continue to work for our Movement to be ever-inclusive and more representative, and for the decisions that we reach to result from broad-based debates and the necessary accommodation of the various viewpoints derived from specific ideologies, religions, cultures, development levels, historical experiences and national interests. It is up to us to turn that diversity into the force that provides creativity, solidarity and cohesion in defense of our collective interests. Occasionally, it will be necessary that some individual interests be subordinated to the more broad-based priorities of all the members of the Movement and that we all join efforts in order to advance a common agenda.
- Among the countries, we must reinforce the sense of solidarity and always bear in mind that an aggressive or illegal action against one of our members must be seen as a hostile action against all of us, because what affects a country today could very well damage others tomorrow.
Esteemed Ministers:
The international situation brings about increasingly critical challenges to the future of the non-aligned countries.
Today, like never before, the united and friendly action of the South should prevail in the struggle for the democratization of international relations, peace and development. Let us take advantage of this meeting to critically and objectively assess the challenges ahead of us in order to jointly define the courses of action enabling a better treatment of the specific interests of our peoples; enhancing our unity and allowing us to renew the influence of the Non-Aligned Movement on world events.
We are convinced that the quest for a better world is possible and that the fight to conquer it must be the ultimate objective of our Movement.
Thank you very much.
|
|