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Summary of the Roundtable Discussions on the Analysis of the Global Environment and the Role of the Non-Aligned Movement, Durban, 28 April 2002

1. Delegations agreed that the Movement is faced by a situation today that has fundamentally changed from the global situation in place when the Movement was created. Forty years on, world security, peace and development have clearly not been achieved while poverty, illiteracy and pandemics continue to act as scourges on the populations of, especially, developing countries. The Movement’s ideal of international cooperation free of conditions has not yet been implemented and the aid that developing countries need has not reached the figure that has been identified as essential for development. The need for aid for development therefore needs to be emphasised more effectively, as one of the main objectives of the Movement.

 

2. Multilateralism should be based on more democratic relations between nations and in the international institutions and should become more vibrant but especially more equitable.

 

3. The Movement needs to take a fresh look at the way in which it functions and should review the elements which have characterised its work and its working methods during the last 40 years. Much of what the Movement has achieved was positive, for example the successful struggle against colonialism and apartheid. However, the Movement needs to address the major issues that face its individual Member States, both individually and globally today, and issues of importance to our countries should be prioritised in order that joint positions of the Movement address only the major priorities.

Some of the major issues facing the Members of the Movement are political disputes, conflicts and terrorism, poverty within and between nations especially in Africa, the denial of fundamental human rights, freedoms and self determination, xenophobia, racism, racial discrimination, religious differences and the tendency to use military means to resolve political and social problems. Many of these problems can become the root causes of conflict because when they are not addressed they leave the affected populations with very little alternative but resort to violence or in some instances terrorism. 

The Movement has, since the end of the Cold War, tended to react to situations and the agendas determined by the more powerful states within international fora and there is therefore a need to adopt a more pro-active, pragmatic and reasonable approach in order to promote partnerships with the developed countries particularly as regards issues of development. This will require a much more united approach by each Member of the Movement than has become the tendency of late. Also, earlier decisions of the Movement on these issues have not been implemented and should be reviewed so that united action can be focussed upon them. 

Fresh approaches need to be examined, for example the report to the last NAM Summit by the Ad-Hoc Panel of Economists which provided to us a number of ideas on how to intervene as a Movement in the process of globalisation. But we also need to analyse the rapidly growing influence on our national economies of global financial institutions, the Bretton Woods Institutions, the large conglomerates and the currency and bond traders. For example the world bond market in 1999 was $34 trillion, controlled by a very few players, and was greater than the world’s GDP. In 1998 $400 trillion in foreign exchange was traded. What policy options does this leave open for Members of the Movement in the economic and political fields? 

We also need to analyse our own position in the light of the events since 11 September 2001. Unipolarity, with one super Superpower tending to determine the course of world politics needs to be addressed as does the tendency towards the unilateral use of military force to address problems. We agreed that the Movement continues to believe that multilateralism remains an important vehicle for the peaceful resolution of international disputes. The United Nations is the appropriate forum within which to address such issues, but the Movement should speak with a united and clear voice within the UN and should also seek to democratise its institutions, especially the Security Council. 

As regards the effectiveness of the Movement and its working methods, improvements could be effected through a mechanism of the Troika and the creation of bodies such as Groups of Experts to analyse, discuss and suggest new responses to guide our joint approaches to the new challenges which the Movement faces. 

In examining our work methods and in focussing on our new priorities, the Movement should continue to remain faithful to its basic principles which have contributed to its successes in the past, such as respect for non intervention in the internal affairs of states, sovereignty and territorial integrity, justice and respect for international law. 

To remain relevant and to focus on the issues that matter most to the well-being of its people the Movement needs partners to assist in its development challenges and therefore needs to adopt accommodating approaches regarding other major global issues without compromising its founding principles. For example, we are agreed that terrorism needs to be eradicated but this involves addressing the root causes of terrorism such as poverty and unjust circumstances which create the breeding ground for terrorism. Terrorism has not yet been clearly defined. 

4. The meeting stressed the importance of unified support by the Movement for the people of Palestine who have and continue to suffer from Israeli repression, most recently the notorious events in Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah. The meeting stressed the united call by the Movement for a full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territory and other Arab territories. Israel should not be permitted to ignore decisions of the UN Security Council, particularly the recent unanimous resolutions.

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Updated: 22 May 2002