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Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of South Africa
Your Excellencies, the Heads of State or Government
Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors and distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I must first thank you, President-Mandela, for the generous and cordial welcome which you have given us since we arrived in this beautiful country, and for all the arrangements which your government has made to enable this historic meeting to take place.

This is a meeting for which we have waited long. It is a meeting which, if we look back to the origins of the Movement, was first called on April 24, 1955, in Bandung, when the forward-thinking founders of Non-Alignment condemned apartheid and colonialism. Today, forty-three years later, thanks to the blood, toil and tears of thousands of men and women, this Summit in South Africa is a fresh opportunity to celebrate the passing of apartheid and the birth of a multiracial society living in freedom. South Africa is a symbol of 20^th-century decolonisation, with which our Movement is inseparably associated.

You, Mr President, are the very paradigm of all those who fought for freedom. In you, persecuted, tortured and imprisoned for defending your ideals, we find an expression of the principles which we have defended. For us, and for the world, the good fortune that we have to be able to meet in your country is the strongest of demonstrations of the continuing relevance of a political Movement which persistently and untiringly supported the courageous people of South Africa in their struggle to throw off tyranny, win their independence and work for reconciliation.

Let us, on this great occasion, express our tribute to those men and women of the member-States of the movement who fell by the side of the South Africans for that noble cause which they took up as their own.

Mr. President:

A new Africa is being born. It is an Africa which is rising from the ashes of colonialism, and which, proud of its ancestral roots, is striving to defend a stronger position in the new world order. It is a continent which is making its opinions and principles heard. It has not yielded under pressure, but has risen up, indignant against discrimination, and has decided to build its own institutions.

We know that it is also an Africa in which hunger and disease, drought and illiteracy, poverty and conflict still persist. It is a continent which needs the open-handed and massive co-operation of the world’s most developed nations, the international organisations, and indeed the entire community of nations.

The Movement must continue to build a strategy of active solidarity with Africa, beyond the parameters of mere humanitarian assistance or outdated paternalism. South-South co-operation must take on a new dimension: it should not be an alternative to North-South co-operation, but a complement to it, a driving force to mobilise shared knowledge and effort. One of the prime purposes of the Non-Aligned Movement must be to bring new vigour to South-South co-operation, bring it down from its theoretical plane and make it an effective instrument of solidarity.

It would be a mistake to see Africa as an amorphous political bloc. We need to take a serious and sympathetic approach which takes account of its differences and disparities. Above all, we need to have a deep respect for its traditional character and its desire for unity. The movement should encourage the international community to treat Africa with greater generosity.

As Secretary-General of the United Nations himself has noted, foreign aid and international co-operation have declined dramatically. The Non-Aligned Movement would do well to try to reverse this trend. With a few isolated exceptions, the target of 0.7% of GDP, which the developed nations should be allocating to co-operation for development, is not being met. The movement should insist that the target be met. It should also encourage the involvement of the private sector, so that globalisation comes to represent real support in terms of capital, technology transfer and fairer access to markets for the developing countries. We should work for the insertion of our countries in the circle of prosperity and modernity.

For historical reasons, the roots and components of the Non-Aligned Movement come mainly from Africa and Asia. This situation has been changing. It is now relevant to seek greater involvement on the part of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. We should strengthen the ties between all regions of the developing world. We must ensure that the dawn of the 21^st century, now in sight, will mark a giant stride forward: that there is a globalised world in which the regions also play a leading part.

The Movement is heterogeneous, and it represents many different trends in the developing world. But its diversity is not an obstacle to creative action. Rather, it is a rich resource which allows the plurality of cultures and civilisations to mingle with each other. Regionality is not incompatible with universality: indeed, it is a driving force for it. One of the most challenging tasks of our times is to try to make globalisation compatible with regional structures. And the Non-Aligned Countries must make a significant contribution to this effort.

Mr. President:

Many of the countries in the movement face problems similar to those of Africa. In impotence and pain, we watch unending processions of children, women and the old, under-fed and sick, driven from their homes by implacable violence. They walk through the countryside and the streets of our cities with the sole hope of being able to protect their lives: they have lost everything else.

The solution to this appalling situation must be our highest priority. We must face it with unbending determination and the most dedicated effort.

In a world in which the chasm between rich and poor grows daily wider, and in which welfare and social justice seem daily further from our grasp, the ideals which gave birth to our movement almost four decades ago remain as valid as ever. The principles of Non-Alignment are the fundamental guide for our constant struggle for equity and progress for mankind.

Ours is a movement with a universal mission, which has recorded important successes. But the Movement needs to search for new horizons and work for a constructive approach to the great problems of international society today. We need to increase its bargaining-power for the different items on the world agenda. We should not be content with making declarations. Non-Alignment, today, must mean the presence of a strong balancing force, which will help to make the international order a fairer one. And it must act as a channel of communication, as a spokesman for all that downtrodden part of the human race which is claiming its right to receive the benefits of technology and progress.

Heads of State and Government

Delegates:

The Cold War has ended, but the poverty, disparity and injustice which our countries suffer, has not. In the four corners of the Earth, there are still appalling social, economic, ethnic and religious problems, even among ourselves, we still face conflicts which on several occasions, have turned into armed confrontation, with the loss of lives and irreparable economic damage.

We must consolidate the Non-Aligned movement as an essential mechanism of consultation for the concerted defence of our interests. Its relevance and efficacy has been evident in world summits such as those on social development, population, human rights, women, drugs and sustainable development. The same has been seen in the common positions adopted on issues such as disarmament, the environment and reform of the United Nations.

The cohesion and unity of the Movement, in the major issues of a changing multilateral agenda, will be decisive: not only for the member countries themselves but also within every key organisation and forum of discussion. The Office of the Secretary General, the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations are clear beneficiaries of this, since they have the Non-Aligned Movement as the legitimate point of contact and spokesman for the majority of the Member States of the Organisation – no fewer than 113 countries in a single group for the discussion of the most complex of problems.

In this context also, the Joint Co-ordination Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 has done important work in concerting our positions at critical moments for the interests of the developing countries. It must be a priority to implement more operative and efficient co-ordination.

Heads of State or Government

Ministers, Ambassadors and Delegates:

The Non-Aligned Movement has watched with concern the situation of several of our number in south east Asia, suffering from the economic crisis which has swept the region and has had serious political and social consequences. This situation has now become a source of distress, as we see how, little by little, the global economy has started to suffer from the intensity of that crisis.

It is urgent for the Bretton Woods institutions to adopt stabilising measures, in order to avoid disastrous consequences in other countries.

If they do not do so, those other countries which, despite the uncertainties of economic globalisation, are fighting hard against corruption, poverty and other economic and social scourges which jeopardise the consolidation of their democratic regimes, will have wasted their efforts.

One of the great challenges of the future, in the context of economic liberalisation around the world, is to ensure that globalisation is compatible with the correction of social imbalances, and will close the breach between the industrialised countries and the developing countries. Globalisation must not be a scenario in which the benefits and privileges of the few are protected. More than anything, it should be a scenario for equality of opportunity, equity in international relations, economic growth and the distribution of its benefits, with a commitment to social justice.

Our Movement has an important and fundamental task in this area. I am sure that President Mandela will continue to give it the highest priority.

There is another very high priority, that the Non-Aligned countries strengthen their capacity for taking the initiative, so that they can synchronise the treatment of their own problems with that of the items of the world agenda. The strengthening of democracy, the defence of human rights, the promotion of sustainable development, the fight against drug-trafficking and organised crime, the struggle against corruption and South-South co-operation are essential and strategic components of the Movement.

And all of this must be part of a new approach to co-operation between the developed countries and the developing countries: co-operation based on dialogue, consensus, the friendly discussion of problems and a concerted identification of solutions. In other words, co-operation with the support of a new and genuine association between the interlocutors of the international community.

Your Excellencies

Distinguished delegates:

The actions of the Non-Aligned Movement in the United Nations and in each forum and agency in the System, is widely recognised. First, there has been its firm defence of multilateralism as a golden rule in the international system. Then, there has been its opposition, also determined, to unilateral action. For this, it is in our own interest to promote pragmatic agreements with the developed countries in order to achieve greater effectiveness on the part of the multilateral institutions. We should work for the reform of those institutions – not only the United Nations, but also the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation itself – so that they will provide an appropriate response to the needs of the developing countries.

The movement must also take account of the fact that there are new influences on the world scene, especially among non-governmental organisations, and must accept that it will be convenient to include them in the new international order.

Rather than dwell on the past, I would invite you to make an act of faith in our future: to repeat the decision to play a part, and a leading part at that, in history, rather than to let ourselves be dragged along in the current.

We all know that many of the post-Cold War conflicts have arisen in the developing countries. Internal conflict is now as important as confrontations between States once were. There are fresh risks of interventionism, there are new threats, such as terrorism. But whatever the threat or the risk, we prefer multilateralism, concerted action and institutional solutions.

The movement must try to bring member-countries affected by disputes or litigation closer to each other, encouraging good offices or friendly mediation. It should promote peaceful settlements, with negotiation, in accordance with international law and the principles of solidarity among nations.

Only in this way will the movement be able to act as a driving force for peace in the world and in its regions: a promoter of collective security, in which the clouds threatening the international order will be replaced by a warmer air of understanding and concord. For this, the movement should continue to sponsor global negotiations to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. It is unacceptable that the scanty resources available for development should be swallowed up in arms races which have no useful purpose.

The Non-Aligned Countries have an impeccable record in the service of peaceful coexistence. They were influential in preventing a nuclear war between the super-powers. In the application of the principles adopted since the First Conference in Belgrade in 1961, and at meetings such as Cairo in 1964, the Non-Aligned Countries have done admirable work for disarmament. Such efforts must be tirelessly continued.

In the face of the problems of our day, the Non-Aligned Countries must set themselves up as a force for ethics. A force which will help peoples to understand each other, support democratic governability, and contribute to prosperity with equity and freedom.

Mr. President:

The Government of Colombia has taken firm steps towards the negotiation of a peace agreement with the guerrillas, who have for many years been active in some parts of the country. The road will be complex and hard. But it is a road which all sectors of Colombia have chosen to take. As President of Colombia, I will work unstintingly, for every minute of my Administration, to sow the fertile and lasting seed of peace; a peace of which all Colombians dream.

We will use diplomacy for peace, in order to win the support of the international community. Our diplomatic approach is to agree with the governments of friendly nations and international organisations on the way in which they will work with us to start the economic and social redemption of the regions most affected by armed conflict. We need to take them health, education, employment, services and roads, in order to consolidate the peace agreed at the negotiating table. The initiative which my government has proposed is based on the aid of the developed countries to make important investments in the social sector, in agriculture and in regional infrastructure, so that our small-farmers may find forms of development other than those of armed conflict, including the destruction of unlawful crops.

Our diplomacy is based on the idea that peace should have a social and economic content. Therefore, we have placed the Development Plan – the State’s instrument for guiding economic progress – and a political reform designed to encourage the creation of opportunities for all shades of opinion to find an expression in the political life of the country – at the service of peace and reconciliation.

We have studied the internal processes adopted with success by other members of the Movement, with lively interest. Although each case had its own modes of action and characteristics, their inspiration and experience will encourage us along the road towards peace. I call on the solidarity of the Non-Aligned countries, so that the achievement of peace in Colombia will at the same time offer hope, and be a contribution to peace in the world.

I also make a fervent call from here to all those countries which face conflict with other members of the Movement on the threshold of the new millennium, to take determined steps towards the negotiation of peace with dialogue, and seeking agreements which will settle their differences peaceably. This will be the best mark which the movement could leave on the pages of history, and its best source of strength and legitimacy.

Friends and Colleagues:

Today, three years of Colombia’s Presidency of the Movement comes to an end. Three years of unremitting and disinterested effort to defend our principles. Today, Mr President, as I deliver to you the final report of the activities of the movement during Colombia’s Presidency, I am pleased to be able to say that we have accomplished the tasks given to us. We would not have been able to take on the enormous responsibility without the active and generous collaboration of each of our Member Countries.

We are convinced that South Africa and President Mandela will lead us forward wisely and sure-footedly as a century draws to a close and a new millennium approaches. We are confident that under their guidance, the movement will consolidate its position as the most important political grouping in the developing world. Colombia will continue to provide unfailing support, and to play an active role in achieving this end and in making a reality of proposals such as those presented today.

Friends:

We have had the satisfaction of receiving you many times in my country. Colombia and its people have come to know much of the Movement and of its ideals. By the same token, I hope that you will not forget the taste of the guava, which our great writer and Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia-Marquez referred to so vividly; or the warm sea-breezes of Cartagena; or the beauty of our tropical land.