9:16 am
Everything points to the fact that the NAM, which groups together 118 nations, is currently at the center of a political agenda that will be debated by more than 50 heads of state and government.
This is what Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, representing his nation which is the new president of the Non-Aligned Movement, indicated in a press conference held over the weekend. The Summit has begun with meetings of experts in Havana that will later incorporate foreign ministers and, on Friday and Saturday, heads of state and government.
The Cuban official said that the NAM would examine various documents, including a statement of principles and objectives as well as a form of Plan of Action for the nations of the South. Among the key points of debate will be the defense of sovereignty of the peoples of all nations for which Pérez Roque called on the members of the NAM to close ranks as a single voice to be heard by international forums and developed nations.
The conversion of the Non-Aligned Movement into a key and alternative political force in international decision-making has been an aim since the organization was founded 45 years ago in Belgrade – beyond the military blocs and nuclear power struggle of that time.
The Cuban foreign minister said on Sunday that although the East-West military blocs no longer existed, the NAM should not disappear. There exist far greater dangers now than ever before, he added.
Although in the past they were nations that did not possess nuclear arms and were outside the military blocs that catered to the interests of the major powers, the nations of the South constitute by their number almost two thirds of the member nations of the United Nations.
With more than 100 representatives of the 188 member nations of the Non-Aligned Movement now gathered in Havana for this 14th summit of the organization, Felipe Pérez Roque proposed an active role for the NAM within the United Nations as well as other international organizations.
Among the issues to be discussed by the Movement will be unity, the defense of the rights of peoples, respect for different forms of government, the struggle for peace, total disarmament, multilateralism, the right of other nations to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the condemnation of the use of war to resolve international conflicts.
If the Non-Aligned Movement is able to realize this platform along with the action, unity and dynamism necessary to face off against international forums in defense of the interests of the poorest nations, it - and the nations of the South in general - will become a key power in this world and no longer continue to be ignored. This is the aim of the Havana Summit that began this week in Cuba.
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