Declarations of the Non-Aligned Movement, 1961 to 2019
In 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, representatives of twenty-three governments of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe established the Non-Aligned Movement. Tito of Yugoslavia, Nehru of India, and Nasser of Egypt were its leading founders. U Nu (Burma), Ben Youssef (Algeria), Sukarno (Indonesia), Nkrumah (Ghana), and Osvaldo Dorticós (President of Cuba) were present at the first Summit in Belgrade. The Summit called for the democratization of the United Nations, particularly with respect to the Security Council, which holds unbalanced power vis-à-vis the General Assembly, and which is dominated by the core powers. The Summit called upon the nuclear powers (USA, Soviet Union, Great Britain and France) to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. And it supported the armed struggles of national liberation movements in Algeria and the Portuguese colonies (Mozambique, Angola, and Cabo Verde) in Africa.
At its 1973 Summit in Algiers, the Third Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement declared that the international order continued to promote the underdevelopment of the Third World nations. The Summit supported the creation of public cartels to transfer power to raw materials exporters; it called for a linking of the prices of raw material exports to the prices of imported manufactured goods; and it affirmed the principle of the sovereignty of nations over their natural resources, including their right to nationalize property within their territories. The Summit endorsed a document on the New International Economic Order, which had been in preparation by Third World governments for a decade.
In 1979, the Sixth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held in Havana. Ninety-three countries of the Third World reaffirmed their commitment to national sovereignty, economic integrity, cultural diversity, and nuclear disarmament. They declared: “The Chiefs of State and Government reaffirm their deep conviction that a lasting solution to the problems of countries in development can be attained only by means of a constant and fundamental restructuring of international economic relations through the establishment of a New International Economic Order.” Cuba, representing the Non-Aligned Movement as its President from 1979 to 1982, called upon the United Nations to respond to the desperate economic and social situation of the Third World. It proposed: an additional flow of resources to the Third World through donations and long-term low-interest credit; an end to unequal terms of trade; ceasing of irrational arms spending and directing these funds to finance development; a transformation of the international monetary system; and the cancellation of the debts of less developed countries in a disadvantageous situation.
Fidel Castro’s speech at the 1983 New Delhi Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was presented as the world was definitively rejecting the proposals of the Third World project and turning to neoliberalism. A printed version of the speech was published in English by the Cuban government, entitled The Economic and Social Crisis of the World: Its repercussions for the underdeveloped countries, its dismal prospects, and the need to struggle if we are to survive: Report to the VII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. The report was prepared by Fidel with the support of scholars of the Cuban Center for Research on the World Economy, the Center for Research on the International Economy of the University of Havana, and the Economics Faculty of the University of Havana. It provided a thorough and informed analysis of the problems that the world-economy confronted, and it proposed an alternative direction to that being implemented by the global powers. It is at once a comprehensive historical, economic, and political analysis and a prophetic moral call, proclaimed on behalf of the colonized peoples of the world.
Fidel did not belief that the injustices of the international financial system and the neocolonial world-system could be rectified within the structures of the international economic order. He believed, however, that they could be overcome through the mobilization of a global political will for the creation of a New International Economic Order, as proposed by the Non-Aligned Movement and approved by the UN General Assembly. He maintained that the peoples of the Third World must struggle to create a more just world order, recognizing that the peoples of the Third World constitute the immense majority of humanity, and that the development of the Third World economies would be beneficial to the world-system as a whole. He suggested that the economic and social development of the Third World would enable the world-system to overcome its structural crisis. Accordingly, the peoples of the Third World must struggle: to transform global structures that promote unequal exchange and declining terms of exchange; for the cancellation of the Third World debt; for new and more equitable international monetary and financial systems; for a form of industrialization that responds to the interests of the Third World; for necessary socioeconomic structural changes, such as agrarian reform; for the adoption of measures by states that control and limit the activities of transnational corporations; and for an elevation of the prestige of the United Nations. The struggle requires the unity of the peoples of the Third World, in spite of political and cultural differences, in recognition of their common experience of colonial domination.
In the 1983 Report, Fidel formulates a concept of development that is not based on the model of Western development, which Fidel considered impossible to repeat in present global conditions. The development model proposed by Fidel involves strong state action in order to break the colonial economic relation, in which the underdeveloped countries export raw materials and leave industrial production in the hands of the developed countries. To overcome colonial economic structures, the underdeveloped countries must mobilize national resources for the development of technically advanced industries. Fidel observes that recent industrial expansion in the Third World has been in labor-intensive industries that have low levels of technical development, which will not lead to economic development. Such low-wage export-oriented manufacturing, in sectors like textiles or manufactured food products, have been attractive to transnational capital only because of the Third World cheap labor supply. Fidel advocates investment in the Third World in those branches with technological-industrial complexity, such as nuclear, chemical, or petrochemical energy, or the aerospace industry; this would stimulate the growth of Third World internal markets.
The declaration of the 2006 Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana, endorsed unanimously by the 118 member nations, called for a “more just and equal world order,” and it lamented “the excessive influence of the rich and powerful nations in the determination of the nature and the direction of international relations.” It rejected the neoliberal project as promoting global inequality and “increasing the marginalization of countries in development.” It affirmed the principles of the UN Charter, including the equality and sovereignty of nations, the non-intervention in the affairs of other states, and “the free determination of the peoples in their struggle against foreign intervention.” It proclaimed that “each country has the sovereign right to determine its own priorities and strategies for development.” It called for the strengthening and democratic reform of the United Nations, and it proposed South-South cooperation as a complement to North-South cooperation. It rejected the politicization of the issue of human rights, and the double standard used by the global powers, as a pretext for intervening in the affairs of a nation of the Non-Aligned Movement. It proclaimed its support for the peoples of Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Iran in their conflicts with the global powers.
The Seventeenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in 2016 in Venezuela, issued a declaration endorsed by the 120 member states of the movement. The Declaration affirms the historic principles of the movement, including its call to the peoples of the Third World to struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism and to participate in the construction of a more just and peaceful world, established on a foundation of solidarity and cooperation. It reaffirms the historic commitment of the Movement to the principles of the sovereignty and equality of nations and the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination. It affirms “the right to development as an inalienable, fundamental and universal right.”
The 2016 Declaration of the Non-Aligned Movement maintains that states should not interfere in the affairs of other nations, and accordingly, it rejects “the illegal policies of regime change aimed at overthrowing constitutional Governments, in contravention of international law.” It condemns unilateral sanctions and universal coercive measures as violations of the UN Charter and international law and of the principles of non-intervention and the self-determination and independence of nations. It maintains that each state has the right to exercise freely its full sovereignty over its natural resources and economic activity. The Declaration recognizes South-South cooperation as an important strategy for sustainable development, as a complement to North-South cooperation, which should be oriented to technology transfer and the promotion of productive capacity. It recognizes that the implementation of these principles would require “a profound change in the international economic structure, including the creation of economic and social conditions that are favorable to countries in development.”
The Declaration calls for the democratization of the United Nations, including the strengthening of the authority of the General Assembly and a reform of the Security Council. It calls for reform of the international financial architecture and the democratization of the IMF and the World Bank. Furthermore, the Declaration calls for the development of an alternative media of communication that is rooted in the history and cultures of the peoples of the world. It calls upon the mass media of the countries of the North to respect the perspective of the South. It rejects the use of the media as an instrument of hostile propaganda against targeted countries of the South, with the intention of undermining their governments. In addition, the Declaration calls upon the developed countries to fulfill their responsibilities with respect to the threat of climate change. It also affirms the principles of “full gender equality and the empowerment of women,” and it asserts its commitment to “fight against all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls.”
Foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement met in Caracas, Venezuela, where they approved a 241-page document on July 21, 2019, which “reaffirmed the Movement’s irrevocable political and moral commitment, and determination to and full respect for the Bandung Principles and those adopted at the Havana Summit in the Declaration on the Purposes and Principles and the Role of the NAM in the Present International Juncture, the Bali Commemorative Declaration on the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the UN Charter.”
The document released by the Ministerial Meeting asserted that the attainment of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and equitable world order confronts obstacles, such as the lack of resources of the developing countries, unequal terms of trade, lack of cooperation by the developed countries, coercive and unilateral measures imposed by some of them, and the use of force or the threat of the use of force. They noted that “the rich and powerful countries continue to exercise an inordinate influence in determining the nature and direction of international relations, including economic and trade relations, as well as the rules governing these relations, under the pretext of ‘Democracy’, ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Anti-Terrorism.’”
The ministerial document affirmed the principle that nations have the right to control their national resources. “The Ministers emphasized the need for enhanced policy space for developing countries to allow them to undertake their own development strategies and policies, in accordance with the principle of national ownership and leadership of the development process.”
It expressed the need for a New Global Human Order. “The Ministers reaffirmed the need for a New Global Human Order aimed at reversing growing disparities between rich and poor, both among and within countries including through the promotion of poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work, and social integration.”
The Foreign Ministers meeting in Venezuela declared: “The Ministers noted with concern that highhandedness and arbitrariness are rampant while justice and truth are ruthlessly trampled underfoot; the core principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs in international relations are overtly disregarded on the international arena; the sovereignty and rights to existence and development of the NAM Member States are severely infringed upon; and political upheavals, armed conflicts, escalation of disputes and humanitarian disasters such as refugee flow occur in an unabated manner due to aggression, intervention, sanctions and pressure by the imperialist forces.”
The document reaffirmed the principles expressed at the Fourteenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana in 2006: “The Movement will continue to uphold the principles of sovereignty and sovereign equality of States, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of any State or Nation; take effective measures for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of peace to defend, promote, and encourage the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means; . . . develop friendly relations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples in their struggle against foreign occupation; achieve international cooperation based on solidarity among peoples and governments in solving international problems of a political, economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character; and promote and encourage the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”
The document lamented the “increasing tendency and deepening by certain States to resort to unilateralism, arbitrariness and the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, to the use and threat of use of force.” It expressed its opposition to “unilateralism and unilaterally imposed measures by certain States which can lead to the erosion and violation of the UN Charter.” It declared that “every State has, and shall freely exercise, full permanent sovereignty over all its wealth, natural resources and economic activity.”
The document devoted considerable space to the issue of the democratic reform of the United Nations. It cites Article 24 (3) of the UN Charter in defense of its interpretation that the General Assembly has authority as “the chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations.” Accordingly, the Security Council acts on behalf of the member states that are represented in the General Assembly; such that the Security Council ought to submit timely explanatory, comprehensive, and analytical reports to the General Assembly, explaining its resolutions and statements. Such a balance among the principal organs of the United Nations requires a revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. The members on the Non-Aligned Movement ought to continue their ongoing efforts to strengthen the central role and the authority of the General Assembly, which ought to be the organ that establishes the priorities of the United Nations.
The Security Council itself, the document declares, ought to be made more democratic through greater representation of the nations of the world, particularly Africa. And the document criticizes sanctions that have been imposed by the Security Council, maintaining that the Council is addressing issues that do not necessarily pose a threat to international peace and security, “with the aim of achieving the political objectives of one or a few States to stamp out the rights to sovereignty, existence and development of the Member States of the Movement.” Through such actions, the Security Council is not serving the general interest of the international community.
The Ministerial document approved in Caracas in 2019 rejected the politicization of the issue of human rights. It stresses that the UN Human Rights Council “should not allow confrontational approaches, exploitation of human rights for political purposes, selective targeting of individual countries for extraneous considerations and double standards in the conduct of its work, which should comply with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions.” It reaffirmed “the need to defend the principles of non-selectivity, non-politicization, objectivity and impartiality in the consideration of human rights situations, as well as to ensure that human rights are not used for political purposes and adopting politically motivated decisions.”
The document defended the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. “The Ministers reaffirmed the inalienable right of developing countries to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination. They continued to note with concern that undue restrictions on exports to developing countries of material, equipment and technology, for peaceful purposes persist.”
The document approved by the Foreign Ministers in Caracas condemned terrorism in all its manifestations. “The Ministers condemned all forms of incitement to terrorism, under whatever guise of justification, resulting in the loss of life and the destruction of private and public property. The Ministers emphasized the need to combat the violent extremist ideology
inciting terrorism irrespective of its origin.” It explicitly condemned as terrorist the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al-Qaida, ISIL/Da’esh and its affiliates and other extremist and illegal armed groups.
The document praised the work of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre at
the United Nations Headquarters. It called for the “convening of an international conference under the auspices of the UN to define terrorism, to differentiate it from the struggle for national liberation and to reach comprehensive and effective measures for concerted action.”
The NAM 2019 Ministerial document declared that democracy is universal, but there is no single model of democracy. “The Ministers reiterated that democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives. They reaffirmed that while all democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy, that it does not belong to any country or region, and further reaffirmed the necessity of due respect for sovereignty and the right to self-determination, and their rejection to any attempt to breakdown constitutional and democratic orders legitimately established by the peoples.”
The document affirmed that North-South cooperation should be firmly rooted in mutual respect, mutuality of benefits, dialogue with the goal of generating greater understanding and narrowing the development gap between the North and the South.
In 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, representatives of twenty-three governments of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe established the Non-Aligned Movement. Tito of Yugoslavia, Nehru of India, and Nasser of Egypt were its leading founders. U Nu (Burma), Ben Youssef (Algeria), Sukarno (Indonesia), Nkrumah (Ghana), and Osvaldo Dorticós (President of Cuba) were present at the first Summit in Belgrade. The Summit called for the democratization of the United Nations, particularly with respect to the Security Council, which holds unbalanced power vis-à-vis the General Assembly, and which is dominated by the core powers. The Summit called upon the nuclear powers (USA, Soviet Union, Great Britain and France) to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. And it supported the armed struggles of national liberation movements in Algeria and the Portuguese colonies (Mozambique, Angola, and Cabo Verde) in Africa.
At its 1973 Summit in Algiers, the Third Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement declared that the international order continued to promote the underdevelopment of the Third World nations. The Summit supported the creation of public cartels to transfer power to raw materials exporters; it called for a linking of the prices of raw material exports to the prices of imported manufactured goods; and it affirmed the principle of the sovereignty of nations over their natural resources, including their right to nationalize property within their territories. The Summit endorsed a document on the New International Economic Order, which had been in preparation by Third World governments for a decade.
In 1979, the Sixth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held in Havana. Ninety-three countries of the Third World reaffirmed their commitment to national sovereignty, economic integrity, cultural diversity, and nuclear disarmament. They declared: “The Chiefs of State and Government reaffirm their deep conviction that a lasting solution to the problems of countries in development can be attained only by means of a constant and fundamental restructuring of international economic relations through the establishment of a New International Economic Order.” Cuba, representing the Non-Aligned Movement as its President from 1979 to 1982, called upon the United Nations to respond to the desperate economic and social situation of the Third World. It proposed: an additional flow of resources to the Third World through donations and long-term low-interest credit; an end to unequal terms of trade; ceasing of irrational arms spending and directing these funds to finance development; a transformation of the international monetary system; and the cancellation of the debts of less developed countries in a disadvantageous situation.
Fidel Castro’s speech at the 1983 New Delhi Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was presented as the world was definitively rejecting the proposals of the Third World project and turning to neoliberalism. A printed version of the speech was published in English by the Cuban government, entitled The Economic and Social Crisis of the World: Its repercussions for the underdeveloped countries, its dismal prospects, and the need to struggle if we are to survive: Report to the VII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. The report was prepared by Fidel with the support of scholars of the Cuban Center for Research on the World Economy, the Center for Research on the International Economy of the University of Havana, and the Economics Faculty of the University of Havana. It provided a thorough and informed analysis of the problems that the world-economy confronted, and it proposed an alternative direction to that being implemented by the global powers. It is at once a comprehensive historical, economic, and political analysis and a prophetic moral call, proclaimed on behalf of the colonized peoples of the world.
Fidel did not belief that the injustices of the international financial system and the neocolonial world-system could be rectified within the structures of the international economic order. He believed, however, that they could be overcome through the mobilization of a global political will for the creation of a New International Economic Order, as proposed by the Non-Aligned Movement and approved by the UN General Assembly. He maintained that the peoples of the Third World must struggle to create a more just world order, recognizing that the peoples of the Third World constitute the immense majority of humanity, and that the development of the Third World economies would be beneficial to the world-system as a whole. He suggested that the economic and social development of the Third World would enable the world-system to overcome its structural crisis. Accordingly, the peoples of the Third World must struggle: to transform global structures that promote unequal exchange and declining terms of exchange; for the cancellation of the Third World debt; for new and more equitable international monetary and financial systems; for a form of industrialization that responds to the interests of the Third World; for necessary socioeconomic structural changes, such as agrarian reform; for the adoption of measures by states that control and limit the activities of transnational corporations; and for an elevation of the prestige of the United Nations. The struggle requires the unity of the peoples of the Third World, in spite of political and cultural differences, in recognition of their common experience of colonial domination.
In the 1983 Report, Fidel formulates a concept of development that is not based on the model of Western development, which Fidel considered impossible to repeat in present global conditions. The development model proposed by Fidel involves strong state action in order to break the colonial economic relation, in which the underdeveloped countries export raw materials and leave industrial production in the hands of the developed countries. To overcome colonial economic structures, the underdeveloped countries must mobilize national resources for the development of technically advanced industries. Fidel observes that recent industrial expansion in the Third World has been in labor-intensive industries that have low levels of technical development, which will not lead to economic development. Such low-wage export-oriented manufacturing, in sectors like textiles or manufactured food products, have been attractive to transnational capital only because of the Third World cheap labor supply. Fidel advocates investment in the Third World in those branches with technological-industrial complexity, such as nuclear, chemical, or petrochemical energy, or the aerospace industry; this would stimulate the growth of Third World internal markets.
The declaration of the 2006 Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana, endorsed unanimously by the 118 member nations, called for a “more just and equal world order,” and it lamented “the excessive influence of the rich and powerful nations in the determination of the nature and the direction of international relations.” It rejected the neoliberal project as promoting global inequality and “increasing the marginalization of countries in development.” It affirmed the principles of the UN Charter, including the equality and sovereignty of nations, the non-intervention in the affairs of other states, and “the free determination of the peoples in their struggle against foreign intervention.” It proclaimed that “each country has the sovereign right to determine its own priorities and strategies for development.” It called for the strengthening and democratic reform of the United Nations, and it proposed South-South cooperation as a complement to North-South cooperation. It rejected the politicization of the issue of human rights, and the double standard used by the global powers, as a pretext for intervening in the affairs of a nation of the Non-Aligned Movement. It proclaimed its support for the peoples of Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Iran in their conflicts with the global powers.
The Seventeenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in 2016 in Venezuela, issued a declaration endorsed by the 120 member states of the movement. The Declaration affirms the historic principles of the movement, including its call to the peoples of the Third World to struggle against colonialism and neocolonialism and to participate in the construction of a more just and peaceful world, established on a foundation of solidarity and cooperation. It reaffirms the historic commitment of the Movement to the principles of the sovereignty and equality of nations and the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination. It affirms “the right to development as an inalienable, fundamental and universal right.”
The 2016 Declaration of the Non-Aligned Movement maintains that states should not interfere in the affairs of other nations, and accordingly, it rejects “the illegal policies of regime change aimed at overthrowing constitutional Governments, in contravention of international law.” It condemns unilateral sanctions and universal coercive measures as violations of the UN Charter and international law and of the principles of non-intervention and the self-determination and independence of nations. It maintains that each state has the right to exercise freely its full sovereignty over its natural resources and economic activity. The Declaration recognizes South-South cooperation as an important strategy for sustainable development, as a complement to North-South cooperation, which should be oriented to technology transfer and the promotion of productive capacity. It recognizes that the implementation of these principles would require “a profound change in the international economic structure, including the creation of economic and social conditions that are favorable to countries in development.”
The Declaration calls for the democratization of the United Nations, including the strengthening of the authority of the General Assembly and a reform of the Security Council. It calls for reform of the international financial architecture and the democratization of the IMF and the World Bank. Furthermore, the Declaration calls for the development of an alternative media of communication that is rooted in the history and cultures of the peoples of the world. It calls upon the mass media of the countries of the North to respect the perspective of the South. It rejects the use of the media as an instrument of hostile propaganda against targeted countries of the South, with the intention of undermining their governments. In addition, the Declaration calls upon the developed countries to fulfill their responsibilities with respect to the threat of climate change. It also affirms the principles of “full gender equality and the empowerment of women,” and it asserts its commitment to “fight against all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls.”
Foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement met in Caracas, Venezuela, where they approved a 241-page document on July 21, 2019, which “reaffirmed the Movement’s irrevocable political and moral commitment, and determination to and full respect for the Bandung Principles and those adopted at the Havana Summit in the Declaration on the Purposes and Principles and the Role of the NAM in the Present International Juncture, the Bali Commemorative Declaration on the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the UN Charter.”
The document released by the Ministerial Meeting asserted that the attainment of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and equitable world order confronts obstacles, such as the lack of resources of the developing countries, unequal terms of trade, lack of cooperation by the developed countries, coercive and unilateral measures imposed by some of them, and the use of force or the threat of the use of force. They noted that “the rich and powerful countries continue to exercise an inordinate influence in determining the nature and direction of international relations, including economic and trade relations, as well as the rules governing these relations, under the pretext of ‘Democracy’, ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Anti-Terrorism.’”
The ministerial document affirmed the principle that nations have the right to control their national resources. “The Ministers emphasized the need for enhanced policy space for developing countries to allow them to undertake their own development strategies and policies, in accordance with the principle of national ownership and leadership of the development process.”
It expressed the need for a New Global Human Order. “The Ministers reaffirmed the need for a New Global Human Order aimed at reversing growing disparities between rich and poor, both among and within countries including through the promotion of poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work, and social integration.”
The Foreign Ministers meeting in Venezuela declared: “The Ministers noted with concern that highhandedness and arbitrariness are rampant while justice and truth are ruthlessly trampled underfoot; the core principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs in international relations are overtly disregarded on the international arena; the sovereignty and rights to existence and development of the NAM Member States are severely infringed upon; and political upheavals, armed conflicts, escalation of disputes and humanitarian disasters such as refugee flow occur in an unabated manner due to aggression, intervention, sanctions and pressure by the imperialist forces.”
The document reaffirmed the principles expressed at the Fourteenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana in 2006: “The Movement will continue to uphold the principles of sovereignty and sovereign equality of States, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of any State or Nation; take effective measures for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of peace to defend, promote, and encourage the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means; . . . develop friendly relations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples in their struggle against foreign occupation; achieve international cooperation based on solidarity among peoples and governments in solving international problems of a political, economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character; and promote and encourage the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”
The document lamented the “increasing tendency and deepening by certain States to resort to unilateralism, arbitrariness and the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, to the use and threat of use of force.” It expressed its opposition to “unilateralism and unilaterally imposed measures by certain States which can lead to the erosion and violation of the UN Charter.” It declared that “every State has, and shall freely exercise, full permanent sovereignty over all its wealth, natural resources and economic activity.”
The document devoted considerable space to the issue of the democratic reform of the United Nations. It cites Article 24 (3) of the UN Charter in defense of its interpretation that the General Assembly has authority as “the chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations.” Accordingly, the Security Council acts on behalf of the member states that are represented in the General Assembly; such that the Security Council ought to submit timely explanatory, comprehensive, and analytical reports to the General Assembly, explaining its resolutions and statements. Such a balance among the principal organs of the United Nations requires a revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. The members on the Non-Aligned Movement ought to continue their ongoing efforts to strengthen the central role and the authority of the General Assembly, which ought to be the organ that establishes the priorities of the United Nations.
The Security Council itself, the document declares, ought to be made more democratic through greater representation of the nations of the world, particularly Africa. And the document criticizes sanctions that have been imposed by the Security Council, maintaining that the Council is addressing issues that do not necessarily pose a threat to international peace and security, “with the aim of achieving the political objectives of one or a few States to stamp out the rights to sovereignty, existence and development of the Member States of the Movement.” Through such actions, the Security Council is not serving the general interest of the international community.
The Ministerial document approved in Caracas in 2019 rejected the politicization of the issue of human rights. It stresses that the UN Human Rights Council “should not allow confrontational approaches, exploitation of human rights for political purposes, selective targeting of individual countries for extraneous considerations and double standards in the conduct of its work, which should comply with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions.” It reaffirmed “the need to defend the principles of non-selectivity, non-politicization, objectivity and impartiality in the consideration of human rights situations, as well as to ensure that human rights are not used for political purposes and adopting politically motivated decisions.”
The document defended the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. “The Ministers reaffirmed the inalienable right of developing countries to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination. They continued to note with concern that undue restrictions on exports to developing countries of material, equipment and technology, for peaceful purposes persist.”
The document approved by the Foreign Ministers in Caracas condemned terrorism in all its manifestations. “The Ministers condemned all forms of incitement to terrorism, under whatever guise of justification, resulting in the loss of life and the destruction of private and public property. The Ministers emphasized the need to combat the violent extremist ideology
inciting terrorism irrespective of its origin.” It explicitly condemned as terrorist the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al-Qaida, ISIL/Da’esh and its affiliates and other extremist and illegal armed groups.
The document praised the work of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre at
the United Nations Headquarters. It called for the “convening of an international conference under the auspices of the UN to define terrorism, to differentiate it from the struggle for national liberation and to reach comprehensive and effective measures for concerted action.”
The NAM 2019 Ministerial document declared that democracy is universal, but there is no single model of democracy. “The Ministers reiterated that democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives. They reaffirmed that while all democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy, that it does not belong to any country or region, and further reaffirmed the necessity of due respect for sovereignty and the right to self-determination, and their rejection to any attempt to breakdown constitutional and democratic orders legitimately established by the peoples.”
The document affirmed that North-South cooperation should be firmly rooted in mutual respect, mutuality of benefits, dialogue with the goal of generating greater understanding and narrowing the development gap between the North and the South.