Belgrade/New Delhi, Oct 11 (UNI) India said on Monday that while the Non-Aligned Movement has been effective in some areas where the countries spoke in one voice, it has become increasingly ineffective in certain areas mainly due to the tendencies of some NAM members to deliberately take up divisive issues, or to use the platform for bilateral score-settling.
"NAM was created to pursue the collective interest of developing countries. This has been our strength, but we risk becoming irrelevant if we do not check the divisive tendencies within our Movement," said Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.
“In the recent past, while NAM has been effective in some areas where we have spoken in one voice to defend our interests and those of developing countries; we have increasingly become ineffective in certain other areas, particularly in tackling new and emerging challenges.”
The ineffectiveness “is primarily due to the tendencies of some NAM members to deliberately take up divisive issues, or to use NAM platform for bilateral score-settling, thereby creating division among us," she said in her address at the High Level Commemorative Meeting to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
“Such pursuance of partisan agenda rather than working towards strengthening our collective effort has resulted in an increasing number of Members having to disassociate themselves from NAM positions,” she added. Lekhi, who is on a four-day visit to Serbia, is attending the NAM meeting as the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister.
“At another level, we are splitting ourselves into camps reflecting geo-political divides outside NAM rather than strengthening NAM itself to become independent pillar and influential voice in international forums.”
She said that NAM needs to "revisit and revitalise our methodology of discussion and decision making" and that "following arbitrary and non-criteria based procedures will not hold us in good stead.”
She said over the decades, “the core NAM principles have provided potential and moral impetus for the decolonisation process, leading to independence of many of the countries represented today. It brought to the fore an international culture of justice and peace, and an emphasis on promoting mutual interest, solidarity and respect for national sovereignty”.
“However, while we reflect on past achievements, this is equally a time for honest introspection about our Movement – what must we do to ensure the continuing relevance and influence of NAM on global outcomes?”
Lekhi said the NAM, with its diversity, shared developmental experience, and youthful and dynamic population, has the potential to take the lead and be a force for global good, whether it be in achieving 2030 developmental targets, countering the scourge of terror, combating climate change or defeating the pandemic. “The way in which COVID19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe has exposed the inadequacies of the multilateral system in effectively responding to perhaps the biggest challenge of contemporary times.”
She said India has been “part of the solutions rather than the disruptions. India has supplied more than 70 million doses of vaccines to 93 countries and two UN entities including the UN Peacekeeping Force.”
She said India will be expanding cooperation in the field of COVID-19 vaccines, along with CoWIN as an IT platform.
“Whether we are willing to make compromises for the sake of our collective interests, and for the sake of effectively addressing new global challenges like the pandemic, terrorism and climate change, will finally determine whether or not NAM remains relevant.”
She said that following the recent developments in Afghanistan, “it is absolutely imperative that the approach of the international community is guided by UN Security Council Resolution 2593, that was adopted under India’s August Presidency of the UNSC.
“It has clearly reaffirmed that Afghanistan soil cannot be and should not be used to mount terror attacks against any country.”
“Our founding leaders had envisaged the Non Aligned Movement as a way to carve out autonomous space on the geo-political landscape for the developing countries. We need to ensure that we stay committed to that cause, so that we actually realise the aspirations of our people for socio-economic, scientific and technological development,” Lekhi added.
The 60th Anniversary NAM Commemorative Meeting is being jointly co-hosted by the President of Serbia Alexsander Vučić, and NAM Chair President Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War, largely on the initiative of then-Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union, but sought to remain independent or neutral. The basic concept for the group originated in 1955 during discussions that took place at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia.
The first NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961. Former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the founding members of NAM.
It has 120 members as on April 2018 comprising 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 2 from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and 10 international organizations that are Observers at NAM.
NAM has sought to "create an independent path in world politics that would not result in member States becoming pawns in the struggles between the major powers." It identifies the right of independent judgment, the struggle against imperialism and neo-colonialism, and the use of moderation in relations with all big powers as the three basic elements that have influenced its approach. At present, an addition goal is facilitating a restructuring of the international economic order.
UNI/RN