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STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA
MOST HON. P.J. PATTERSON ON, PC, QC
FOR THE XIII SUMMIT OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT
KAULA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, FEBRUARY 20-25, 200~
"Restructuring & Re-branding Non-Alignment:
Rethinking The Basis & Modalities For Cooperation Among Developing
Countriesn
Mr. Chairman
The Non-Aligned Movement can be proud that its resolute fight against apartheid
made possible the enlightened leadership which South Africa has provided our
Movement since 1998. We thank President Thabo Mbeki for such dedicated
service.
The torch could not have been passed to more suitable hands:
The fixity of purpose, the boldness of vision, the remarkable eloquence when
combined with the maturity of accumulated experience, make Prime Minister Dr.
Mahathir Bin Mohammad eminently qualified to guide our Movement through the
gathering clouds of international turbulence.
The Government and the people of Malaysia have extended to us warm
hospitality and ensured excellent arrangements in accordance with their fine
traditions and exemplary standards. We offer our grateful appreciation.
Forty eight (48) years ago our Founding Fathers gathered in Bandung. The map
suggests geographical proximity to Kuala Lumpur, the site of the first NonAligned
Summit of the 21st Century. But what a long and difficult journey it has
proven over the past 48 years.
Much has changed; but so much remains the same.
The deepest reasons that propelled the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement
compel today's assembly. Let us, and all who are observing us, be clear that we
are here not as an act of habit, but in answer to the insistent summons of
dangers as grave and present as any that brought us together in the past.
Non-Alignment was born in defence of our freedom.
The Cold War is over.
No longer is the contest for unswerving allegiance between contending
superpowers.
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Today there is only one. But unless all nations and all people are to bow under
the sway of a single dominion, there must be a point of countervaillance.
Today the Non-Aligned Movement offers the only countervaillance, the only
counter force for reason, balance and objectivity.
The Non-Aligned Movement condemned colonialism because it was oppressive
and iniquitous. No less abhorrent is the prospect of a world divided on lines of
wealth, race, colour and Jnevitably Qf__ creed. That Tsa calamitous prospect for
human kind.
No less abhorrent are the manifestations of terrorism. Acts of terrorism that
target, or are indifferent to, the lives of innocent men, women and children are
not justified by even the most grievous wrongs. They are crimes against all
humanity. Those who commit them do not advance the cause they seek to
serve. We must allow no ambiguity in our stand against terrorism itself.
{
The gains of centuries of effort to make our world a society of States and
Peoples living by noble values under law are being severely threatened within
the first years of the Third Christian Millennium.
We are therefore, as challenged now to defend our freedom as ever we were at
the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement. And now, as then, our essential need is
solidarity in protection of that freedom.
But that solidarity will not suffice unless we restructure our Movement to meet
the new forms that the old challenges have now assumed. In the language of
the market-place, 'Non-Alignment' needs re-branding.
A New Image
Through a process of revitalisation, our Movement must take on a new image -
more positive, less reactive - more the assertive voice of the majority of the
people of the world that we are, speaking in unison with the moral authority that
reality commands.
Most of all, we need to proclaim not merely what we are against, but that for
which we stand:
We are for a peaceful, just and equitable world through global
governance by negotiation and agreement;
We are for internationalism and multilateralism
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We are for the rule of law worldwide; for global survival through
collective human security.
We are for the supremacy of the United Nations system, reformed to
fulfil the principles and precepts of the Charter.
} We are for a global economic system that responds to the needs of all
{ the world's people; for fairness in sharing the Planet's resources.
The Economic Sphere
Mr. Chairman,
In the economic sphere, the need to rethink the basis and modalities for
cooperation and joint action among Non-Aligned and other developing countries
is no less compelling.
Despite decades of dialogue, advocacy, persuasion and petition, the involvement
of developing countries in the management of the world economy continues to
be token and peripheral.
The forces of globalisation and decentralisation in the world economy have seen
increasing interdependence among countries, producers, consumers and
markets. The management of the institutions responsible for decision making in
the spheres of money, finance and trade, have now become anachronistic.
Growth in the hitherto fast growing regions of Asia is turning downwards, with
several countries experiencing serious adjustment problems.
A number of economies in Latin America are under great strain in both economic
and social terms.
Africa, setting itself new targets for economic revival and social improvement,
has to contend with manifestations of grinding poverty, hunger and disease.
In all of the regions and countries of the South, we have to ask ourselves for
how much longer can our poor, hungry, and sick, be expected to remain at their
gates without convincing prospects of betterment?
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Time For Action
The time for talking is over. Action must now be our exclusive preoccupation.
The last several years have been spent in the major international fora diagnosing
the problems, analyzing options for dealing with them, and pinpointing possible
ways forward.
At the Millennium Summit, the international community achieved a measure of
textual consensus on Millennium Development Goals. The eradication of hunger
and poverty was the central element. This consensus urgently requires focused
attention and meaningful action.
I propose that the Non-Aligned Movement in the context of the Group of 77
should set out this year to move the process forward, by working for specific
results in the General Assembly and its subsidiary organs, and in the Specialised
Agencies responsible for money, finance and trade.
Timing is of the essence, so that other developments do not serve to distract
attention from international initiatives to revitalize development and tackle
poverty with its related elements, as a top global priority.
In the sphere of money and finance, the agenda of issues is well known, but
they bear repetition. Problems cannot and will not disappear by way of benign
neglect. The reality has to be faced that a large number of developing countries
are experiencing external and internal imbalances and are still being subject to
standardized, one size-fits-all, adjustment programmes.
In relation to debt, ameliorative steps that have been taken, most notably the
HIPIC, have not so far yielded sufficiently significant results. A range of countries
are contending with debt overhangs which absorb a high proportion of the public
budget, leaving very little for development expenditure.
Official Development Assistance
The financial crunch being experienced across the developing world can best be
alleviated by official development assistance (ODA) and foreign investment. Until
the world economy resumes vigorous growth, it is doubtful whether significant
increases in foreign investments will take place. This lends added urgency to
securing substantial increases in ODA.
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The recommitment of donors to the 0.7 target (0.15 target for the LLDCs) was a
step forward, as well as support recently indicated for the New Economic
Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), even though it falls significantly
short of requirements. We must push for the translation of these commitments
into immediate increases in assistance flows.
We are currently engaged in the WTO with the Post-Doha round of negotiations,
which was accepted to be a development round.
We have to press the case vigorously with respect to issues such as agriculture,
non-tariff barriers, special and differential treatment, a programme of action for
small developing countries, dumping and subsidies, trade in services, regional
agreements - to name some of the major concerns of developing countries.
Establishment of Contact Groups
In order to take our case forward in the different fora, Jamaica proposes that we
set up at Ministerial level, small contact groups to deal with money, finance and
trade. Although these groups would have specific memberships, they will be
open-ended to interested governments. Without prejudice to any commitment to
work within sub-regional, regional, or inter-regional groupings, these contact
groups can be given specific mandates to:
Clarify priority issues for cooperative and joint action together with the
strategies and approaches that should be followed for pursuing them.
Consult and interact with developed countries individually and in
groups, as appropriate, on the matters being pursued.
Remain in touch over the course of specific negotiations and agree on
action to advocate common positions and to raise international public
awareness of them.
Enlist the support of the non-governmental community in building up
pressure concerning issues selected as well as in negotiating proposals
emanating from them.
I envisage that each of these contact groups would function under the guidance
of a Head of State or Government invited to serve for the purpose and will report
at regular intervals to member governments of the NAM.
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south-South Relations
In pushing for more meaningful global cooperation, we should not neglect the
continuing importance of advancing South-South relations. Like the rest of the
world, the South is changing and with that, experiencing shifts in capabilities and
interests. But the overriding common ground of underdevelopment and
vulnerability remain.
It cannot be taken for granted that countries of the South will have sufficient
space available to advance their sustainable development under multilateral
arrangements alone.
In the present climate of shrill rhetoric, inward looking perceptions, and
militarism, there is a danger of postponement, even abandonment of some
international development efforts. We cannot afford to allow any negative
tendencies to gain ground. Instead, we must look ahead to the promise of this
new century and work together to put our countries on course to take advantage
of its many possibilities.
Empowerment of the World's People
The challenge that confronts us is massive; the forces ranged against us are
formidable. It will not be enough to respond with scattered resistance. Our
solidarity must be more sustained, more structured, more coherent, more
organised.
And in that restructuring, it is time for us to acknowledge the empowerment of
the world's people. In our severest challenges they are our allies and they are of
all countries: of North and South, of East and West.
Our world is in crisis. A new hegemony threatens our global community. We can
be supine and submit; some may even be tempted to collaborate. But by neither
will we be true to our peoples; true to ourselves or to future generations. There
is another way.
The Non-Aligned Movement must be the critical 'neighbourhood watch' that halts
this virulent advance. It is the way we once trod; and it did make a difference. It
can do so again; but only if we have the will and the resolve to act and give
ourselves the capacity to be effective.
Let us in Kuala Lumpur put in hand a serious process of restructuring and rebranding.
Let us entrust its leadership to our Chairman and its guidance to our
Bureau; but with a mandatory injunction for action now. It may be our last
chance to do so in our time.
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Nothing less than such an act of vision and courage will be worthy of the
memory of Bandung which being here allows us to honour, and being here now
compels us to emulate.
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