NAM can drive reform in the UN, say observers
NAM can drive reform in the UN, say observers
Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur
Despite skepticism over its role in the modern world, observers
agree that the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) plays an important role
in articulating developing countries' demands for a fairer world
order.
Former foreign affairs minister Alwi Shihab said on Saturday
that NAM would still play an important role in international
diplomacy in the future.
"NAM will still be needed, particularly to drive reform within
the United Nations," Alwi told The Jakarta Post by phone from
Singapore on Saturday.
International affairs expert Riza Sihbudi of the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI) concurred, saying that NAM had a
role in influencing the decision-making process in the UN.
Riza added that NAM member countries, for example, could form
a caucus in the UN to fight for the aspirations of developing
countries.
Fellow expert Juwono Sudarsono of the University of Indonesia
(UI) stressed that NAM would never lose its relevance because the
core problem in international relations today was the gap between
developed and underdeveloped countries.
In an effort to close this gap, Juwono said, leaders of
underdeveloped countries should unite and enhance their
solidarity.
Alwi, Riza and Juwono were commenting on the NAM Summit
scheduled for Feb. 24 through Feb. 25 in the Malaysian capital.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri left for Singapore on
Saturday, where she stayed overnight before flying on to Kuala
Lumpur for the summit.
Some 60 heads of state and government will participate in the
Kuala Lumpur summit, which will be the biggest number since NAM's
inception in 1961.
The high level of participation should in itself end the
debate that NAM, set up during the Cold War by countries
supporting neither the communist nor capitalist bloc, is no
longer relevant.
NAM consists of 114 countries, a figure that is expected to
rise to 116 with the admission of East Timor, and St. Vincent and
the Grenadines.
Since many NAM members are developing or underdeveloped
countries, there is skepticism over the independence of the
movement vis-a-vis the more developed countries.
Alwi acknowledged that it was difficult for these countries to
economically free themselves from the influence of the developed
countries.
As an organization, Alwi added, NAM could only achieve a
little by, for example, applying moral pressure on the key
players in the international community.
The powerful, developed countries tended to ignore the
aspirations of the developing countries.
However, Alwi was optimistic that the world political
situation would improve after the Iraq crisis had been resolved.
He recalled that the UN had been dominated by the United
States and its allies in the past. But at the present time, he
emphasized, strong opposition against the U.S. plans for war
against Iraq had come from France and Germany.
"In the future, the Nonaligned Movement can push for the
realization of a new world order," Alwi added.
Juwono said a lack of permanent NAM secretariat had
contributed to a lack of solidarity among members.
Riza meanwhile suggested that NAM should modify its aims, and
adjust them to take account of contemporary realities. Otherwise,
he said, the movement would be consigned to the scrap heap.
He said that NAM members could, for example, attempt to
promote economic, political and human resources development. "In
this regard, NAM would benefit its members," he explained.
Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda also brushed aside
criticism that NAM had no significant role to play in the
globalization era.
"NAM's relevance in the world is beyond doubt, but the
question is how to revitalize this movement," Hassan said on the
sidelines of the NAM ministerial meeting on Saturday.
"During the 40 years of its existence, NAM has struggled for
decolonization and the eradication of racism. Those are the major
achievements of NAM."
He admitted, however, that NAMs member countries had failed to
build economic cooperation among themselves.