NAM officials call for additional meeting
NAM officials call for additional meeting
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
BANDUNG (JP): Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) will cap off their three-day gathering on Thursday with an additional meeting to plot a common view on such critical issues as nuclear non-proliferation and reform of the United Nations Security Council.
The decision to hold an extra-ordinary meeting came at the closing session of NAM's two-day senior officials meeting which ended on late Saturday night.
"The aim is to prepare the possibility of a common position for the Non-Aligned Movement in the debates or negotiations now taking place in the UN," NAM's chief executive assistant, Nana Sutresna, said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas reasserted the relevance of NAM Ministers in discussing such issues as the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"At least we have an exchange of views that can be very useful to explain the intricacies of what is being discussed. That is the main purpose," Alatas said after arriving here yesterday from Jakarta.
Some 60 ministers from 114 delegations will participate in the Ministerial Meeting of NAM's Coordinating Bureau which begins tomorrow at the Horison Hotel in Bandung, West Java, about 180- kilometers south of Jakarta.
The ministerial meeting is being held in preparation for October's NAM Summit in Cartagena, where Indonesia will hand over its chairmanship to host Colombia.
However, due to the urgency of certain issues, and with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the UN beginning in September, the ministerial meeting is also being seen as a momentous occasion for NAM to come together and provide its input.
For this purpose, four working papers have been prepared for discussion at the extra-ordinary meeting -- a solemn declaration on the 50th anniversary of the UN, the agenda for development, reform of the UN Security Council, particularly on veto rights, and nuclear non-proliferation.
The two latter issues are expected to be the most contentious.
A month-long review of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is now taking place in New York, where an indefinite extension of the treaty is being discussed.
Indonesia and a number of other NAM countries have expressed their reluctance in accepting an indefinite extension without a commitment from other nuclear weapon owning countries to abolish their nuclear arsenals.
Nevertheless, Alatas acknowledged the diverging opinions held by NAM members on the NPT and of the potential difficulties in achieving a common position.
"This is a treaty. Sovereign countries are members of that treaty and therefore may or may not already have a position on what they will do with regard to the review and extension," he said.
The reform of the UN Security Council has been a much debated topic in the past few years. Developing countries argue that reforms must be made to better represent them on the council.
A particularly contentious point is the question of exclusive veto rights.
"We hope to be able to look at certain aspects that have been discussed in New York and see how far it can go," Alatas said in reference to the working paper on Security Council reform prepared by NAM's coordinating bureau in New York.
Senior officials on Saturday also agreed to refer the requests from Macedonia and the Russian federation for guest status along with Turkmenistan's application for membership for further consultation.
"Because the (application) letter was only received one or two days ago, a few delegates felt they should report the matter to their respective capitals," Nana said of Turkmenistan's request for membership.
On Friday, senior officials instated the east-African state of Eritrea as the next newest member of NAM, raising the membership to 112.
Separately on Saturday, Burundi's permanent representative to the UN, Tharcisse Ntakibirora, called on NAM to help his troubled country.
Ntakibirora asked NAM for observers and personnel to help develop Burundi's infrastructure.