Reorienting NAM in the 1990s (1)

Reorienting NAM in the 1990s (1)

Followings are excerpts of a paper presented by Indonesian Ambassador-at-Large Nana S. Sutresna who is also head executive assistant to the NAM Chairman at an international seminar sponsored by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from Jan. 27 to 29.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: At the Tenth NAM Summit in 1992 in Jakarta, the Leaders of the Movement made their choice. They gave the realities of the world situation the clear-sighted and rational assessment that is the necessary prelude to resolute and effective action. They then declared that, as a political coalition representing more sovereign states than any other grouping in history, the Movement should not be a mere spectator and should not resign itself to being sidelined in the currents of historic change. The movement, they stressed, must dynamically adapt to these currents by setting new priorities and reordering old ones, by devising new approaches and new strategies.

Acknowledging that stereotyped responses would fall short of the demands of the time and that the mere cataloging of grievances, anxieties and hopes would be an exercise in futility, the Movement proceeded to craft the concepts and modalities that would be the basis and the framework of the concrete programs to which the members would commit themselves. At the same time it girded itself for a vigorous advocacy that would place the views and concrete proposals of the Movement into the mainstream of international thought and action. Knowing that the Movement cannot increase the effectiveness of its external action if it cannot improve the efficiency of its internal functioning, the NAM Leaders also felt that they must attend to important housekeeping tasks such as the establishment of effective organizational mechanisms, guidelines and procedures. And they stipulated that all these should be done on the basis and within the framework of NAM's fundamental principles and purposes which have lost nothing of their validity and relevance, even in today's vastly changed world.

Without neglecting to address the political concerns that have gripped the world and continues to grip the world today, the NAM Leaders took one of the most significant decisions that they have taken in a long time: they decided to restore the issue of economic cooperation to the top of the Movement's agenda.

Much was accomplished during that Summit, but perhaps its greatest single accomplishment is not reflected in the decisions taken nor in the resolutions passed, but in the fact that when its Leaders emerged from their deliberations, whatever doubts might have lingered before the Summit about the relevance of the Movement had completely vanished. The Movement came out of the Summit reinvigorated, strengthened in its resolve and clear in its purposes. Many international observers who were habitually skeptical of the Movement might have been pleasantly surprised; for the first time they observed a Non-Aligned Summit that was not acrimoniously dwelling on grievances but was instead seeking a constructive dialog and offering to engage the developed world in cooperation in all fields. This became known as the NAM's new orientation, its new approach to solving the interlinked global problems of our time. The old approach which was dogmatic and adversarial had not worked and so the NAM Leaders decided that it be abandoned. At the same time, they committed themselves to giving this new and flexible approach ample chance to work.

The application of that new approach is never more evident than in the Movement's current advocacy and pursuit of a global North- South partnership as well as an intensified South-South cooperation for development. Soon after convening a meeting of the Standing Ministerial Committee for Economic Cooperation in Bali in May 1993 to thresh out ways and means of moving the North-South and South- South processes forward, President Soeharto, as NAM Chairman, seized the opportunity to extend the Movement's "Invitation to Dialogue" to the Leaders of the Group of Seven on the event of their Summit Meeting in Tokyo. The positive response of the Leaders of G-7 to our Movement's offer of cooperation and constructive dialog, which they articulated at the conclusion of the Tokyo Summit and then again after the Group's Summit in Napoli the following year, has since been carried further by the NAM. Working with the Group of 77 and other like-minded countries, including developed countries, the NAM initiated a draft resolution entitled, Renewal of the Dialogue on Strengthening International Cooperation for Development through Partnership. That the resolution was adopted by consensus clearly indicates that the international community supports the basic strategy of the NAM for achieving a new and more just international economic order.

An important aspect of the resolution was a request to the Secretary-General to present the forty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly with recommendation on how the envisioned North-South dialog could be promoted in a way which would reflect the ongoing work on an Agenda for Development. In this regard, the Secretary-General has issued his report on An Agenda for Development which we hope will bolster the prospects for balanced global economic growth. Our NAM Coordinating Bureau, working with the Group of 77, is playing an active role in the deliberations on that Agenda. The NAM is also very much involved in high level discussions in the General Assembly to spell out further how the North-South dialog should be conducted. In this process, the Movement has once again shown a pragmatism and a flexibility that have struck a positive chord among its intended dialog partners. For example, the Movement has made it known that it is ready and willing to dialog on matters of common interest with the developed countries of the North in any forum which is mutually acceptable. This is a far cry from the position it had assumed some years ago that it would only engage in dialog in certain specific forums.

The same kind of pragmatism and flexibility could govern the approaches of the Member Countries of the Movement to international financial institutions. In contrast, many Member Countries used to apply a double standard in dealing with these institutions: they regarded these institutions as political disagreeable, but bilaterally, none of these countries could do without these institutions. We the countries in the Non-Aligned Movement are probably making greater use of these institutions today with this difference: because of our non-confrontational, cooperative approach, there has been no occasion for us to antagonize them politically. I believe this will work well for the international financial institutions and for the Movement knowing that Non-Aligned Countries have no political agenda that is adverse to them, the international financial institutions might indeed become more receptive to the views of NAM members.

A start has thus been made in redefining the relationship between the developing countries in the Movement with the international financial institutions. I think that this should be followed through with a concerted effort on the part of NAM countries to take active part in the forthcoming review of the Bretton Woods institutions. It is important that developing countries, such as the NAM membership should be able to arrive at a common approach on how to improve the efficacy and efficiency of these institutions which, after all, have a special role to play in the South-South process. The NAM is mindful of the fact that many projects of great merit within the framework of South-South cooperation could have withered on the vine if it were not for a third party, often an international financial institution, which came to the rescue.

Cognizant of the reality of the intertwined fate and fortunes of the North and the South and realizing fully that we are entering a new era after the end of the Cold War, we are all confronted by the imperative need to make mutual adjustments. For its part, the Non-Aligned Movement has gone the "extra mile" in order to make the appropriate adjustments by adopting an entirely new orientation community and with international institutions. This, I believe, is no mean contribution to the relaunching of a more earnest and effective global dialog. The responses to this radical change in style has not at all been discouraging.

There is a growing recognition on the part of some of the major developed countries that the NAM has indeed adopted a moderate approach and is now greatly imbued with the spirit of concialition and cooperation. Some governments in the West have even shown a greater appreciation of the goals that the Movement is trying to achieve. What seems to be lacking, however, is that there is no corresponding reappraisal of the NAM by the international media, particularly those that are based in Western countries. This is a concern that I feel the NAM should address seriously in the days ahead to that the new orientation and approaches taken by the NAM would finally be reflected in the media of those countries so that there would be more vigorous public opinion support for these governments in cooperating with and supporting the goals of the NAM.

Meanwhile, South-South cooperation within the Movement has indeed broadened and intensified since the Tenth Summit. The NAM addressed the problem of hunger through an Ad Hoc Advisory Group of Experts which has submitted a proposed Action Program that was adopted by the Conference of the Ministers of Food and Agriculture of the Non-Aligned Movement and other developing countries held in Bali last October.

Also being implemented within the framework of South-South cooperation is the NAM initiative on the issue of population. A group of experts has likewise been put to work making in-depth studies on this issue and their recommendations have been submitted. One of the results of this effort is a report titled NAM Support for South-South Collaboration in the Field of Population and Family Planning which is based on Indonesia's experience.