Alliance of 118 countries unanimously supports self-determination

At its 14th Summit, NAM's 118 member countries voiced unanimous support for self-determination

HAVANA (Tiraspol Times) - Representatives of the now 118 Nonaligned Movement nations came out strongly in favor of self-determination in this weekend's final declaration of a summit that brought together numerous heads of state and national leaders from all over the world.

The 92-page declaration also broadly condemned terrorism, with specific exceptions for self-determination movements and for battles against foreign occupiers.

And while declaring democracy to be a universal value, the movement said that no single country or region should define it for the whole world. In the context of Europe, this means that OSCE or the European Union can not be sole arbiters of what constitutes a "valid" or "recognized" referendum, and that these regional groups can not unilaterally grant themselves powers to rule on whether any given election is legal or illegal.

At the summit, with an eye to unrecognized countries and separatist states, the 118 member nations asserted the right of all countries - regardless of U.N. membership or not - to freely determine their own form of government. The statements were approved by unanimous consent by all leaders of the Nonaligned Movement.

The recently concluded independence referendum of unrecognized Pridnestrovie was not on the agenda, although some of the assembled diplomats followed the news from the sidelines and showed interest in learning more about the issue. With 118 member states from all over the world, the organization is the largest of its kind after the United Nations, whose top leadership was also present at the 14th NAM Summit.

As a bloc, the member countries form an absolute majority of the world's approximately 200 sovereign states. Holding a majority, they are able to shape the continuing development of international law and introduce new concepts and interpretations to an extent which no single country - no matter how big or powerful - is capable of doing on its own.

U.N.-leader calls for more democracy, small countries

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the summit that the U.N. Security Council must be more responsive to small and less powerful countries. “The Security Council must reform, for the sake of the developing world, and for the sake of the United Nations itself,” Annan told the Nonaligned leaders and assembled heads of state. “The perception of a narrow power-base risks leading to an erosion of the U.N.'s authority and legitimacy, even, some would argue, its neutrality and independence. I have in the past described this as a democracy deficit.”

Kofi Annan also met with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez following a rabblerousing speech in which Chavez spoke for the sovereign right of people everywhere to determine their own form of government and defend the countries which they live in. Declaring sovereignty, freedom and independence to be among the highest values known to man, he ended his speech with a rallying cry of “Patria o Muerte!,” “Fatherland or Death!”

The Nonaligned Movement was formed in 1961 to establish a neutral third path in a world divided by the United States and the Soviet Union. The world has changed dramatically since then, but Kofi Annan said that its collective mission is more relevant than ever: promoting democracy, protecting human rights and developing civil societies. (With information from Indo-Asian News Service)