Sujata Comments at NAM Summit
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Foreign minister SUJATA KOIRALA comments on global recession, multilateralism, climate change, Nepal’s peace process, etc.
It gives me a great pleasure to attend this preparatory Ministerial meeting of the Non-aligned Movement in this beautiful city of Sharm El-Sheikh. On behalf of my delegation and myself, I would like to express our deep appreciation and gratitude for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to us since our arrival here.
I congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on your assuming the Chair of the meeting and assure you of my delegation’s full cooperation in the discharge of your responsibilities.
Cuba deserves our sincere appreciation for its active and constructive leadership of the Movement during the last three years.
Our Movement has been a witness to many far-reaching changes in international relations during the last five decades of its existence. However, the core values and ideals propounded by the founding leaders of NAM continue to remain a perennial source of inspiration for us even today. And these have been in conformity with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect for fundamental human rights, and developments in international law. I would like to reaffirm Nepal’s unwavering faith in the founding principles of NAM, which also constitute one of the guiding principles of our foreign policy.
The current global financial crisis has once again reaffirmed the urgent need for timely reform in global financial architecture and establishment of an effective regulatory and oversight regime so as to prevent recurrence of such crises in future.
The global financial crisis has very wide ramifications for the developing countries, more particularly the LDCs. Remittance flow is slowing down, tourists are declining, and investments are stalled. Development is becoming costlier, and debt servicing increasingly more difficult. Poverty reduction initiatives and progress towards attaining the MDGs have been adversely affected. On the other hand, rather than promoting trade liberalization, protectionist trends seem to be picking up in the developed economies of the world. We, therefore, call upon the developed countries to roll back all protectionist measures, fulfill their ODA commitments and speed up delivery so as to enable the developing and the least developed countries to cope with the emerging new challenges more effectively. In this context, the conclusions and recommendations of the outcome document adopted at the high level meeting on the world financial crisis held in New York last month need to be implemented in all sincerity.
Globalization should be transformed into a positive force equally beneficial to the poor and the economically marginalized countries and peoples. It should not be allowed to further marginalize them. Strong solidarity among the NAM member states is a must to achieve the common objective of freeing people from a state of dehumanizing poverty and dependence.
Given the unpredictability of the direction of the global economy and its increasing vulnerabilities, a stronger South-South cooperation would help to reduce dependence, minimize the adverse impacts of sudden and swift meltdowns, and create a more dependable base for sustainable development.
I would like to reiterate Nepal’s belief in NAM’s principled position on the promotion and preservation of multilateralism, with the UN at the center. We are equally cognizant of the primacy of the multilateral process in addressing the pressing global issues and challenges of our time.
We know the United Nations stands as ‘an indispensable common house of the entire human family’. At more than sixty and in an entirely different global context and power realities, it needs deep reforms to maintain its continued relevance and enhance its usefulness to the global needs and challenges of the twenty-first century. Sovereign equality, transparency, accountability and equitable representation should be the basis of this reform process.
We also call for urgent progress in the Middle East peace process for the achievement of just and durable peace on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and various recent peace initiatives.
Climate change is now a major new concern for all of us. An overwhelming scientific consensus draws the conclusion that the global phenomenon of rising temperatures is largely the result of human activities. Urgent actions for adaptation and mitigation are, therefore, essential to contain the rise in temperature and to stop further degradation of the environment. Among the many impacts of climate change, melting glaciers and its attendant consequences are staring at us with alarm. This global problem requires a comprehensive and coordinated global response in the spirit of common but differentiated responsibility. In order to effectively deal with this and a number of other global problems of similar nature such as human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, HIV/Aids, international terrorism, etc. the developing countries need additional and enhanced level of international support and assistance.
Peace, security and development are the three basic conditions for human wellbeing. And these can be ensured only by promoting global cooperation in a true spirit of live and let live. In our view NAM has always stood for these objectives. As a peace-loving country, Nepal has been regularly participating in the United Nations peacekeeping missions since the early days of the organization in an effort to maintain international peace and security. And we remain fully committed to that end.
Nepal continues to stand in support of the objective of achieving general and complete disarmament and wishes to see steady progress in this area. Likewise, Nepal condemns terrorism in any form or manifestation no matter why, where, and by whom it is committed.
Let me briefly talk about my own country Nepal. We are currently in the midst of a profound transformation and transition following the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Accord between the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) in November 2006. A nationally-driven peace process that began with the end of the decade-long conflict in the country has been making a good progress. The Government of Nepal is fully committed and engaged in taking forward the peace process to its logical conclusion in a spirit of cooperation and political consensus. A democratically elected Constituent Assembly consisting of 601 members, about a third of whom are women, is currently engaged in writing a new constitution. The Assembly has representatives from almost all the ethnic groups and communities living in Nepal. Inclusiveness has been one of its most visible characteristics. Moreover, an extensive nation-wide consultation process has been recently undertaken to ensure the broadest possible participation of all segments of the Nepali society in the historic constitution making exercise. We have declared ourselves as a Federal Democratic Republic as per the wishes of the people and we are now in the process of restructuring the state along federal principles most suitable for our own needs and circumstances. We hope to accomplish the task of making a new constitution within the next one year.
Before closing, let me reaffirm Nepal’s strong belief in the continued importance of NAM as a creative and constructive force in the contemporary global scenario. NAM’s long-established identity as a strong, cohesive and resilient group of countries should be maintained by holding on to the core principles of the Movement while also being responsive to the new and emerging global challenges in a constructive and cooperative manner. This would surely help to promote international solidarity for peace and development.
