KATHMANDU, Oct 27: The 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Baku, Azerbaijan concluded on Saturday with an announcement to observe  2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust. 

The  Baku Declaration issued at the conclusion of the Summit states that a decision was taken to mobilize the efforts of the international community to promote peace and trust among nations based , interalia, on political dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation in order to build sustainable peace, solidarity and harmony. 

As its relevance is increasingly questioned of late, the NAM member states have decided to make joint efforts to activate the role of the Movement for making it adequate to  the new realities in the current geopolitical landscape by promoting and upholding its founding principles which continue to be as much valid and relevant as originally conceived. They have also agreed to enhance the status and role of the Movement in opposing war and supporting peace internationally. 

While agreeing to remain united and steadfast within the Movement in view of the emerging threats and challenges to international peace, security and development, the member states have agreed to support multilateralism with the United Nations at its core and to give a boost to the central role of the UN in the institutional and legal framework of global governance. 

As the effectiveness of the UN is being questioned from various quarters, the NAM member states have called for further strengthening and modernizing the United Nations, revitalizing the UN General Assembly and strengthening its authority as the most democratic, accountable, universal and representative body of the organization, including in the area of international peace and security, and also reforming the UN Security Council. 

The member states have also agreed to strengthen NAM solidarity in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestation and called all members to deny terrorist groups safe haven, freedom of operations, movement and recruitment and financial, material or political support. They have also agreed to exercise restraint against provocative actions against oil tankers and commercial ships in the Middle East to maintain and strengthen the security and stability of international commercial navigation and energy supplies for all. 

Similarly, they have also highlighted the need to ensure that peacekeeping operations are carried out with strict adherence to the principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter and emphasized that  respect for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of States, as well as non-intervention in  internal affairs are the key elements of joint efforts in the promotion of international peace and security. 

While reiterating that  South-South Cooperation is an important element of international cooperation for sustainable development, the Baku Declaration has also reaffirmed that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our times and expressed profound alarm that emissions of greenhouse gases continue to raise globally. “We express concern about the increased adverse impacts of climate change, particularly on developing countries, which are severely undermining their efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development,” reads the Declaration.

The Declaration has reiterated that  human rights should be strengthened by adhering to the fundamental principles of universality, transparency, impartiality, non-selectivity, non-politicization and objectivity, while seeking to realize  human rights for all, pursuant to the principles contained in the Vienna Declaration of 1993. 

Among other things, they have  also condemned all measures taken by Israel to alter he legal, physical  and geographic status of the Occupied Syrian Golan, and demanded once again that Israel should abide by the relevant UNSC resolutions and withdrawn fully from Syrian Golan. 

Earlier, Prime Minister K P Oli, who led the Nepali delegation, chaired a session-- Upholding the Bandung Principles to Ensure Concerted and Adequate Response to the Challenges of Contemporary World—at the NAM Summit. In his address to the session, Prime Minister Oli said that  NAM will continue to hold its relevance until all its members are able to achieve comprehensive democracy that demands a world order that is democratic, inclusive, just and fair. “Unless and until we achieve it, the NAM will continue to be relevant for us. The NAM is a synonym for peace, security, justice and development,” he said. “It has time-tested value and appeal.”

Prime Minister Oli also highlighted the need to further strengthen  NAM by implementing the comprehensive declaration that each NAM Summit adopts. Prime Minister Oli asked all to seriously think if they have ever developed systems to ensure that the decisions made are implemented, tried to reach broad consensus that the political message of the Movement needs to be translated into action on the ground and analyzed the deep rooted conflicts and differences among ourselves and tried to resolve them in the spirit of solidarity.

 
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