New York, September 21, 2022.
Theme: “The role of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in the global post-pandemic recovery: the way forward.”
His Excellency Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
Distinguished Ministers and Heads of Delegations;
Esteemed participants;
For six decades now, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has struggled in defense of our just vindications and the legitimate rights of our peoples.
We are 120 countries from five continents, a heterogeneous mixture of ideologies, religions, cultures, development levels and historical experiences.Our diversity, far from being a weakness, is one of our strengths.
We represent the absolute majority and almost two thirds of the total number of member countries of the United Nations. We need to act with unity, cohesion, creativity and solidarity in the defense of our collective interests.
It is imperative that consensus is respected for decision-making within the Movement, as it was established in the Cartagena Document on Methodology and ratified later on in Havana by our Heads of State and Government.
Consensus has been and still is crucial to maintain solidarity and unity among Non-Aligned Countries. In our Movement, consensus is a synonym of substantial agreement and entails a broad, participatory and transparent process of consultations necessary to achieve it, but it does not require or involve unanimity.
The negative trend of quantifying whatever consensus means should be overcome as soon as possible. Granting only three delegations the faculty of vetoing the agreement reached by the other 117 is a harmful practice that not only contravenes the provisions adopted at Cartagena and Havana, but also negatively affects our capacity for concerted political action.
Sometimes, the search for unanimity has led us to a paralysis, even in situations of flagrant violations of the Charter and International Law, which has an obvious cost for the credibility of our Movement.
We should also move forward in the coordination of positions between the Non-Aligned Countries Movement and the G-77 plus China, in the context of the Joint Coordination Committee, which will convey a message on unity and solidarity from the South as well as greater strength to face common challenges as developing countries.
Follow the link: