South Africa will participate in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting scheduled to get underway in Venezuela at the weekend.
“South Africa will utilise the meeting to engage the NAM Member States on issues that include the strengthening of the principles of multilateralism and consolidating the rule of law, as well as finding sustainable solutions to bring lasting peace to current situations around the world,” said International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Alvin Botes on Wednesday.
The NAM Coordinating Bureau (CoB) meeting will be held in Caracas, Venezuela, under the theme: “Promotion and Consolidation of Peace through Respect for International Law”.
It is expected that the two-day meeting, which will get underway on Saturday, will consider preparations for the upcoming 18th Summit Conference of NAM Heads of State and Government to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 25 and 26 October 2019.
The meeting will also review the NAM’s principled positions on global issues pertaining to development, human rights, peace and security, and the promotion and preservation of multilateralism, in line with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Founding Principles of the NAM.
A Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Committee on Palestine, as well as a NAM seminar on human rights and cultural diversity, will also take place during the NAM Ministerial meeting.
South Africa is a member of the NAM Committee on Palestine, which has the mandate to coordinate the NAM's activities in support of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.
The Ministerial Meeting will conclude with the adoption of the outcome documents of the meeting, including the “Caracas Political Declaration” and the “Political Declaration of the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine”.
With its 120 Member States, the NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the UN (United Nations), making it an important role-player in global and multilateral affairs.
Since its inception in 1961, the Movement has played a crucial and highly visible political role in representing the interests of developing countries, particularly in the eradication of colonialism, supporting struggles for liberation and self-determination, the pursuit of world peace and the search for a more equitable and just global order.
The meeting will conclude on Sunday. - SAnews.gov.za
