And how many of these countries receive massive amounts (or any) US aid? Bruce http://www.cnsnews. <http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=/SpecialReports/archive/ 200609/SPE20060913a.html> com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=/SpecialReports/archive/200609/SPE20060913a. html World's 'Non-Aligned' Nations Asked to Back Document Critical of USA By Patrick Goodenough CNSNews.com International Editor September 13, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - Governments ruling more than half of U.N. member states will be asked this weekend to sign a declaration pledging to work to "transform the present unjust international order" dominated by a "hegemonic" power -- a clear reference to the United States. Adoption of the statement, drafted by Cuba's communist regime, is to be a highlight of this week's summit of the 118-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The summit, in Havana, draws together countries ranging from U.S. allies such as Singapore, Pakistan and India, to its harshest critics -- including Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Syria and Zimbabwe. The grouping was formed during the Cold War, as developing nations sought to steer a "non-aligned" path between the West and the communist bloc. It frequently was derided for failing to achieve that stated goal - Cuba, a Soviet satellite, was a founding NAM member, and communist Vietnam joined during the 1970s. Since the end of the Cold War, NAM has struggled to carve out a role for itself. In its draft text, Cuba, which assumes the chair for the next three years, makes it clear what role Havana and its allies envisage for the movement. "The absence of two conflicting blocs in no way reduces the need to strengthen the NAM as a mechanism for the political coordination of underdeveloped countries," the document says. "Now more than ever it is essential that our nations remain united and steadfast and are increasingly active in order to successfully confront unilateralism and actions by any Power aimed at imposing hegemonic domination." The 2,800-word document is entitled "Declaration on the Purposes, Principles and Role of the Non-Aligned Movement in the Present International Situation." Without naming the U.S., it makes numerous references to "unilateralism," "hegemony" and attempts to impose a "unipolar world." Among the summit's purposes, it says, is "to condemn all manifestations of unilateralism and actions marked by attempts at hegemonic domination." Principles guiding the NAM include "non-interference" in other states' affairs, "abstention from ... exerting pressure or coercion on other countries" and "abstention from resorting to the threat or use of force." The document calls on NAM members to strengthen "multilateralism" and to work together at the U.N. and other international agencies on issues of priority to the movement. These priorities, as listed, include "the rejection of unilateralism and the attempt to impose a unipolar world," "the condemnation and rejection of the imposition of coercive unilateral measures" and "the support of the Palestinian cause." Support for Chavez, Iran Apart from the statement on the "present international situation," NAM representatives also will adopt other statements, including a final summit declaration which - according to its draft - expresses support for Venezuela's populist left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, and concern about "aggressive" U.S. policies against his government. The draft also says NAM members "totally reject the use of the term 'axis of evil' by a certain state to target other states under the pretext of combating terrorism." President Bush in his 2002 State of the Union said states like Iran, North Korea and Ba'athist-ruled Iraq, along with their terrorist allies, constituted an "axis of evil" that threatened world peace. Since then, a U.S.-led coalition has removed Saddam Hussein from power in Baghdad, while North Korea and Iran are embroiled in disputes with the U.N. Security Council over their nuclear programs. The standoff over Iran, which faces the prospect of sanctions over its refusal to stop enriching uranium, also will come up at the Havana summit. In an opening speech on Monday, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said the gathering "happens to coincide with the tightening of pressures against Iran for the exercise of its sovereign right to develop a program for the peaceful use of nuclear energy." The draft final document also stresses the right of developing nations to use and produce nuclear energy. NAM members have generally backed Tehran in the standoff, although the bloc's backing in recent months was not as solid as Iran would have liked. Last February, when the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors voted to refer Iran to the Security Council, of the 16 NAM countries represented on the 35-nation board, eight -- Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Yemen -- voted in favor of the resolution. Of the remaining NAM members, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria voted against the resolution while Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa abstained. 'Violators' Among some 50 leaders attending the heads of state portion of the Havana summit will be some of the world's most controversial political figures, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuela's Chavez, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. North Korea will be represented by Kim Jong-il's deputy, Kim Yong-nam. Whether ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro will attend remains unclear. The regimes they represent are not just hostile to the West, they also are among the nations most often censured by human rights organizations for abusing the rights of their citizens. The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a dissident group, was quoted as saying in a statement that the summit host and some of the participants were "among the worst and most fanatical civil and political rights violators on a world scale." The conference spokesman, Cuban assistant foreign minister Abelardo Moreno, said Tuesday that in the summit documents, NAM members would demand the observance of "all" human rights by "all" countries. Like many developing countries, Cuba focuses on so-called "third generation" rights such as the right to self-determination. Unlike "first generation" rights such as freedom of speech and religion, and "second generation" rights such as the right to education, "third generation" rights do not feature strongly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Prensa Latina news agency quoted Moreno as saying NAM considered it reprehensible to use human rights as a way to manipulate politics and pressure countries in the movement. He said they rejected selectivity and the "hypocritical" use of human rights. The NAM's current membership comprises 53 African nations, 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, 38 in Asia and just one -- Belarus -- in Europe. The movement will this week increase its membership from 116 to 118, with the admission of Haiti and St. Kitts & Nevis. China has been an observer since 1992. U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan is expected to attend the summit later this week. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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