Leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement have ended a two-day meeting in Malaysia, after opposing an attack on Iraq without backing by the United Nations. The participants also expressed concern over rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement, spurred by the confrontation over Iraq and a perception that the end of the Cold War has left a world dominated by a single superpower, are promoting the United Nations as the instrument for resolving international disputes.
The summit spokesman, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hamid Albar, told reporters there is total consensus on promoting and strengthening the multilateral process. "The intention is that the United Nations should be given more credibility and the integrity of the United Nations should not be put in jeopardy," Mr. Albar said.
Mr. Hamid said Non-Aligned leaders are also calling for reform at the United Nations and greater use of the world body to promote trade and to monitor weapons and other instruments of war.
Most of the movement's 116 members delivered statements against an attack on Iraq without the approval of the U.N. Security Council. But they were also virtually unanimous in calling for Iraq to cooperate more fully with U.N. weapons inspectors.
The final declaration called for North Korea to resolve peacefully the dispute over its nuclear weapons programs, but refrained from assigning blame for the dispute. The leaders also called for Israel to implement U.N. resolutions on the Palestinian issue, and urged all nations to abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf reflected the general satisfaction with the meeting, saying it contributed immensely to understanding the critical issues of the world. "The outcome of the NAM summit has been extremely useful and beneficial, especially at this time when the world is at a critical juncture," he said.
The Non-Aligned Movement was founded at the height of the Cold War as a group of nations seeking neutrality in the East-West confrontation.
During the summit, many of the nations' leaders voiced concern over the lack of a counterbalance to U.S. power since the Cold War's demise.
Many leaders criticized the U.S. government and its Western allies for seeking to impose their form of democracy on the world while allowing economic globalization to benefit mainly wealthy nations at the expense of the poor. But they acknowledged that weaknesses and failures of developing nations had also contributed to their problems, and pledged to work more closely together to address them.
