Non-Aligned Summit
^By ANDREW SELSKY=
^Associated Press Writer=
CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) _ Their campaign for autonomy in a world dominated by the U.S.-Soviet standoff now obsolete, the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement are looking for new causes.
Finding them during the summit which opened today should be easy.
During working groups earlier this week, delegations from many of the movement's 113 member nations made a "goat's head soup" of proposals, said Daniel Epstein, a World Health Organization official attending the summit.
"They're throwing in everything you can imagine," he said.
Issues being debated included poverty, terrorism, nuclear weapons and reform of the United Nations.
President Ernesto Samper opened the summit this morning, greeting heads of state who walked up a red carpet lined with white-uniformed navy cadets. He shook hands with Cuba's Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization and dozens of other leaders gathering for daylong speeches.
A declaration at the end of the summit on Friday promises to be fairly bland on most accounts, since unanimous support is needed to include a statement in the document. A single veto kills mention of a proposed topic.
With many of the member nations being led by dictators _ Iraq, Burma and Nigeria for example _ there is unlikely to be a push for democratization. And mention of disputes between member nations is virtually unheard of.
A key issue is reform of the U.N. Security Council, whose five permanent members _ China, France, Britain, Russia and the United States _ wield veto power over other members.
Many developing nations want a voice on the Security Council, although there is no guarantee that non-aligned countries, which represent half the world's population, could find consensus.
In line with the movement's search for a mission, Colombian Foreign Minister Rodrigo Pardo said summit leaders will try to maintain a "movement that makes not declarations, but policy."
Pardo, whose country takes over leadership of the movement from Indonesia for the next three years, proposed that it focus on preventing industrialized nations from committing injustices against poor countries.
There were skeptics, however, who predicted the summit would produce few concrete proposals.
"The final declaration (the delegates) are considering ... is little different than the traditional rhetoric of the Non-Aligned Movement," said former Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Fernando Jaramillo, who currently heads Colombia's ruling Liberal Party.
^Associated Press Writer=
CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) _ Their campaign for autonomy in a world dominated by the U.S.-Soviet standoff now obsolete, the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement are looking for new causes.
Finding them during the summit which opened today should be easy.
During working groups earlier this week, delegations from many of the movement's 113 member nations made a "goat's head soup" of proposals, said Daniel Epstein, a World Health Organization official attending the summit.
"They're throwing in everything you can imagine," he said.
Issues being debated included poverty, terrorism, nuclear weapons and reform of the United Nations.
President Ernesto Samper opened the summit this morning, greeting heads of state who walked up a red carpet lined with white-uniformed navy cadets. He shook hands with Cuba's Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization and dozens of other leaders gathering for daylong speeches.
A declaration at the end of the summit on Friday promises to be fairly bland on most accounts, since unanimous support is needed to include a statement in the document. A single veto kills mention of a proposed topic.
With many of the member nations being led by dictators _ Iraq, Burma and Nigeria for example _ there is unlikely to be a push for democratization. And mention of disputes between member nations is virtually unheard of.
A key issue is reform of the U.N. Security Council, whose five permanent members _ China, France, Britain, Russia and the United States _ wield veto power over other members.
Many developing nations want a voice on the Security Council, although there is no guarantee that non-aligned countries, which represent half the world's population, could find consensus.
In line with the movement's search for a mission, Colombian Foreign Minister Rodrigo Pardo said summit leaders will try to maintain a "movement that makes not declarations, but policy."
Pardo, whose country takes over leadership of the movement from Indonesia for the next three years, proposed that it focus on preventing industrialized nations from committing injustices against poor countries.
There were skeptics, however, who predicted the summit would produce few concrete proposals.
"The final declaration (the delegates) are considering ... is little different than the traditional rhetoric of the Non-Aligned Movement," said former Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Fernando Jaramillo, who currently heads Colombia's ruling Liberal Party.
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