Sam Kutesa heads for UN top job
May 31, 2014
The Non-Aligned Movement has endorsed foreign minister Sam Kutesa’s candidature for the Presidency of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
By John Odyek
The Non-Aligned Movement has endorsed foreign minister Sam Kutesa’s candidature for the Presidency of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The endorsement comes after the conclusion of the Movement’s meeting that has been held in Algiers, Algeria. Asuman Kiyingi, state minister for foreign affairs led Uganda’s delegation to the meeting.
“We have concluded the 17th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement here in Algiers Algeria this evening. I led Uganda's delegation. The Conference has unanimously endorsed the candidature of Uganda's Hon. Sam Kuteesa for the Presidency of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembl,” Kiyingi said in a statement.
He added that NAM is the third multilateral Organisation after the African Union (AU) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to endorse Kuteesa.
He said with 120 member states, NAM constitutes two thirds of the United Nations General Assembly membership the election of whose President is due to take place next month in New York.
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power block. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observer countries.
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Participants pose for a family picture on May 28, 2014 during the two-day Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the Algerian capital Algiers. AFP PHOTO
The organization was founded in 1961 as an attempt to thwart the Cold War.The movement stemmed from a desire not to be aligned within a geopolitical/military structure.
Since the end of the Cold War and the formal end of colonialism, the Non-Aligned Movement has been forced to redefine itself and reinvent its purpose in the current world system.
A major question has been whether many of its foundational ideologies, principally national independence, territorial integrity, and the struggle against colonialism and imperialism, can be applied to contemporary issues.
The movement has emphasised its principles of multilateralism, equality, and mutual non-aggression in attempting to become a stronger voice for the global South, and an instrument that can be used to promote the needs of member nations at the international level and strengthen their political leverage when negotiating with developed nations.
In its efforts to advance Southern interests, the movement has stressed the importance of cooperation and unity amongst member states.
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