Foreign Minister of the State of Eritrea
At the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
19-20 January, 2024
Kampala, Uganda
Your Excellency, Mr.Yoweri Museveni,
President of the Republic of Uganda,
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
Excellencies,
Allow me first to congratulate the Republic of Uganda for assuming the NAM Chairmanship and express my profound gratitude for the warm reception accorded to my delegation. While wishing success for the coming three years, I assure you of Eritrea’s full support.
I would also like to thank the Republic of Azerbaijan for the able stewardship of the works of the Group and for putting in the necessary efforts to facilitate this crucial Summit.
Let me also welcome and congratulate the Republic of South Sudan for joining our Movement.
Mr. President,
As we assemble today at the 19th Summit of our Movement under a well-timed theme “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence”, humanity is going through perilous global peace and security as well as dwindling socio-economic and environmental crises requiring us for genuine cooperation and renewed commitment.
Inter and intra-state wars, geopolitical rivalries, socio-economic inequalities, and the adverse impact of climate changes and pandemics are posing unprecedented ramifications on the lives of millions, who are already deprived and marginalized in the Global South.
Mr. President,
The underlying causes of these interlocking and intertwined crises are attributed to multiple factors. However, the systemic failures of the existing global governance architecture remain at the core. Guided by the ill-premised “rules-based international order”, the global governance architecture has been and continues to foment conflicts, deprive societies and monopolize resources, and abrogate the principles of international law and the UN Charter.
The negative ramifications of this dysfunctional global governance architecture are not confined to the sovereign nations and peoples of the Global South. Extreme and ludicrous inequalities where less than 1% of the population own 99% of the national wealth; unbridled consumerism which has bred and continues to aggravate climate change; atomization of societies that have literally decimated social compassion and community-care by fostering exclusive and unnatural individualism; are dangerous trends that will ultimately undermine the social fabric and stability in individual countries and our global village at large.
Mr. President,
The existing global economic and financial institutions – the embodiment of the unfair and non-inclusive international order – are essentially designed to sustain the very few and narrow ideals of the ‘neo-liberal economic’ outlook through exploitation and monopoly of the global economy and affluence while aggravating poverty across nations.
The magnitude of exploitation of the resources in developing countries through the ‘neo-colonial’ arrangements is evident to merit explanation. The experience of Africa, a Continent endowed with 60% of the World’s natural resources, is an object lesson. Ironically, this rich Continent remains the source of raw materials needed for the economies and technological products of the covetous few ‘developed countries’ at a minimal price. In turn, the Continent purchases back value-added products at an exponentially high price, and this keeps most African nations under acute trade deficit and hence poverty.
Mr. President,
My country, Eritrea, is not spared of the continued viciousness and injustices of the dysfunctional international order and hegemonic ‘unipolarity.’ At the time when most African countries were gaining their “independence,” the People of Eritrea were doomed to be annexed under the yoke of the Ethiopian Imperial regime for the sole purpose of the US misguided foreign policy of favouritism to its anchor states.
Even decades after its hard-won liberation and independence, Eritrea has been and continues to be vilified by those erroneous and nefarious policies. For almost a decade, the country and its people were subjected to unwarranted UN Security Council sanctions, based on fabricated allegations. Yet, the country is further sustaining the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and EU. Regrettably, several NAM Member States are victims of such outrageous Western foreign policy tools. These illicit and arbitrary measures must be categorically rejected by our Movement and immediately annulled as they are in contravention of the UN Charter, principles of international law, and multilateralism.
Mr. President,
The idea of “shared global affluence” could only be convincing and practical once the ramifications of the above-highlighted ill-premises of the existing global governance architecture are rectified.
Realizing such a noble vision entails forging meaningful and symmetric ties of cooperation and partnership to boost our collective commitments and resources based on mutual respect for national independence and sovereignty. To that end, our Movement will require higher standards and a revitalized perspective to redress the injustices created by the dysfunctional global governance and accomplish the objectives laid before us, and thus reawaken our collective responsibility to achieve a shared global affluence.
To conclude, Eritrea calls upon all NAM member states to mobilize their untapped resources and demonstrate the requisite resolve to forge a global order predicated on the equal and full participation of all member States as opposed to unilateralism and the ‘rules-based order.’ NAM member States need to reassert their peculiar and historical responsibility to uphold the sacrosanct principles of equality, respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of all nations and peoples as enshrined in the UN Charter and the Bandung Principles.
I Thank You!
