Deputy Minister Landers leads South African delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting in Baku

PRETORIA, South Africa, April 3, 2018/ — The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Luwellyn Landers, will lead the South African delegation to attend the 18th Mid-term Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), to be held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, from 5-6 April 2018. The meeting takes place under the theme: “Promoting International Peace and Security for Sustainable Development”.

The NAM Ministerial Conference takes place against the backdrop of:

– the continuing international debate on finding sustainable peace in a world where too many conflicts are violating the most basic rights of people. The illicit flow of conventional arms and the potential proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, remains a serious risk.

– growing transnational organised crime, including cybercrime, illicit financial flows, trafficking in people, cultural property and drugs, as well as wildlife crime.

– the threat of terrorism and extremism remaining ever-present concerns throughout the world, with terrorist groups evolving, diversifying and expanding their reach and the nature of their threats.

– unregulated mass migration posing broader security challenges.

Given the above challenges, South Africa believes there is an urgent need for the reform of the architecture of the global system of governance, in particular, for the enhanced voice and representation of Africa in the decision-making structures of international bodies such as the United Nations. There is a continuing need to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the AU’s Agenda 2063, in particular the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan.

South Africa will take advantage of the meeting to engage NAM Member States on issues that include the reform of the UN Security Council, self-determination and nuclear disarmament. South Africa is a member of the NAM Special committee on Palestine, which has the mandate to coordinate NAM’s activities in support of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.

The NAM Committee on Palestine will meet on the margins of the NAM ministerial meeting to review the situation and developments in the occupied Palestinian Territories. The Committee will make a proposal to the NAM ministerial meeting on a program to be adopted, aimed at advancing the cause of the Palestinian people.

South Africa will use the meeting to engage NAM Member States on the initiative to mark the centenary of the birth and life of Nelson Mandela, which will be celebrated during the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2018 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The meeting is expected to adopt the Final outcome document for the NAM Mid-Term Ministerial and the political declaration.