The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) chairperson, President Museveni yesterday underlined implementation of the two-state solution as the only legitimate and peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Speaking at the opening of the 19th Ministerial Meeting of Coordinating Bureau of NAM at Speke Resort Munyonyo under the theme ‘Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence’, He said: ‘…we have continuously called on the international community to recognise the State of Palestine and for its admission as a full member state of the United Nations.’
NAM has recognised Palestine as an independent country for 70 years, and treats the Palestinian quest for global recognition as a standing issue. The beleaguered state and the Holy See (both state as Vatican City and sovereign entity) are the only two UN-non member observer states, while the US has variously vetoed the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution to admit Palestine as the 194th member of the UN. France and UK formally started recognising Palestine last month joining other permanent UNSC members, Russia and China.
As during the NAM Heads of State summit last year in January, the reverberations of the humanitarian catastrophe arising from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict loomed large, over the NAM meeting that started on Monday and closes today, ahead of President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal on Monday. As part of the ceasefire deal, Hamas, which runs Gaza, agreed to release the remaining Israeli captives held since the October 7, 2023 attack, which triggered Tel Aviv’s military response that killed more than 67,000 Palestinians. Israel, in return, agreed to release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
President Trump flew to Israel on Monday as part of enforcing the peace deal and later joined other world leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to sign the peace deal, guaranteed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Trkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Nearly 3,000 miles away in Kampala, during negotiations of text for the midterm review report, the Kampala Declaration, some NAM member states such as Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela were opposed to crediting Washington, alongside Egypt and Trkiye, for Monday’s peace deal that Trump hailed as ‘historic’ and pundits have said is a good starting point despite many unanswered questions.
Representatives for Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela argued that the US has reinforced Tel Aviv’s war in Gaza for two years ‘to wipe out’ Hamas, a Palestinian liberation group, said to be a proxy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is opposed to Israel’s existence. Iran and Israel went to war in June, which ended after the US intervened by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites. Meanwhile, delegates from Sudan and the UAE also traded barbs over the latter’s alleged support of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting the national army into civil war.
In his speech yesterday, President Museveni, the NAM chair until 2027, indicated that the midterm review theme ‘is the best mutually benefiting way to create global wealth and affluence, that can trickle down to all parts of the world, and in return, enhance the capacities of all economies to increase global demand, create jobs and create markets among all nations.’
The appraisal summit started with the 19th meeting of senior officials on Monday and Tuesday to thrash out the finer details of the midterm report, the Kampala Declaration, which is set for adoption today by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs Minister Jeje Odongo, opened the meeting on Monday to assess the progress made in implementing the outcomes of the NAM Heads of State summit held in Kampala 21 months ago. He said: ‘It is only through unity, solidarity, and a common purpose that we can project a clear, strong, and coordinated voice on the issues that affect our nations in today’s increasingly complex and volatile global environment, an environment that continues to hinder our aspirations for economic development, social progress, peace, and the full enjoyment of human rights and the rule of law.’
Uganda’s Ambassador to the UN, Adonia Ayebare, highlighted several ‘mutually reinforcing priorities, including defending multilateralism and the UN Charter, insisting on inclusive, intergovernmental decision-making, and resisting practices that would dilute participation or undermine established mandates.
NAM is an alliance of 121 developing countries. The alliance was established 69 years ago as a foreign policy instrument to ally with neither superpower in global geopolitical rivalry during the Cold War. It has since become a collective voice for poor and developing countries.