Non-Aligned Movement criticises Israel’s war on Gaza at Kampala summit

At the summit, the 120-member bloc’s foreign ministers approved a resolution advocating for a cease-fire in Gaza.

During a summit of the 120-member alliance, leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries decried Israel’s military incursion in the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate ceasefire.

Cuba’s vice president, Salvador Valdes Mesa, told delegates on Friday in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, that “since October 7, we have witnessed one of the cruellest genocidal acts ever to be recorded by history.”

“How can the so-called civilized Western nations explain away the killings of women and children in Gaza, the random bombings of schools and hospitals, and the denial of food and safe water to people?” he said.

The head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, demanded that the “unjust war against the Palestinian people” halt immediately.

The NAM is made up of about half of all African nations, but its membership also includes nations from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and India.

The organization, which is the greatest global bloc after the UN, was created in 1965 by nations that were averse to joining either of the two main military and political blocs during the Cold War era. The world’s youngest country, South Sudan, is anticipated to be granted membership on Friday.

At the commencement of the summit, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliye handed over the reins as head of the NAM to President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. The organization will be led by Museveni until 2027.

Starting on January 15 and lasting through January 20, is the Kampala summit.

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Numerous heads of state and high ranking officials from NAM nations are present at the event, including Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui of Algeria, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, and Prime Minister Russell Dlamini of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

Reporting from Kampala, it is that the summit’s agenda includes global problems such as the current conflict in Gaza as well as UN reforms.

A resolution advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and unimpeded humanitarian aid for Palestinians ensnared in the fighting has already been approved by NAM’s foreign ministers. Additionally, the resolution backs South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide action against Israel.

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The foreign ministers found it difficult to use appropriate language in response to the killings in Gaza, but they ultimately agreed that genocide is now a matter of law that must be resolved by the International Court of Justice.

Following an approximately 1,400-person attack on October 7 by the militant group Hamas, Israel began its offensive in Gaza, according to Israeli officials. Over 24,700 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

Israel has denied the charges of genocide and claimed to be acting in self-defense.

Speaking at the conference, Ramaphosa claimed that the Gaza War had shown the UN’s shortcomings, especially in the Security Council, where the US had blocked multiple resolutions that were critical of Israel.

The president of South Africa declared, “We should establish a system of global governance that is fair and equitable, and has the capacity to respond to the needs of all persons in situations of threat and harm.”