Statement of the XIII Non-Aligned Movement summit concerning Iraq

XIII Conference of heads of state or government of the Non-Aligned Movment, Kuala Lumpur, 20-25 February 2003

Date: 25 February 2003
STATEMENT OF THE XIII NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT SUMMIT CONCERNING IRAQ

We, the Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, meeting in Kuala Lumpur from 24-25 February 2003, considered with grave concern the precarious and rapidly deteriorating situation arising from the looming threat of war against Iraq.

We are fully cognisant of the concerns expressed by millions in our countries, as well as in other parts of the world, who reject war and believe, like we do, that war against Iraq will be a destabilising factor for the whole region, and that it would have far reaching political, economic and humanitarian consequences for all countries of the world, particularly the States in the region.

We reiterate our commitment to the fundamental principles of the non use of force and respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and security of all Member States of the United Nations.

We reaffirm our commitment to exert our efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the current situation. We welcome and support all other efforts exerted to avert war against Iraq and call for the persistent continuation of such efforts based on multilateral as opposed to unilateral actions, and reaffirm the central role of the United Nations and the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security.

We welcome the decision by Iraq to facilitate the unconditional return of, and cooperation with, United Nations inspectors in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1441, which will assure the world in a peaceful way that weapons of mass destruction are eliminated in Iraq.

We call on Iraq to continue to actively comply with Security Council Resolution 1441 and all other relevant Security Council resolutions and to remain engaged in the process. We believe this would be an important step opening the way to a comprehensive and peaceful resolution of all pending issues between Iraq and the United Nations that takes into account the concerns of all affected parties, including Iraq’s neighbours.

We stress that the current disarmament efforts in Iraq should not be an end in itself but should also constitute a step towards the lifting of sanctions in accordance with Security Council Resolution 687.

We believe that the peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis would ensure that the Security Council will also be in a position to ensure Iraq’s sovereignty and the inviolability of its territorial integrity, political independence and security, and compliance with Paragraph 14 of its Resolution 687 on the establishment in the Middle East of a weapons of mass destruction free zone, which includes Israel.