The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), with 118 member states and 21 observer states, is a group of nations who do not consider themselves to be formally aligned with or against any power bloc -- neither East nor West. Their mission is the pursuit of national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security in their 'struggle' against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony.
Given these noble goals, it's truly astonishing that NAM chose Iran to be the group's chair for the next three years and as a result, Tehran will be the host city for its 16th summit, slated to begin on August 26.
Not only is Tehran hosting the summit, attendees received invitations from non-other than Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinjad. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, the overarching goal of the summit is to "eliminate world problems." Jews may very well be one of them. Just last week Ahmadinejad, in yet another anti-Semitic rant, said,
It has now been some 400 years that a horrendous Zionist clan has been ruling the major world affairs, and behind the scenes of the major power circles, in political, media, monetary and banking organizations in the world, they have been the decision makers...
Do any of the Non-Aligned Movement member states recognize the infuriating irony that an organization seeking to solve the world's problems and enhance its own stature in the international arena is choosing to hold its summit in one of the world's most dangerous and problematic nations, not to mention the most blatantly anti-Semitic one, while simultaneously honoring the meeting's hosts who regularly commit egregious human-rights abuses?
Even far more serious however, would be the participation of Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, at such an outrageous event, as recent media reports indicate. Another question: How can the UN Secretary-General go to a country openly disobeying and flouting six UN Security Council Resolutions calling on it to cease its nuclear weapons program and other activities, not the least of which is the continued and widespread supply of weapons to Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas -- without dealing with those issues and only those issues. After all, Iran is the world's primary state sponsor of terror, according to the State Department. And for years, Iran has openly insulted the very essence of the United Nations by thumbing its nose at its own Security Council decisions. What's more, Iran openly declares its wish to annihilate another UN member state. If the participants at the Non-Aligned Movement conference want to maintain even an ounce of integrity and credibility, they will forcefully deliver the following messages to the Iranian regime during the summit:
- Iran must cease denigrating the United Nations and abide by numerous UN resolutions to halt uranium enrichment.
- Iran must stop providing assistance to the corrupt Syrian regime, which is currently slaughtering its own people and destabilizing the region.
- Tehran must cease supporting its terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, which continue their murderous campaigns against innocent civilians in Israel and around the globe.
- Tehran's persistent threats against Israel's very existence and its unrelenting anti-Semitism must end immediately.
- The Iranian regime must halt its unfathomable human rights violations, such as unjustified executions of Iranian citizens, including but not limited to women and homosexuals.
If the Non-Aligned Movement fails to deliver these messages to the Iranian regime, it will have forfeited the opportunity to meet its goal of "eliminating world problems" before its meeting adjourns.