Assessment of the International Coordinating Group

The First International Assembly (FIA) of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) was a great and resounding success.

The assembly was participated in by 222 delegations with 304 delegates and 35 speakers and guests. The participants came from 40 countries from all the global regions.

The political success of the ILPS-FIA lies not only in the wide range of participating organizations and large number of delegates and guests. More significant is the high level of democratic and anti-imperialist unity achieved in the assembly, as reflected in the Charter and the workshop resolutions. There was a healthy practice of democracy in the discussions in the plenary sessions and in the workshops.

With the ratification of the ILPS Charter and the election of the International Coordinating Committee and International Coordinating Group, the ILPS now stands as a formidable force against imperialist globalization and the “new world order” and is in a position to seize the initiative in the anti-globalization mass movement.

The ILPS is a formation of the international united front against imperialism and reaction. As such, it is broad in character and open to mass organizations with different ideological persuasions and various anti-imperialist positions. There is both unity and independence and initiative in the relations among participating organizations of the ILPS.

This broad character was evident in the assembly discussions. Thus, for instance, while some participating organizations would prefer to use the term “socialism” others would propose the term “social liberation”, but both agreed to carrying out anti-imperialist actions and struggles.

The League is also open to establishing cooperative relations with other anti-imperialist and democratic organizations and alliances to strengthen and develop the international united front against imperialism and reaction.

The big turnout gave participating organizations and sectors the opportunity to broaden contacts and networks. It has opened up a new framework for cooperation and mutual support for the participating organizations of the League. The women sector, for example, is already planning an international anti-imperialist conference on women under the auspices of ILPS.

The broad and militant character of the ILPS can also be seen in the composition of the International Coordinating Committee. The newly elected members come from 24 countries, and most of them come from organizations that are actually leading the anti-imperialist struggles in their countries. It is also significant that 10 out of 35 (28.5 percent) of those elected to the International Coordinating Committee, and 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) of the International Coordinating Group are women.

The big number of participants was beyond initial expectations of the International Initiative Committee. It brought about logistical difficulties. But these were solved with the forebearance, cooperation and assembly fees of the participants. The actual number of participants exceeded the projected number by 150, compelling the organizers to look for accommodations as far as 30 kilometers from the venue. This in turn generated a string of other problems such as the provision of food, shuttling participants from their lodging and dining areas to the conference venue, etc.

We can be proud of the fact that the assembly was financed mainly through the efforts of the participating organizations to raise the funds necessary to bring about the successful holding of the founding assembly.

There is a need to further drum up the political success of the FIA through the mass media and the Internet. Translation of the ILPS documents into the major languages must also be immediately paid attention to.

In our expansion work, focus must be placed on attracting more mass organizations from Latin America and Africa to become participating organizations in the ILPS. These global regions were relatively underrepresented in the First International Assembly.

A good database of participating organizations, delegates and other relevant information has been built.

All major documents are posted in the web including the Charter, Communiqué, workshop resolutions, written contributions, the statement of the ILPS Chair on the Gothenburg EU Summit, names of those elected to the ICC and ICG, list of delegates and delegations; and an invitation and application form for mass organizations to join the League.