General
Assembly 1994 Resolutions(Adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 6, 1994)
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), meeting in Belém do Pará, Brazil, on the occasion of the twenty- fourth regular session of the General Assembly of the OAS;
REAFFIRMING the purposes and principles contained in the OAS Charter and the determination to strengthen the Organization as a political forum for dialogue, understanding, and cooperation among states of the Americas;
CONSIDERING that the strengthening of peace and security in the Americas is one of the basic purposes of the OAS and that integral development and partnership among member states are essential for attaining this common objective;
RECALLING that Article 3 of the Charter reaffirms, among the principles of the Organization of American States, the right of every state to choose, without external interference, its political, economic, and social system, and to organize itself in the way best suited to it;
RECALLING that Article 3.d of the Charter reaffirms that the solidarity of the states of the Americas and the high purposes that are pursued through it require their political organization to be based on effective exercise of representative democracy;
BEARING IN MIND that development and the consolidation of a more democratic international system require a greater and closer partnership to help surmount the serious economic and social problems that still persist, and ensure progress and well-being for their peoples, and security for all member states and the international community as a whole;
RECALLING the principles and mechanisms established by the OAS during this decade for the defense and strengthening of representative democracy in the Hemisphere with due respect for the principle of nonintervention, as defined notably in the Santiago Commitment in 1991, in resolution AG/RES. 1080 (XXI- O/91), and in the Protocol of Washington in 1992;
REAFFIRMING the purposes and principles contained in the Declaration of Nassau [AG/DEC. 1 (XXII-O/92)], and in the Declaration of Managua for the Promotion of Democracy and Development [AG/DEC. 4 (XXIII-O/93)];
RECALLING also the principles and mechanisms approved by the OAS aimed at strengthening cooperation for development and, in particular, overcoming extreme poverty as defined, inter alia, in the General Policy Framework and Priorities: Partnership for Development, in the Mexico Commitment on a Partnership for Development and Struggle to Overcome Extreme Poverty, and also in the Protocol of Managua, which establishes the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI);
REITERATING the need to ensure for all, without distinction as to race, nationality, creed or sex, the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially the effective exercise of representative democracy; REAFFIRMING that democracy, the full observance of all human rights, and economic and social development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing concepts, and that development and the struggle to overcome extreme poverty are a priority in promoting the exercise of these rights;
RECOGNIZING that democracy and the existence of appropriate national mechanisms to determine accountability help to fight corruption and increase efficiency, integrity, and transparency in the running of public affairs;
AWARE that, in order to overcome the economic crisis in the last decade, most member states adopted programs for reform and structural adjustment at high social cost, a cost that can be alleviated by an additional and more meaningful effort towards partnership, and basically, by improving conditions for the genuine, free access of states to the global economy, through measures in the interrelated areas of trade, debt and investment;
BEARING IN MIND the increasing importance of science and technology in the economic process, with its sweeping repercussions on social and political life;
REITERATING that regional integration based on trade liberalization and expansion is a process that is conducive to the economic and social development of member states and is therefore a key factor which contributes to eliminating extreme poverty in the Hemisphere, creating the necessary conditions for peace and regional stability, and strengthening the democratic process in the Americas;
EMPHASIZING the importance of conclusion of the Uruguay Round in achieving the common goal of trade liberalization and the establishment of freer and nondiscriminatory international trade based on a multilateral, balanced, and open legal framework;
RECOGNIZING that environmental conservation must be an integral part of the development process in order to achieve sustainable development and a better quality of life for peoples and future generations;
DETERMINED to continue to struggle, individually and collectively, against the incidence of illicit production, distribution, financing and abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, traffic therein, and related crimes which, over the last decade, has contributed considerably to the increase in violence and crime and has assumed alarming proportions, thereby threatening the health and well-being of their peoples, with serious economic and social consequences which must be addressed;
RECOGNIZING that terrorist acts, methods and practices in all their forms and manifestations which, in some countries of the Hemisphere, are tied to illicit drug traffic, seek to destroy human rights, fundamental freedoms, and democracy;
NOTING with satisfaction that the Latin American and Caribbean region is the least armed and militarized in the world, and also, that states of this region have made a major contribution to international efforts to curb all forms of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
EMPHASIZING that sweeping changes which have taken place in the international system and the generalized process of democracy in the Hemisphere afford an opportunity for increased dialogue on matters of security and cooperation in this area among states of the Americas;
RECOGNIZING the important role that the Organization of American States can play, at the regional level, in complementing the efforts of the United Nations to promote peace, development, and international security;
CONVINCED of the importance of the proposal by the President of the United States to bring together democratically-elected Heads of State and of Government of democracies in the Western Hemisphere at a meeting (Summit of the Americas), to be held in Miami in December 1994;
DECLARE:
Their firm commitment to strengthening the OAS as the main hemispheric forum of political consensus so that it may support the realization of the aspirations of member states in promoting and consolidating peace, democracy, social justice, and development, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter, through:
(a) prompt ratification of the Protocols of Washington and Managua amending the Charter of the Organization of American States;
(b) the execution of cooperation projects to preserve, develop, and strengthen democratic systems and institutions, and to promote the active participation of the citizenry in political processes;
(c) full implementation of the resolutions adopted at the twentieth special session of the General Assembly of the OAS to make effective the partnership for development, and especially, for the struggle against extreme poverty which afflicts a large proportion of the Hemisphere's population, noting the need for a broad dialogue on bilateral and multilateral financial cooperation, investment and debt, the expansion and opening-up of intraregional trade, and technical, scientific and technological cooperation;
(d) the intensification of subregional and regional efforts in the area of integration as well as additional efforts along those lines to strengthen hemispheric integration in its various aspects;
(e) the study of measures, consistent with each country's legal system, aimed at fighting corruption, improving efficiency in the running of public affairs as well as promoting transparency and integrity in the management of public funds. Such action must be complemented by joint reflection as to the importance of public ethics and administrative integrity in strengthening and consolidating democracy in the Hemisphere;
(f) support for the work of the recently-created Special Committee on Trade (CEC) to enable that body to effectively perform its function as a highly specialized hemispheric forum for dialogue and discussion of trade matters, and with full respect for the role of regional and subregional integration organizations;
(g) the updating and implementation of the Inter-American Program of Action for Environmental Protection, in light of the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, Rio- 92), the General Policy Framework and Priorities: Partnership for Development, and the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (Barbados, 1994), bearing in mind, among other things, the importance of the political will of all states to adopt and implement appropriate measures in environmental management, with respect for biodiversity, climatic changes, and the elimination of pollution caused by toxic waste, as well as the importance of access by the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to environmentally-sound technologies and additional sources of financing, and bearing in mind the development of ecotourism as a significant source of funding for their socioeconomic progress;
(h) the preparation and adoption of effective measures for partnership aimed at addressing the pressing needs and special problems of the small states of the Hemisphere;
(i) the identification of additional sources of resources for OAS activities where their effective use in priority areas defined by member states is guaranteed;
(j) intensification of the process for dialogue, coordination, and cooperation, at the technical and political levels, with other intergovernmental organizations, especially those in the United Nations system;
Their decision to promote and deepen cooperative relations in the economic, social, educational, cultural, scientific, technological, and political fields;
Their commitment in this regard to continue and to further the dialogue on hemispheric security in an ongoing process of cooperation to consolidate and to strengthen mutual confidence;
Their determination to continue to contribute to the attainment of the international community's objective of general and complete disarmament, under effective international control, especially through efforts aimed at reducing and eliminating weapons of mass destruction and through the adoption of measures to prevent all forms of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to facilitate the exchange of dual-use goods and technologies for peaceful purposes;
Their commitment to contribute to the speedy and full implementation of the decisions agreed upon in the Uruguay Round to establish a multilateral system of open, nondiscriminatory, and fair trade that can effectively support efforts towards integral development for the states of the Americas;
Their willingness to continue to promote the Common Market of Knowledge (MERCOCYT) as an effective instrument for sharing experiences and advances among member states of the OAS in the areas of science and technology to increase the competitive ability of their economies in an area that is essential for the integral development of their peoples;
Their determination to strengthen regional cooperation to increase the effectiveness of efforts to combat the illicit use of narcotic drugs and traffic therein, and in that context, their steadfast determination to continue to work jointly within the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) to seek comprehensive solutions to effectively address the problem of drugs, in its various manifestations in the Hemisphere, based on the principles of partnership, shared responsibility, and full respect for the sovereignty of each state;
Their decision to cooperate in a reciprocal effort towards preventing and punishing terrorist acts, methods and practices, and the development of international law in this matter;
Their commitment to promote economic and social development for the indigenous populations of their countries, with special attention to issues relating to human rights, environment, education, and health;
Their firm support for the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit on Social Development, the World Conference on Women, the United Nations Conference for Human Settlements (HABITAT-II), the Second International Conference of New and Restored Democracies, and efforts within the United Nations to prepare an agenda for development and for the implementation of the decisions of the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States;
Their determination to contribute to the success of the Summit of the Americas proposed by the President of the United States; and
Their deep gratitude and appreciation to the OAS Secretary General, Ambassador João Clemente Baena Soares, for his outstanding performance at the helm of the Organization over the last ten years and for the extraordinary results of his action in realizing the inter-American ideals of peace, the strengthening of democracy, and a partnership for development in the Americas and in the process of renewal of the inter-American system.