(E-194/01)
September 21, 2001

TERRORIST ATTACKS ON UNITED STATES ARE AN ATTACK ON ALL
COUNTRIES OF THE AMERICAS, FOREIGN MINISTERS DECLARE

 

The Hemisphere's Foreign Affairs Ministers wrapped up their consultations at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington today, declaring last week's terrorist attacks on the United States to be an attack against all the states of the Americas as well. 

Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Lafer presided over the OAS' Twenty Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs which passed by acclamation a resolution stating that, under the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) and based on the principle of hemispheric solidarity,  "…all States Party to the Rio Treaty shall provide effective reciprocal assistance to address such attacks and the threat of any similar attacks against any American state, and to maintain the peace and security of the continent. " 

The resolution goes on to state that "…if a State Party has reason to believe that persons in its territory may have been involved in or in any way assisted the September 11, 2001 attacks, are harboring the perpetrators, or may otherwise be involved in terrorist activities, such State Party shall use all legally available measures to pursue, capture, extradite, and punish those individuals." 

It also calls on states party to provide such assistance and support to the United States, and to one another, as appropriate, in response to the September 11 attacks, and also prevent further terrorist acts from occurring. 

Besides designating a committee—to be composed of the representatives to the OAS Permanent Council of each State Party to the Rio Treaty—to undertake additional consultations and follow-up, the resolution urges all the governments of the Americas, and the OAS as well, to render full cooperation in implementing it. 

The Rio Treaty was adopted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 2, 1947 and entered into force the following year.  The signatories are Argentina, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

 

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