OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1798 (XXXI-O/01)
5 June 2001
Original: Spanish
CONSOLIDATION OF THE REGIME ESTABLISHED IN THE TREATY FOR THE
PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN (TREATY OF TLATELOLCO)
(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on
June 5, 2001;
subject to review by the Style Committee)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING its previous resolutions on this topic, especially
resolutions AG/RES. 1499 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1571 (XXVIII-O/98),
AG/RES. 1622 (XXIX-O/99), and AG/RES. 1748 (XXX-O/00);
CONVINCED that the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones is
an important step that significantly strengthens all aspects of
the international nonproliferation regime, thus contributing to
the maintenance of international peace and security;
CONVINCED ALSO that, as stated in the preamble to the Treaty
of Tlatelolco, militarily denuclearized zones are not an end in
themselves, but rather a means for achieving general and
complete disarmament at a later stage;
RECOGNIZING that the Treaty of Tlatelolco has become the
model for the establishment of other nuclear-weapon-free zones
in various regions of the world, such as the South Pacific
(Treaty of Rarotonga), Southeast Asia (Treaty of Bangkok), and
Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba), which, when they enter into force,
will cover more than half the countries of the world and all
territories in the Southern Hemisphere;
NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that, on August 8, 2000, Panama
deposited its instrument of ratification of the treaty
amendments approved by the General Conference of the Agency for
the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the
Caribbean (OPANAL) in its resolutions 267 (E-V), 268 (XII), and
290 (E-VII);
NOTING WITH SATISFACTION ALSO that, on August 30, 2000,
Ecuador deposited its instrument of ratification of the treaty
amendments approved by the General Conference of the Agency for
the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the
Caribbean (OPANAL) in its resolutions 268 (XII) and 290 (E-VII);
and
BEARING IN MIND that the Treaty of Tlatelolco is now in force
for 32 sovereign states of the region,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge the states of the region that have not yet done so
to deposit their instruments of ratification of the Treaty of
Tlatelolco as well as of the amendments to the Treaty approved
by the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of
Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) in
resolutions 267 (E-V), 268 (XII), and 290 (E-VII).
2. To reaffirm the importance of strengthening OPANAL as the
appropriate legal and political forum for ensuring unqualified
observance of the Treaty in its zone of application and
cooperation with the agencies of other nuclear-weapon-free
zones.
3. To renew its appeal to those states that have not yet done
so to negotiate, as soon as possible, multilateral or bilateral
agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency for
application of that Agency's safeguards to their nuclear
activities, as stipulated in Article 13 of the Treaty of
Tlatelolco.
4. To reaffirm its commitment to continue striving for a
nonproliferation regime that is universal, genuine, and
nondiscriminatory in every aspect.
5. To request the Secretary General to transmit this
resolution to the Secretary General of OPANAL and to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
|