CP/RES. 905 (1550/06)

CONVOCATION OF THE MEETING ON THE LIMITATION OF MILITARY SPENDING AND THE
PROMOTION OF GREATER TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACQUISITION OF ARMS

 (Adopted at its session held on May 17, 2006)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

RECALLING that, in operative paragraph 5 of resolution AG/RES. 2152 (XXXV-O/05), the General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to organize, in the context of the work of the Committee on Hemispheric Security, a meeting to consider the topic of the limitation of military expenditures and the promotion of greater transparency in the acquisition of arms, bearing in mind, among other elements, the legitimate security and defense needs of the member states, and unilateral, bilateral, subregional, and hemispheric perspectives;

RECALLING ALSO, that in the said resolution AG/RES. 2152 (XXXV-O/05) the General Assembly resolved to continue promoting in the Hemisphere an environment conducive to arms control, the limitation of conventional weapons, and the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, making it possible to devote a larger amount of resources to the economic and social development of the member states, which is an essential purpose set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States, bearing in mind the fulfillment of international commitments and the legitimate security and defense needs of the member states; and

HAVING SEEN the report of the Chair of the Committee on Hemispheric Security and the Committee’s recommendation that the abovementioned meeting be held in the fall of 2006,

RESOLVES:

1. To convene a one-day meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security, for the purposes established in General Assembly resolution AG/RES. 2152 (XXXV-O/05), with the participation of government experts on the subject, to be held on December 1, 2006, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States, in Washington, D.C.

2. To request member states to present to the Permanent Council by mid-July 2006, for purposes of the said Committee meeting, their views on the topic of the limitation of military expenditure and the promotion of greater transparency in the acquisition of arms, bearing in mind, among other elements, the legitimate security and defense needs of states.

3. To request the Committee on Hemispheric Security to make preparations for the meeting, including the establishment of its agenda and schedule, as well as any other documents deemed necessary, and to request the views of civil society organizations for consideration during the preparatory process for this meeting.

4. That this resolution shall be implemented in accordance with the resources allocated in the Program-Budget of the Organization and other resources.

5. To request the Committee on Hemispheric Security to report to the Permanent Council by December 15, 2006, on the implementation of this resolution.