CP/RES. 934 (1644/08)


CONVOCATION OF THE FIRST MEETING OF MINISTERS ON PUBLIC SECURITY
OF THE AMERICAS

(Approved at the meeting of April 14, 2008)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

BEARING IN MIND that, according to Article 2 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, one of the essential purposes of the Organization is to strengthen peace and security in the Hemisphere;

RECALLING that the Declaration on Security in the Americas, adopted in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 28, 2003, establishes that “[o]ur new concept of security in the Hemisphere is multidimensional in scope, includes traditional and new threats, concerns, and other challenges to the security of the states of the Hemisphere, incorporates the priorities of each state, contributes to the consolidation of peace, integral development, and social justice, and is based on democratic values, respect for and promotion and defense of human rights, solidarity, cooperation, and respect for national sovereignty”;

REAFFIRMING the commitment to revitalize and strengthen the organs, institutions, and mechanisms of the inter-American system related to the various aspects of hemispheric security, to achieve greater coordination and cooperation among them, within their areas of competence, in order to improve the ability of the states of the Americas to meet the traditional threats, as well as the new threats, concerns, and other challenges to hemispheric security;

RECALLING ALSO:

That at the meeting of the OAS Committee on Hemispheric Security held on September 17, 2007, the Secretary General of the Organization, José Miguel Insulza, expressed his concern that violence and insecurity could become the principal threat to the stability, consolidation of democracy, and development prospects for our region, and that the complex and disturbing state of public security in the Hemisphere made it essential to hold a periodic Meeting of Ministers of Public Security, or of equivalent ministries, of the Americas (CP/CSH/INF.132/07); and

That on that occasion, the Secretary General noted that said Meeting on Public Security of the Americas could be the main channel for horizontal transfers of successful experiences; for promoting improvements in the quality of information on security matters, by establishing a shared set of indicators; for developing communication strategies that provide real insight into the current state of affairs; and for promoting efforts to update legislation, to update organizational structures, and to achieve the participation in all these efforts of civil society and private enterprise;

WELCOMING the important work of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Hemispheric Plan against Transnational Organized Crime, the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA), the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in the area of multidimensional security; and

BEARING IN MIND the offer of the Government of Mexico to host the First Meeting of Ministers on Public Security of the Americas,

RESOLVES:

1. To convene the First Meeting of Ministers on Public Security of the Americas, for October 7 and 8, 2008, with crime and violence as its main theme.

2. To accept with gratitude the offer of the Government of Mexico to host the First Meeting of Ministers on Public Security of the Americas.

3. To establish a working group within the Committee on Hemispheric Security to draw up the draft agenda, the draft schedule, and drafts of the final documents of the Meeting.

4. To instruct the Committee on Hemispheric Security to organize any necessary preparatory meetings.
5. To request the member states to provide the Committee on Hemispheric Security with all the information they consider relevant, including on bilateral and subregional aspects, so as to contribute to the preparatory process of the First Meeting of Ministers on Public Security of the Americas.

6. To direct that the First Meeting of Ministers on Public Security of the Americas, including the preparatory meetings for the Meeting, be held within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources; and to request the General Secretariat to provide the necessary administrative and technical secretariat support for these purposes.