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OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1744 (XXX-O/00)
5 June 2000
Original: English 

RESOLUTION

COOPERATION FOR SECURITY IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 5, 2000)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council (AG/doc.3848/00) and, in particular, the section referring to the report of the Chair of the Committee on Hemispheric Security (the Committee) (CP/CSH-.../00);

RECALLING its resolutions "Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions" [AG/RES. 1607 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere" [AG/RES. 1620 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials" [AG/RES. 1621 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Consolidation of the Regime Established in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco)" [AG/RES. 1622 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Confidence- and Security-Building in the Americas" [AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Inter-American Support for the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction" [AG/RES. 1624 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Special Security Concerns of Small Island States" [AG/RES. 1640 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Support for the Mine-Clearing Program in Central America" [AG/RES. 1641 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Proliferation of and Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons" [AG/RES. 1642 (XXIX-O/99)]; "Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security" [AG/RES. 1643 (XXIX-O/99)]; "The Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone" [AG/RES. 1644 (XXIX-O/99)]; and "Support for the Committee on Hemispheric Security" [AG/RES. 1645 (XXIX-O/99)];

REAFFIRMING that the programs, activities and tasks set out in the above-mentioned resolutions are necessary for the furtherance of the essential purpose of the Organization enshrined in the Charter to strengthen peace and security in the Hemisphere, and that cooperation among member states is fundamental for the attainment of that goal;

RECALLING ALSO:

That the Heads of State and Government, meeting at the Second Summit of the Americas, instructed the Committee on Hemispheric Security to "follow up on and expand topics relating to confidence and security building measures"; "analyze the meaning, scope, and implications of international security concepts in the Hemisphere, with a view to developing the most appropriate common approaches by which to manage their various aspects, including disarmament and arms control" and to "pinpoint ways to revitalize and strengthen the institutions of the Inter-American System related to the various aspects of Hemispheric Security," with a view to holding, once these tasks had been completed, a "Special Conference on Security, within the framework of the OAS, to be held, at the latest, at the beginning of the next decade";

The importance of the Declarations of Santiago and San Salvador on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures, which recommend that confidence- and security-building measures be applied in the manner deemed most appropriate; and

The relevance of the conclusions and recommendations of the High-Level Meeting on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States, held in San Salvador in 1998; and

RECOGNIZING:

That member states have implemented the confidence- and security-building measures contained in the aforementioned Declarations of Santiago and San Salvador; and

That the Permanent Council adopted, through its resolution CP/RES. 769 (1234/00), the Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere, in fulfillment of the above-mentioned resolution AG/RES. 1620 (XXIX-O/99),

RESOLVES:

1. To urge member states to continue contributing to the attainment of the objectives established in the aforementioned resolutions through the signature and/or ratification of, or accession to, as appropriate, inter-American and international conventions, the development and execution of activities, the submission of reports, the exchange and sharing of information, the adoption of measures and policies, and cooperation, support and mutual assistance, as mentioned in those resolutions, specifically:

a. Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials [AG/RES. 1621 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraph 1;

b. Confidence- and Security-Building in the Americas [AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8;

c. Inter-American Support for the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction [AG/RES. 1624 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraph 3;

d. Special Security Concerns of Small Island States [AG/RES. 1640 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8;

e. Support for the Mine-Clearing Program in Central America [AG/RES. 1641 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraph 3;

f. Proliferation of and Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons, [AG/RES. 1642 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 1 and 2;

g. Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security [AG/RES. 1643 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 3, 4, and 5; and

h. The Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone [AG/RES. 1644 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13.

2. To reiterate its mandates to the Permanent Council and to the General Secretariat contained in the following resolutions:

  1. Confidence- and Security-Building in the Americas [AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 15;
  2. Special Security Concerns of Small Island States [AG/RES. 1640 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 2, 5, 12, 13, and 15;
  3. Proliferation of and Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons [AG/RES. 1642 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraph 4.a;
  4. Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security [AG/RES. 1643 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 6 and 7;
  5. The Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone [AG/RES. 1644 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraphs 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, and 18; and
  6. Support for the Committee on Hemispheric Security [AG/RES. 1645 (XXIX-O/99)], operative paragraph 4.

3. To request the Permanent Council to hold, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security (the Committee), a special meeting with the participation of experts from member states to continue discussing the most appropriate common approaches with which to manage the various aspects of international security in the Hemisphere.

4. To reiterate the importance of collaboration among member states for the enhancement of the security of small island states and, to that end, to instruct the Permanent Council to convene in 2001, and to prepare through the Committee, the second high-level meeting on the special security concerns of small island states, taking into consideration the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee meeting of February 29, 2000.

5. To consider all aspects related to the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons and, to that end:

a. To instruct the Permanent Council to discuss, through the Committee, with the assistance of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, the advisability of undertaking a study concerning small arms and light weapons brokering and transit; and

b. To instruct the Permanent Council to hold, through the Committee, an informational meeting on the 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects.

6. To encourage member states to develop programs of education for peace consistent with their needs, on the basis of the Program approved by the Permanent Council, and to urge them to support the United Nations Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.

7. To encourage member states that are Parties to the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction to provide to the Secretary General as part of their annual submissions to the OAS Register of Antipersonnel Land Mines, a copy of their Article 7 reports.

8. To instruct the General Secretariat to:

  1. Continue to provide the Committee with the administrative and technical support necessary for it to fulfill the various mandates assigned to it;
  2. Coordinate with the Inter-American Defense Board in the preparation of a complete and updated inventory of confidence- and security-building measures based on reports presented by member states pursuant to the aforementioned resolution AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99); and
  3. Continue its work via a cooperative communication network to exchange information on confidence- and security-building measures.

9. To instruct the Permanent Council to see that the Committee continues to participate in, conduct consultations, and exchange experiences and information with the Conferences of Ministers of Defense of the Americas, as well as with other regional and international fora as mentioned in resolution AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99), including the United Nations and its pertinent agencies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Association of South East-Asian Nations Regional Forum, and the Organization for African Unity.

10. To request the Permanent Council to hold, through the Committee, the next round of OAS-OSCE exchange of experiences at OSCE headquarters.

11. To instruct the General Secretariat to carry out the activities mentioned in this resolution within resources allocated in the program-budget and other resources.

12. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-first regular session on the implementation of this resolution.

13. To instruct the General Secretariat to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-first regular session on the implementation of this resolution.

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