AG/RES. 1440 (XXVI-O/96)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 7, 1996)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on the work of the Committee on the Environment (AG/doc.3359/96) and, in particular, the appendix pertaining to the special meeting of the Committee held pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1358 (XXV-O/95);

CONSIDERING:

That, in resolution AG/RES. 1286 (XXIV-O/94), the General Assembly requested "that the Permanent Council evaluate the Inter-American Program of Action for Environmental Protection . . . and bring its activities up to date, in line with the results of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, with particular focus on the implementation of Agenda 21 and the General Policy Framework and Priorities: Partnership for Development";

That, in resolution AG/RES. 1358 (XXV-O/95), the General Assembly welcomed the efforts of the Permanent Council, through the Committee on the Environment as well as the Secretary General, to review and strengthen the role of the Organization in the area of the environment and sustainable development;

That, in resolution AG/RES. 1358 (XXV-O/95), the General Assembly also instructed the Permanent Council, during the transition to the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, "to ensure the structural integration of activities on the environment and economic development"; and

That the Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas contains a chapter entitled "Guaranteeing Sustainable Development and Conserving Our Natural Environment for Future Generations";

BEARING IN MIND the conclusions of the Special Meeting of the Committee on the Environment, as set forth in the report of the Permanent Council (AG/doc.3359/96 add. 1); and

BEARING IN MIND ALSO that, at its meeting of April 18, 1996, the Committee on the Environment, on analyzing the results of this special meeting, took note, inter alia, of the following conclusions:

The importance of sustainable development as a conceptual framework within which the Organization of American States (OAS) should work both as a forum for concerted action and for technical cooperation;

The need to strengthen the political forum charged with laying down the Organization's guidelines with respect to sustainable development and environment; and

The need for the technical organ of the OAS responsible for environment and sustainable development to be subject to the guidelines of the corresponding policy-making body,

RESOLVES:

1. To note with satisfaction the report of the Permanent Council on the work of the Committee on the Environment (AG/doc.3359/96), particularly the appendix pertaining to the special meeting of the Committee held on April 11 and 12, 1996, and to thank the high-level government experts for their active and enthusiastic participation in that special meeting.

2. To thank the Committee on the Environment for the work it has undertaken since the
adoption in 1991 of the Inter-American Program of Action for Environmental Protection and to instruct the Permanent Council to consider the mandate of that Committee fulfilled.

3. To establish an Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development (CIDS) as a subsidiary body of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), with the participation of high-level government experts responsible for formulating the policy of the Organization of American States (OAS) in these areas, particularly for preparing an inter-American program for sustainable development, on the basis of the following:

a. The need to direct OAS activity toward making a significant contribution to the execution of Agenda 21 and other agreements emanating from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Conference), such as the United Nations Global Conference on Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados in 1994; the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which entered into force on December 29, 1993; the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which entered into force on May 21, 1994; and the 1994 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, thus avoiding unnecessary duplication and respecting the conceptual policy framework on sustainable development, as set forth in the Rio Conference documents; and

b. The need to make use of the comparative advantages of the OAS not only by tapping cumulative experience but especially by directing the Organization toward areas where, in the opinion of the member states, opportunities exist for action to complement the efforts of the states themselves and efforts of other international organizations and institutions, particularly those operating within the Hemisphere.

4. To instruct CIDI to establish, through its Permanent Executive Committee (CEPCIDI), a Working Group on Sustainable Development to lend support to the preparatory work for the first meeting of CIDS and to follow up on the agreements of that Committee and the programs and projects developed by the Organization in this field.

5. To instruct CIDI to convene, through CEPCIDI, the first special meeting of CIDS during the second half of 1996 for the purpose of preparing the Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development.

6. To instruct CIDI to prepare, through CEPCIDI and the Working Group on Sustainable Development, the draft Inter-American Program on the basis of a first draft prepared by the General Secretariat, taking into account, in particular, the conclusions of the Special Meeting of the Committee on the Environment (AG/doc.3359/96 add. 1), in order to submit it to the member states for consideration at the first meeting of CIDS. The draft Program should contain:

a. A proposal on priority areas, topics, and activities to be developed within the framework of the OAS, as well as on the instruments or mechanisms through which the member states of the OAS would be supported and cooperation among the member states in these areas would be promoted; and

b. Draft terms of reference and detailed organizational plan for CIDS.

7. To instruct CIDI to forward, through CEPCIDI, the draft Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development, after consideration by CIDS, to the Summit Conference on Sustainable Development in Bolivia and, if necessary, to make pertinent adjustments to the draft so that it will reflect the agreements reached at the Summit before its submission to the General Assembly at its twenty-seventh regular session.

8. To urge the CEPCIDI Working Group on Sustainable Development to work in close collaboration with the Permanent Council's Working Group on OAS Cooperation regarding the Hemispheric Summit on Sustainable Development in order to lend support to the corresponding preparatory work and to participate in due course in the work following up on that Summit.

9. To support the Secretary General's proposal to establish a Unit on Environment and Sustainable Development to carry out such mandates as the General Assembly; CIDI, through CIDS; or the CEPCIDI Working Group may issue in these fields.

10. To request the Secretary General to present to CEPCIDI for its approval an annual program of activities for the Unit and quarterly reports on the implementation of that program.

11. To request the Secretary General, under the coordination of the Executive Secretariat of CIDI and with technical support from the Unit, to adopt the measures necessary to support the work of CIDS and of the CEPCIDI Working Group.

12. To request the Inter-American Council for Integral Development to report, through CEPCIDI, to the General Assembly at its twenty-seventh regular session on the implementation of this resolution.