AG/RES. 1969 (XXXIII-O/03)

RECOGNITION OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN ZONE OF PEACE AND COOPERATION 

(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 10, 2003) 

            THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 

            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 at the Second Meeting of Presidents of South America, held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 26 and 27, 2002, the presidents adopted the Consensus of Guayaquil on Integration, Security, and Infrastructure for Development, in which, inspired by the vocation and aspiration of their peoples to attain a future of fruitful and peaceful coexistence and of permanent cooperation and well-being, and convinced that peace, security, and cooperation should be grounded in commitments that reinforce mutual trust and promote development and the overall well-being of their peoples and of the region as a whole, they declared South America to be a Zone of Peace and Cooperation; 

That the Declaration on the South American Zone of Peace and Cooperation, signed in Guayaquil in July 2002, and the Declaration of MERCOSUR, Bolivia, and Chile as a Zone of Peace, signed in Ushuaia, Argentina, in 1998, constitute progress in the area of confidence- and security-building measures and in other matters relating to hemispheric security;  

That in the Lima Commitment:  Andean Charter for Peace and Security, signed in Lima on June 17, 2002, the Andean countries established the mechanisms and criteria for instituting a Peace Zone in the Andean Community and also agreed to promote its recognition by the international community; and 

That the Consensus of Miami:  Declaration by the Experts on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures:  Recommendations to the Summit-Mandated Special Conference on Security, states that new confidence- and security-building and transparency measures have to be implemented in the region to overcome the traditional threats to security, confront the new threats, concerns, and other challenges of the 21st century, and address the security realities of the American subregions; 

BEARING IN MIND: 

Resolution 57/13, of November 14, 2002, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, in which it welcomed the declaration of the presidents of South America, adopted at their second meeting, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 27, 2002, establishing the region as a South American Zone of Peace and Cooperation; and 

Operative paragraph 7 of that resolution, in which the United Nations General Assembly called upon states in the other regions to contribute to and cooperate with the objectives established in the Declaration on the South American Zone of Peace and Cooperation; and 

            CONVINCED of the need to promote actions or initiatives aimed at strengthening institutions in the Americas and cooperation among them on the various aspects of defense and security, so as to strengthen peace in the Americas, strictly in keeping with the rules of international law set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States, 

RESOLVES: 

1.                   To recognize with satisfaction and to emphasize as an important achievement for hemispheric security, the declaration of the South American presidents, adopted at their second meeting, held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 27, 2002, establishing the region as a South American Zone of Peace and Cooperation. 

2.                   To express the commitment of the Organization of American States to contribute effectively to initiatives carried out at the regional and subregional levels to strengthen peace and security. 

3.                   To urge the member states to consider conducting seminars, courses, and studies on the establishment and operation of zones of peace and cooperation in the region, and to exchange among themselves the experience derived from such academic events. 

4.                   To express its satisfaction at the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of resolution 57/13, of November 14, 2002, in which it welcomed the declaration of South American presidents establishing the region as a South American Zone of Peace and Cooperation. 

5.                   To request the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.