AG/RES. 2106 (XXXV-O/05)

DRAFT RESOLUTION 

SUPPORT FOR THE PROGRAM FOR COMPREHENSIVE ACTION AGAINST ANTIPERSONNEL MINES IN CENTRAL AMERICA

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005) 

            THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 

            Having seen the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly, in particular as it relates to the Committee on Hemispheric Security (AG/RES.4375/05 add. 5), as well as the report of the General Secretariat on the implementation of resolution AG/RES. 1995 (XXXIV-O/04), “Support for the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Central America” (CP/doc. . . . /05); 

            RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 1995 (XXXIV-O/04), as well as resolution AG/RES.  1240 (XXIII-O/93), “Inter-American Defense Board”; 

            AWARE that the presence in Central America of antipersonnel mines and other undetonated explosive devices represents a continuing threat to the population and has disastrous effects, primarily on the civilian population, causing tragedy to individuals and families, standing in the way of socioeconomic development in vast and rich rural areas, and affecting border integration among countries of that subregion; 

            ACKNOWLEDGING the continuing efforts being made by the Governments of Guatemala and Nicaragua to complete mine-clearing activities, which governments, together with the Government of El Salvador, are working arduously to strengthen programs aimed at providing assistance for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and their families, to develop preventive education campaigns on the dangers of antipersonnel mines, and to achieve socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas and the social and vocational reintegration of the victims; 

ACKNOWLEDGING WITH GREAT SATISFACTION: 

            That in November 2000 Honduras became the first OAS member state to eliminate completely its antipersonnel-land-mine stockpiles; and in October 2004 the Government of Honduras declared its territory mine-free, thereby becoming, along with Costa Rica and El Salvador, one of the first affected states in the world that have declared themselves free of this problem, once again fulfilling the mandate of the OAS and that of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention), of December 1997; 

            The support provided by the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA), through the National Demining Commission of Nicaragua, for care for more than 600 mine victims in the National Orthesis and Prosthesis Center (CENAPRORTO), as well as the successful development of a social and vocational training and reintegration program for more than a third of the registered victims, with academic support from the country’s National Technological Institute (INATEC); 

            The decision of the Government of Nicaragua to order the destruction of 810 antipersonnel mines retained for training purposes, in accordance with Article 3 of the Ottawa Convention, which reinforces the commitment of Central America as a region free of stockpiled antipersonnel mines; and 

            The significant contributions by means of the technical assistance that Guatemala has provided to Nicaragua, and Honduras has provided to Guatemala, as well as the support that Nicaragua and Honduras are providing to Peru, Ecuador, and Suriname by sending international supervisors from their armies to share and impart their experience and skill in the removal and destruction of placed and stockpiled mines; and the noteworthy participation of Honduras in Suriname’s demining program, which was concluded in March 2005; and 

ACKNOWLEDGING ALSO: 

            The efforts of the Central American Security Commission, through the appropriate bodies in each country, to devise and execute a comprehensive regional program for the education, medical care, rehabilitation, and social and vocational reintegration of survivors of mines and other explosive devices in Central America; 

            The valuable contributions by member states, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, the United States, and Venezuela; by permanent observers, such as Denmark, the European Union, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, to help, in collaboration with AICMA, the Central American Member States affected by antipersonnel mines; 

            The important coordination, promotion, and fundraising work carried out by the General Secretariat through AICMA, for programs aimed at humanitarian demining, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and their families, prevention education, and the socioeconomic restoration of demined areas; and 

            The vital support of the Committee on Hemispheric Security and the valuable technical advice provided to AICMA by the Inter-American Defense Board, 

RESOLVES: 

            1.      To encourage the Central American states in their efforts to continue treating mine action as a priority issue at the national and regional levels and to generate the political will necessary for the Hemisphere to maintain its global position at the forefront of this vital humanitarian task. 

            2.      To reiterate its appeal to member states and permanent observers, as well as to the international community in general, to continue to lend their indispensable support and cooperation to the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA) in Central America.

            3.      To reiterate the request to the Secretary General to continue efforts with donors with a view to ascertaining the progress made and identifying the financial resources needed to ensure the integrity and sustainability of AICMA. 

            4.      To request the Secretary General to continue to provide support for antipersonnel mine victims and their families in Central America, through AICMA in coordination with national and international institutions, in the areas of rehabilitation and vocational reintegration. 

            5.      To instruct the General Secretariat to continue to provide to the Central American countries, within the resources allocated in the program-budget and other resources, the support necessary to continue the mine-clearing programs, as well as those aimed at preventive education of the civilian population and the socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas. 

            6.      To instruct the General Secretariat to continue to carry out international cooperation and coordination activities in this area with the appropriate international organizations. 

            7.      To reiterate the request to the Inter-American Defense Board to continue to provide technical advice to AICMA. 

            8.      To request the General Secretariat to present a report to the Permanent Council prior to the thirty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly on the implementation of this resolution. 

            9.      To request the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the United Nations Secretary-General and to other international organizations as he deems appropriate.