Security of small island states
Reports
HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON THE SPECIAL SECURITY
CONCERNS OF SMALL ISLAND STATES
February 25, 1998
San Salvador, El Salvador
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OEA/Ser.K/XXIX.3
SEPEIN/doc.7/98 rev. 1
25 February 1998
Original: Spanish |
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
ON THE SPECIAL SECURITY CONCERNS OF SMALL ISLAND STATES
(Adopted at the plenary session, held
on February 25, 1998)
CONCLUSIONS
The High-Level Meeting
concludes that:
1. Security for the small
island state is multidimensional in scope and application, and
encompasses, inter alia: (i) the military-political aspects
traditionally associated with the security of states; (ii) the
protection and preservation of the state’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity; (iii) freedom from external military attack and coercion;
(iv) freedom from external interference by state or non-state actors
in its internal political affairs; (v) protection from environmental
conditions and ecological disasters which could imperil its viability;
(vi) the link between trade, economic development, and security; and
(vii) the ability to maintain and protect democratic institutions,
which ensure domestic tranquility.
2. Security for the small
island state can be strengthened by collaboration among island states,
as evidenced by the Regional Security System (RSS), and can be further
improved by greater cooperation between island states and other states
within and beyond the Hemisphere, by the training of personnel, and
through logistical support and equipment acquisition.
3. Security for the small
island state can be enhanced by the application of those confidence-
and security-building measures outlined in the Santiago Declaration
and the additional measures which emanate from the San Salvador
Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in
follow-up to the Santiago Conference.
4. Security for the small
island state can be expanded by declaring the Caribbean a Zone of
Peace.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The High-Level Meeting
recommends that:
1. The General Assembly of
the Organization of American States adopt at its twenty-eighth regular
session a resolution which defines the approach to, and treatment of,
the special security concerns of small island states consistent with
the provisions of the OAS Charter.
2. The General Assembly,
at its twenty-eight regular session, through an appropriate
resolution, instruct the Organization to cooperate with the small
island states through the University of the West Indies (UWI) to
advance the examination of their special security concerns.
3. The member states of
the Organization of American States, meeting at the San Salvador
Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in
follow-up to the Santiago Conference, include in the Declaration of
San Salvador the following:
• a commitment to and
support for such activities and programs which the General Secretariat
of the Organization of American States, and the organs, agencies, and
entities of the inter-American system, can continue to undertake in
order to address the security of the small island states;
• cooperation with the
small island states in the eradication of transnational criminal
activity that threatens the stability and security of the subregion;
• the revision and
strengthening of programs of cooperation in the event of natural
disasters, or to prevent such disasters, on the basis of the request
and authorization of the states involved;
• the development of a
program of cooperation to address the problems posed by the
transportation of nuclear and other hazardous waste through the
Caribbean Sea and to adopt policies to preserve the natural
environment of the Caribbean;
• greater financial,
commercial, and political cooperation with small island states so that
they will be able to assure their security and to promote their
development; and
• a call for member states
of the Organization of American States to exchange and share
information which would strengthen the security and national defense
capabilities of small island states.
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4/24/2024