AG/RES. 2009 (XXXIV-O/04): Consolidation Of The Regime Established In The Treaty For The Prohibition Of Nuclear Weapons In Latin America And The Caribbean (Treaty Of Tlatelolco)

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 8, 2004)

Having seen the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4265/04), in particular the section on the Committee on Hemispheric Security;

RECALLING its previous resolutions on this topic, especially resolutions AG/RES. 1499 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1571 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1622 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1748 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1798 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1903 (XXXII-O/02), and AG/RES. 1937 (XXXIII-O/03);

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the statement issued by the states of the Hemisphere in the Declaration on Security in the Americas, in which they affirmed that the establishment of the first nuclear-weapons-free zone in a densely populated area through the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) and its protocols constitutes a substantial contribution to international peace, security, and stability;

TAKING NOTE OF:

The Havana Declaration, issued at the Eighteenth Regular Session of the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), held in Havana, Cuba, on November 5, and 6, 2003; and

OPANAL’s initiative of holding an international meeting of states parties and states signatories to the treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones, in support of the common objectives established in those treaties and for examination of possible forms and means of cooperation;

CONVINCED:

That the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones that comply with international criteria is an important step that significantly strengthens all aspects of the international nonproliferation regime, thus contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security; and

That, as stated in the preamble to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), militarily denuclearized zones are not an end in themselves, but rather a means for achieving general and complete disarmament at a later stage;

RECOGNIZING that the Treaty of Tlatelolco has become the model for the establishment of other nuclear-weapon-free zones in various regions of the world, such as the South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga), Southeast Asia (Treaty of Bangkok), and Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba), which, when they enter into force, will cover more than half the countries of the world and all territories in the Southern Hemisphere; and

REAFFIRMING that the establishment of the nuclear-weapon-free zone enshrined in the Treaty of Tlatelolco is a firm demonstration of the Latin American and Caribbean commitment to the cause of complete and verifiable nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation, in keeping with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter,

RESOLVES:

1. To urge those states of the region that have not yet done so to sign or ratify the amendments to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), approved by the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) in resolutions 267 (E-V), 268 (XII), and 290 (E-VII).

2. To reaffirm the importance of strengthening OPANAL as the appropriate legal and political forum for ensuring unqualified observance of the Treaty of Tlatelolco in its zone of application and promoting cooperation with the agencies of other nuclear-weapon-free zones.

3. To appeal to those states that have not yet done so to negotiate and implement, as soon as possible, comprehensive agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as the Model Protocol Additional to the Agreements between states and the IAEA, for application of that Agency's safeguards to their nuclear activities, as stipulated in Article 13 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

4. To reaffirm its commitment to continue striving for a disarmament and nonproliferation regime that is universal, genuine, and nondiscriminatory in every aspect.

5. To urge OPANAL, in its area of competence, to maintain appropriate ties or contact with the OAS Committee on Hemispheric Security and report to it periodically on the fulfillment of the commitments undertaken by the states of the region in the Declaration on Security in the Americas as they pertain to nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

6. To entrust the Permanent Council with holding, in the framework of the Committee on Hemispheric Security, a meeting on consolidation of the regime established in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the support of OPANAL and the participation of the United Nations and other international organizations competent in the area.

7. To recognize the work of OPANAL in ensuring compliance with the obligations undertaken in the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

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

9. To request the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the Secretary General of OPANAL and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.