AG/RES. 1940 (XXXIII-O/03): Special Conference On Security

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

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4156/03 add. 4) in particular the section that refers to the Committee on Hemispheric Security, especially as it relates to the preparatory work for the Special Conference on Security;

RECALLING:

That the Heads of State and Government, gathered at the Second Summit of the Americas, held in Santiago, Chile, in 1998, instructed the Committee on Hemispheric Security, inter alia, to analyze the meaning, scope, and implications of international security concepts in the Hemisphere, with a view to developing the most appropriate common approaches by which to manage their various aspects, including disarmament and arms control, and to "pinpoint ways to revitalize and strengthen the institutions of the Inter-American System related to the various aspects of Hemispheric Security," with a view to holding a Special Conference on Security in the framework of the OAS;

That, at the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City in April 2001, the Heads of State and Government decided to hold the aforementioned Special Conference on Security in 2004, to which end the OAS Committee on Hemispheric Security must complete the review of all the topics related to international security approaches in the Hemisphere, as stipulated at the Santiago Summit;

That the Twenty-third Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs instructed the Committee on Hemispheric Security, by way of resolution RC.23/RES. 1/01 rev. 1 corr. 1, "Strengthening Hemispheric Cooperation to Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate Terrorism," to expedite preparations for the Special Conference on Security; and

Resolutions AG/RES. 1643 (XXIX-O/99), "Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security"; AG/RES. 1795 (XXXI-O/01), "Preparations for the Summit-Mandated Special Conference on Security"; and, in particular, AG/RES. 1908 (XXXII-O/02), "Special Conference on Security," in which the General Assembly convened the Conference for the first half of May 2003 in Mexico;

RECALLING ALSO the mandates related to the Special Conference on Security included in declaration AG/DEC. 27 (XXXII-O/02), "Declaration of Bridgetown: The Multidimensional Approach to Hemispheric Security"; and resolutions AG/RES. 1848 (XXXII-O/02), "The OAS Restructuring and Modernization Process"; AG/RES. 1874 (XXXII-O/02), "Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials"; AG/RES. 1877 (XXXII-O/02), "Support for the Work of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism"; AG/RES. 1879 (XXXII-O/02), "Confidence- and Security-Building in the Americas"; AG/RES. 1880 (XXXII-O/02), "Summit-Mandated Meeting of Experts on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in the Region"; AG/RES. 1882 (XXXII-O/02), "Annual Report of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism"; AG/RES. 1885 (XXXII-O/02), "Natural Disaster Reduction"; AG/RES. 1886 (XXXII-O/02), "Special Security Concerns of Small Island States of the Caribbean"; AG/RES. 1887 (XXXII-O/02), "Limitation of Military Spending"; AG/RES. 1889 (XXXII-O/02), "The Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone"; and AG/RES. 1903 (XXXII-O/02), "Consolidation of the Regime Established in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco)";

RECOGNIZING the progress made with respect to the preparation of the Special Conference, in particular the adoption of the Agenda and Rules of Procedure by the Permanent Council (CP/SA.1362/03), and in the development of the draft political declaration of the Conference by the Committee on Hemispheric Security, in its capacity as preparatory body of this Conference;

GRATEFUL FOR:

The recommendations to the Special Conference on Security, issued in fulfillment of the resolutions mentioned above, by the Second High-Level Meeting on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States (Kingstown, January 2003), by the Meeting of Experts on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (Miami, February 2003), and by the various OAS bodies, including the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), the Inter-American Committee for Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR), the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), and the Consultative Committee of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA); and also for member state contributions on bilateral and subregional issues, presented to the Committee on Hemispheric Security, in its capacity as preparatory body of the Conference; and

The contributions to the Conference presented to the Committee on Hemispheric Security, in its capacity as preparatory body of the Conference, by international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, academics, and independent experts;

NOTING the documents approved at the Fifth Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas, as well as the report on the results of that Conference, presented by the Minister of National Defense of Chile to the Committee on Hemispheric Security as a contribution to the preparatory work for the Special Conference on Security; and

BEARING IN MIND Permanent Council resolution CP/RES. 843 (1365/03), "Extension of the Deadline for Holding the Special Conference on Security," in which the Council recommended to the General Assembly that the Special Conference on Security be held in Mexico in the last quarter of 2003, taking into consideration the date of the Special Summit of the Americas,

RESOLVES:

1. That the Special Conference on Security shall be held in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 27 and 28, 2003.

2. To request that the Permanent Council, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security in its capacity as preparatory body of the Special Conference on Security:

a. Continue and finalize the pending preparatory work for the Conference, in particular the negotiation of the final documents of the Conference;

b. Complete the study on the problems of and risks to peace and security in the Hemisphere and on conflict prevention and resolution in the Hemisphere, referred to in operative paragraph 8.a of resolution AG/RES. 1908 (XXXII-O/02); and

c. Complete the study and recommendations on the modernization and changes needed to provide the OAS with technical, advisory, and educational expertise on defense and security issues in order to support the ongoing examination of the institutions of the inter-American system related to hemispheric security, as mentioned in operative paragraph 9 of resolution AG/RES. 1908 (XXXII-O/02).

3. To instruct the Permanent Council to carry out the activities specified in this resolution within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

4. To instruct the General Secretariat to continue providing the technical and secretariat resources necessary for the preparation and holding of the Conference, in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

5. To request the Special Conference on Security to present a report, through the Permanent Council, to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session on the Conference and its conclusions and recommendations.

6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session on the implementation of this resolution and to present such recommendations as it considers appropriate.