AG/RES. 1801 (XXXI-O/01): Organization of American States CSBM Resolution

(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 5, 2001)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council (AG/doc.3970/01), in particular the section on the matters entrusted to the Committee on Hemispheric Security;

BEARING IN MIND that, under Article 2 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, one of the essential purposes of the Organization is to strengthen the peace and security of the Hemisphere;

RECALLING its resolutions AG/RES. 1121 (XXI-O/91) and AG/RES. 1123 (XXI-O/91), on strengthening peace and security in the Hemisphere, and AG/RES. 1179 (XXII-O/92), AG/RES. 1237 (XXIII-O/93), AG/RES. 1284 (XXIV-O/94), AG/RES. 1288 (XXIV-O/94), AG/RES. 1353 (XXV-O/95), AG/RES. 1409 (XXVI-O/96), AG/RES. 1494 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1566 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99), and AG/RES. 1744 (XXX-O/00), on confidence- and security-building measures;

EMPHASIZING the importance of the Declaration of Santiago and the Declaration of San Salvador on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures;

RECOGNIZING the consolidation of democracy in the region, efforts to promote disarmament and international peace and security, and the willingness of states to continue strengthening confidence and security in the Hemisphere;

NOTING the progress made in identifying and applying confidence- and security-building measures, particularly since the adoption of the declarations of Santiago and San Salvador, which has helped to reduce factors that generate distrust and has contributed to the promotion of transparency and mutual confidence;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the results of the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, held in Manaus, Brazil, in October 2000; and

AWARE of the agreements on hemispheric security arrived at by the Heads of State and Government at the Third Summit of the Americas, in Quebec City,

RESOLVES:

1. To urge member states to implement, in the manner they deem most appropriate, the recommendations of the Declaration of Santiago and the Declaration of San Salvador on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and of resolution AG/RES. 1179 (XXII-O/92).

2. To call on member states to provide to the General Secretariat, by July 15 of each year, information on the application of confidence- and security-building measures in the previous calendar year, in light of the provisions of the declarations of Santiago and San Salvador and of resolutions AG/RES. 1284 (XXIV-O/94) and AG/RES. 1288 (XXIV-O/94).

3. To commend member states which have regularly submitted their reports on the application of confidence- and security-building measures.

4. To urge member states to continue promoting transparency in defense policy with regard to, among other things, modernizing the armed forces, including changes in their structure and composition, the acquisition of equipment and materiel, and military expenditures, in conformity with the Declaration of San Salvador.

5. To request the Permanent Council to identify, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, measures to promote the development and exchange of information concerning defense policies and doctrines.

6. To request the Permanent Council to hold, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, a seminar on preparing defense policy and doctrine papers, in coordination with the Inter-American Defense College and other institutions that specialize in this subject, and to present a report which will serve as the basis for the development of general guidelines for said papers.

7. To reiterate the importance of full participation by all member states in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, and of providing the required information for the preparation of the United Nations Standardized International Reporting of Military Expenditures, in accordance with the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly; and to renew its request that member states provide said information to the Secretary General by July 15 of each year.

8. To request the Permanent Council to hold, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, a meeting on the Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions and the two United Nations confidence and security measures cited in the preceding paragraph, in order to increase understanding of and participation in this Convention and these United Nations measures, and allow for an exchange of views among member states.

9. To recall the mandate set forth in resolutions AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99) and AG/RES. 1744 (XXX-O/00), which instructed the Permanent Council to hold, each year, a special meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security, with the participation of experts, dedicated to the analysis and exchange of information on confidence- and security-building measures in the region, especially those identified in the declarations of Santiago and San Salvador.

10. To request the Secretary General to update each year, on the basis of information submitted by the member states, the roster of experts on confidence- and security-building measures, and to circulate it to the member states each year by July 15.

11. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue to support the participation of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in regional security meetings and conferences, especially in the Fifth Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas, to be held in Chile.

12. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue encouraging the exchange of experiences in the area of confidence- and security-building measures with other regions, which may include the exchange of information between the Committee on Hemispheric Security and other international organizations working on the subject, such as the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.

13. To request the Permanent Council to conduct, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, an exchange of experiences and information with the OSCE in the year 2002 at OAS headquarters.

14. To instruct the Permanent Council to prepare, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, an experts meeting to evaluate implementation of measures identified in the declarations of Santiago and San Salvador, and to consider future steps to further consolidate mutual confidence.

15. To instruct the General Secretariat to coordinate with the Inter-American Defense Board in updating the inventory of confidence- and security-building measures, on the basis of reports presented by member states pursuant to resolutions AG/RES. 1623 (XXIX-O/99) and AG/RES. 1744 (XXX-O/00), and to facilitate access to that inventory.

16. To request the General Secretariat to prepare, in coordination with the Inter-American Defense Board and pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1240 (XXIII-O/93), a catalogue of confidence- and security-building measures undertaken in other regions of the world, with a view to identifying best practices, and to do so as a contribution to the above-mentioned experts meeting.

17. To instruct the General Secretariat to make operational the cooperative communication network for the instant exchange of information on confidence- and security-building measures.

18. To instruct the Permanent Council to carry out the activities mentioned in this resolution within the resources allocated in the program-budget and other resources.

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

20. To request the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary General of the OSCE, and the Chairman of the ASEAN Regional Forum, and to other pertinent regional organizations.