AG/RES. 1878 (XXXII-O/02): Support for the Program of Integral Action Against Antipersonnel Mines in Central America

(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 4, 2002)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4059/02), in particular as it relates to the matters entrusted to the Committee on Hemispheric Security, as well as the report of the Secretary General on the implementation of resolution AG/RES. 1793 (XXXI-O/01), "Support for the Program of Integral Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Central America" (CP/doc.3573/02 rev. 1);

RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 1793 (XXXI-O/01), as well as resolution AG/RES. 1240 (XXIII-O/93), "Inter-American Defense Board";

AWARE that the presence in Central America of thousands of antipersonnel mines and other undetonated explosive devices continues to constitute a threat to the population and has disastrous effects, primarily on innocent civilians, causing tragedy to individuals and families, standing in the way of socioeconomic development in vast and rich rural areas, and affecting border integration in those areas;

ACKNOWLEDGING:

The efforts still being made by the Governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to complete the clearance of antipersonnel mines and the destruction of stockpiles of mines, as well as implement programs aimed at offering assistance, the rehabilitation of victims and their families, preventive education on the dangers of antipersonnel mines, and the socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas;

The successful drafting by the Government of Nicaragua of the National Guide for preparing educational materials on the danger of mines that standardizes actions to prevent accidents caused by antipersonnel mines; and

The contribution made by the participants from governmental and nongovernmental sectors of the member states as well as from regional and international organizations in the "Conference on Mine Action in Latin America," held in December 2001 in Miami, Florida;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION:

The valuable contribution by member states, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and by permanent observers, such as Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, to the Mine-Clearing Assistance Program in Central America (PADCA);

The important coordination, promotion, and fundraising work carried out by the General Secretariat, through the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, for PADCA and for programs aimed at the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and their families, preventive education, and the socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas; and

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

BEARING IN MIND the serious financial crisis that PADCA has endured in recent months,

RESOLVES:

1. To reiterate its appeal to member states and permanent observer states, as well as to the international community in general, to continue to lend their indispensable support and cooperation to the Mine-Clearing Assistance Program in Central America (PADCA) and the other programs for Integral Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Central America.

2. To instruct the Secretary General to convene a meeting of donors, as soon as possible, with a view to ascertaining the progress made and identifying the financial resources needed to ensure the integrity and sustainability of PADCA.

3. 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 mine-awareness education among the civilian population, rehabilitation of victims and their families, and the socioeconomic
reclamation of demined areas.

4. To instruct the General Secretariat to continue, through the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD), to carry out international cooperation and coordination activities with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-LiREC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the Center for International Rehabilitation, and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

5. To request the Inter-American Defense Board to continue to provide technical assistance to PADCA.

6. To request the General Secretariat to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-third regular session on the implementation of this resolution.