AG/RES. 2180 (XXXVI-O/06) The Americas As An Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free ZoneJune 6, 2006 General Assembly of the Organization of American States Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 6, 2006 The Americas As An Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone1 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, REITERATING its profound concern over the presence in the Americas of thousands of antipersonnel land mines and other undetonated explosive devices; BEARING IN MIND: The serious threat that mines and other unexploded ordnance pose to the safety, health, and lives of local civilian populations, as well as of personnel participating in humanitarian, peacekeeping, and rehabilitation programs and operations; That the presence of mines is a factor that impedes economic and social development in rural and urban areas; and That their elimination constitutes an obligation and prerequisite for the development and integration of peoples, especially in border areas, and helps to consolidate a common strategy for combating poverty; RECOGNIZING WITH SATISFACTION: The efforts being made by member states to implement comprehensive mine-action programs, including activities aimed at mine-risk education, stockpile destruction, mine clearance, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims, and the socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas; The mine-free declaration made by the Government of Honduras at the conclusion of the final phase of its National Mine Action Plan, in October 2004, and the more than 65,000 families who benefited from this important humanitarian effort; The mine-free declarations made by the Governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador in fulfillment of their obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention); The important and commendable effort made by the Government of Guatemala in managing to complete its mine clearance and destruction of explosive devices operations in 2005, culminating in its mine-free declaration of December 2005, ahead of schedule, in fulfillment of its obligations under the Ottawa Convention, and its readiness to establish a physical and psychological rehabilitation program for the victims of antipersonnel mines; The outstanding efforts of the Government of Nicaragua in anticipation of concluding its mine clearance and destruction of explosive devices operations by the end of 2006, thereby taking another step toward transforming Central America into the first mine-free region in the world and implementing the program of support for the victims of mines and destruction of explosive devices, as well as the vocational reintegration program; The important efforts made by the Government of Chile to adhere fully to the precepts set forth in the Ottawa Convention, including the destruction of all stockpiled mines, advances in demining on the border with Peru, work initiated on the borders with Argentina and Bolivia, and the initiative to validate a list of victims, thus making it possible to have a precise and useful record of the injured parties; The start of mine-clearing operations in Colombia in November 2005, the development and training of a group of Colombian sappers, and the implementation of a rehabilitation and vocational reintegration program for the victims of mines and explosive devices; The notable effort made by the Government of Suriname in managing to complete its mine-clearing and destruction of explosive devices program in 2005; and The completion of the destruction of stockpiles and fulfillment of Article 4 of the Ottawa Convention by all the states parties thereto in the Hemisphere; RECOGNIZING: The valuable contributions by member states such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, the United States, and Venezuela; and by permanent observers such as Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union; The efforts being made by all governments to implement comprehensive mine-action programs, including activities aimed at mine-risk education, stockpile destruction, mine clearance, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims, and the socioeconomic reclamation of demined areas in their countries; The success of the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA), which for over 14 years has supported humanitarian de-mining activities and the destruction of explosive devices; and The important and efficient coordination work of the General Secretariat, through AICMA, together with the technical assistance of the Inter-American Defense Board; WELCOMING the work of nongovernmental organizations in furthering the aim of a Hemisphere and a world free of antipersonnel land mines, which is often performed in cooperation and association with the states; HAVING SEEN: The Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly, in particular the sections on matters assigned to the Committee on Hemispheric Security (AG/doc.4548/06 add. 2); and The Report of the General Secretariat on the Implementation of Resolutions AG/RES. 2105 (XXXV-O/05), "Support for Actions against Antipersonnel Mines in Ecuador and Peru"; AG/RES. 2106 (XXXV-O/05), "Support for the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Central America"; and AG/RES. 2142 (XXXV-O/05), "The Americas as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone"; (CP/doc.4098/06 rev. 1 corr. 1); RECALLING: Its resolutions AG/RES. 1411 (XXVI-O/96), AG/RES. 1496 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1569 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1644 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1794 (XXXI-O/01), and AG/RES. 1889 (XXXII-O/02), "The Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone"; AG/RES. 1936 (XXXIII-O/03) and AG/RES. 2142 (XXXV-O/05), "The Americas an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone"; and AG/RES. 1744 (XXX-O/00), "Cooperation for Security in the Hemisphere," in which it reaffirmed the goals of the global elimination of antipersonnel land mines and the conversion of the Americas into an antipersonnel-land-mine-free zone; Its resolutions AG/RES. 1498 (XXVII-O/97), AG/RES. 1568 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 1641 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1995 (XXXlV-O/04), and AG/RES. 2106 (XXXV-O/05), "Support for the Program for Comprehensive Action against Anti-personnel Mines in Central America"; AG/RES. 1299 (XXIV-O/94), "Regional Contribution to Global Security: Antipersonnel Land Mines"; and AG/RES. 1343 (XXV-O/95), "Mine-Clearing Programs," which reaffirmed the commitment of member states to use every means necessary to rid their countries of antipersonnel mines; and Its resolution AG/RES. 1240 (XXIII-O/93), "Inter-American Defense Board," and its resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXII-E/06), "Statutes of the Inter-American Defense Board"; RECALLING ALSO that in the Declaration on Security in the Americas, adopted at the Special Conference on Security, held in Mexico City on October 28, 2003, the states of the Hemisphere reaffirmed their support for establishing the Hemisphere as an antipersonnel-land-mine-free zone; and TAKING NOTE of the successful outcomes of the Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, held from November 28 to December 2, 2005, in Zagreb, Croatia, and the Declaration adopted by the participants in that meeting, RESOLVES:
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