AG/RES. 2261 (XXXVII-O/07) Support for Action Against Antipersonnel Mines in Ecuador and Peru

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN:

The Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4698/07 corr. 1), in particular the sections on matters assigned to the Committee on Hemispheric Security; and

The Report of the General Secretariat on the Implementation of Resolutions AG/RES. 2180 (XXXVI-O/06), "The Americas as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone"; and AG/RES. 2181 (XXXVI-O/06), "Support for Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Ecuador and Peru" (CP/CSH/INF.126/07);

RECALLING its resolution AG/RES. 1644 (XXIX-O/99), operative paragraph 12, urging member states and permanent observers to provide assistance to the national mine-clearing programs being carried out by Ecuador and Peru in their territories;

AWARE that the presence of land mines in border areas between the two countries and in the vicinity of power grids in Peru constitutes a serious threat to civilian populations and stands in the way of economic 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 the substantial progress made by Ecuador and Peru in mine-clearing, the destruction of stockpiles, and measures to enhance transparency, and the special importance of humanitarian demining when it is carried out in a joint and consolidated fashion, as in the case of the work being done by the Governments of Ecuador and Peru in their common border area, which has resulted in information exchange and levels of cooperation that constitute an effective mutual confidence-building measure and an avenue toward further integration of their peoples;

AFFIRMING that humanitarian demining contributes to sustainable social and productive development of the border area between Ecuador and Peru, fosters an improved quality of life for population groups living on either side of the border, and facilitates the inclusion of those groups in economic integration programs and activities;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that humanitarian demining in Ecuador and Peru contributes to fulfillment of the multilateral commitments assumed by both countries under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention);

NOTING the corresponding humanitarian demining efforts, as well as the awareness campaigns and assistance to victims in both countries;

RECOGNIZING:

The firm resolve of Ecuador and Peru to honor the commitments undertaken pursuant to the Ottawa Convention;

The complete elimination of antipersonnel mine stockpiles in Ecuador and Peru through assistance under the "Managua Challenge" Fund;

The continued humanitarian demining operations in the Ecuador-Peru border area, the identification of mined areas, the performance of impact studies, the education and awareness campaigns, and the assistance to victims, all of which have made possible the completion of humanitarian demining in the Zarumilla Canal and conclusion of humanitarian demining tasks both in the border area of El Oro-Tumbes and Loja-Piura, in 2004, and in two target areas in the vicinity of the Chira River, Zapotillo sector (Ecuador) and Pampa Larga (Peru), in 2006;

The valuable cooperation being provided by member states, permanent observers, and other countries to national efforts in Ecuador and Peru to forge ahead with their mine-clearing programs;

The financial cooperation from the European Union through the "Antipersonnel Mines Project in the Cordillera del Cóndor, Peru-Ecuador," which will allow both countries to continue their concerted action against antipersonnel mines in a region of special social and ecological importance;

The important work of coordination, promotion, and fundraising carried out by the General Secretariat through the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA), which is devoted to humanitarian mine-clearing, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and their families, prevention education, and the social and economic reclamation of demined areas; and

The efficient technical advice and support of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) and the AICMA Program for the mine-clearing activities in Ecuador and Peru, through a group of international monitors selected by the Board and appointed thanks to cooperation from the Governments of Brazil, Chile, Honduras, and Nicaragua;

NOTING the importance attached by the international community to the humanitarian demining process in the Ecuador-Peru border area, which is considered an effective and objective way to promote mutual confidence and, therefore, a contribution to world peace;

NOTING ALSO the spirit of bilateral cooperation in humanitarian demining emphasized by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador and Peru during the working meeting they held on September 6, 2006, in Quito, and reiterated in the joint communiqué signed by the two foreign ministers on February 22, 2007, in Lima, on which occasions they assessed progress in the Ecuador-Peru humanitarian demining process, pledged to continue coordinating the organization of demining tasks, and reaffirmed the intent of both foreign ministries to work together to secure financial resources to support the process; as well as the joint action in bilateral and multilateral forums, including, in particular, the Seventh Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, held in Geneva in September 2006, and the thirty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), held in Santo Domingo in June 2006, where the region's commitment to eliminate the scourge of antipersonnel mines in the Americas was renewed;and

NOTING FURTHER the Joint Communiqué signed by Ecuador and Peru on October 11, 2006, in the presence of representatives of the European Union, the OAS AICMA Program, and the IADB, in the context of the visit by their delegations, on October 10, 2006, to the area of humanitarian demining operations jointly executed and coordinated in the Condor Mountain Range, which document emphasizes that the demining process they are conducting in Ecuador and Peru is unprecedented at the regional and international levels, is based upon the peace agreements signed by the two countries in Brasilia in 1998, and constitutes a confidence-building measure and a contribution to international peace,

RESOLVES:

1. To recognize the important work and achievements of the Governments of Ecuador and Peru in destroying their stockpiles and in mine-clearing in common border areas and, in the case of Peru, in other areas of its respective territory, as well as in promoting education on the risks posed by antipersonnel mines in order to continue significantly reducing the number of accidents caused by these devices.

2. To encourage the Governments of Ecuador and Peru to continue their intensive cooperation in the area of mine action as an innovative form of confidence- and security-building, action that could serve as a new means of confidence- and security-building for other countries concerned and generate the political momentum needed to maintain the Hemisphere's global leadership in promoting this essential humanitarian task.

3. Also to encourage the Governments of Ecuador and Peru to continue mine-clearing operations on the border, so that the border area may be free of antipersonnel mines within the time frame estimated by the two countries, with technical advice from the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines (AICMA) and the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB).

4. To urge member states, permanent observers, international organizations, and the international community in general to continue providing technical and financial support for continuation of the humanitarian demining program in Ecuador and Peru, which is a successful example of international cooperation in this area.

5. To instruct the General Secretariat to continue to cooperate fully, through AICMA, with programs to support comprehensive action against antipersonnel mines in Ecuador and Peru, including work on humanitarian mine-clearing, the physical and psychological rehabilitation of victims and their families, prevention education, and the social and economic reclamation of demined areas.

6. To instruct the General Secretariat once again to continue to work, through AICMA, on identifying and raising voluntary contributions from member states, permanent observers, and other states, as well as other organizations, to the specific fund intended to continue to finance mine-clearing and comprehensive action programs against antipersonnel mines carried out by Ecuador and Peru in their respective territories.

7. To request the Permanent Council and the General Secretariat to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth regular session on the implementation of this resolution.