AG/RES. 1570 (XXVIII-O/98): Cooperation for Hemispheric Security

(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 2, 1998)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Permanent Council report (AG/doc.3718/98) and the section dealing with hemispheric security;

BEARING IN MIND:

That, in Article 2 of the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), the member states proclaim that one of the essential purposes of the Organization is "to strengthen the peace and security of the continent"; and

That another of the essential purposes of the Charter of the OAS is to achieve an effective limitation of conventional weapons that will make it possible to devote the largest amount of resources to the economic and social development of the member states;

RECOGNIZING that economic and social development and cooperation among its member states are fundamental for attaining these goals;

REAFFIRMING:

That it is necessary and opportune to continue to increase dialogue to build peace, confidence, and security in the region; and

That peace is not merely the absence of war but also consists of interdependence and cooperation to foster economic and social development; and that, in addition, disarmament, arms control and limitations, human rights, the strengthening of democratic institutions, environmental protection, and improvement of the quality of life for all are indispensable factors in the establishment of peaceful and more secure democratic
societies;

RECALLING its resolutions "Cooperation for Hemispheric Security" [AG/RES. 1415 (XXVI-O/96)]; "Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in the Americas" [AG/RES. 1494 (XXVII-O/97)]; "Second Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures" [AG/RES. 1495 (XXVII-O/97)]; "The Western Hemisphere as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone" [AG/RES. 1496 (XXVII-O/97)]; "Special Security Concerns of Small Island States" [AG/RES. 1497 (XXVII-O/97)]; "Support for the Mine-Clearing Program in Central America" [AG/RES. 1498 (XXVII-O/97); "Consolidation of the Regime Established in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean" [AG/RES. 1499 (XXVII-O/97)]; "Mutual Confidence in the Americas" [AG/RES. 1500 (XXVII-O/97)]; and "Global Solidarity in Hemispheric Affairs" [AG/RES. 1501 (XXVII-O/97)]; and

CONSIDERING:

That, through its said resolution "Mutual Confidence in the Americas," the General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to consider the desirability of approving a legal framework for the issue of advance notification of major arms acquisitions covered by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, and, should it decide that such a framework is desirable, prepare a draft thereof; and

That, through its resolution AG/RES. 1501 (XXVII-O/97), "Global Solidarity in Hemispheric Affairs," the General Assembly requested the Permanent Council to present to it any comments or observations it considers pertinent to the implementation of that resolution,

RESOLVES:

1. To take note of the report of the Permanent Council on hemispheric security.

2. To reiterate the advisability of and need for greater dialogue and exchange of information on cooperation in peace, confidence, and security issues among the nations of the Hemisphere.

3. To reiterate its instruction to the Permanent Council that, through its Committee on Hemispheric Security, it consider the desirability of approving a legal framework for the issue of advance notification of major arms acquisitions covered by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, as a means of achieving an effective limitation of conventional weapons that will make it possible to devote the largest amount of resources to the economic and social development of the member states, in accordance with Article 2.g of the Charter; and that, should it decide that such a framework is desirable, it prepare a draft thereof for consideration by the member states.

4. To reiterate the request to the Permanent Council to forward to the General Assembly the comments and observations it considers necessary regarding the implementation of resolution AG/RES. 1501 (XXVII-O/97), "Global Solidarity in Hemispheric Affairs."