AG/RES. 1908 (XXXII-O/02): Special Conference on Security

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the annual report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4059/02) and, in particular, the section on matters referred to the Committee on Hemispheric Security;

RECALLING:

That the Heads of State and Government, meeting at the Second Summit of the Americas held in Santiago, Chile, in 1998, instructed the Committee on Hemispheric Security, inter alia, to "analyze the meaning, scope, and implications of international security concepts in the Hemisphere, with a view to developing the most appropriate common approaches by which to manage their various aspects, including disarmament and arms control" and to "pinpoint ways to revitalize and strengthen the institutions of the Inter-American System related to the various aspects of Hemispheric security" with a view to holding a Special Conference on Security in the framework of the OAS;

That at the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City in April 2001, the Heads of State and Government decided to hold the aforementioned Special Conference on Security in 2004, to which end the Committee on Hemispheric Security must complete the review of all the topics related to international security approaches in the Hemisphere, as stipulated at the Second
Summit of the Americas; and

That the Twenty-third Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs instructed the Committee on Hemispheric Security, through resolution RC.23/RES. 1/01 corr. 1, "Strengthening Hemispheric Cooperation to Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate Terrorism," to "expedite preparations for the Special Conference on Security";

BEARING IN MIND the fruitful dialogue of the heads of delegation on the multidimensional approach to hemispheric security, held during the thirty-second regular session of the General Assembly, at which it was proposed that the Special Conference on Security be considered a permanent and institutional framework for implementing and enhancing a new security system in the Americas, that it meet periodically, and that the OAS play a pivotal role in the follow-up to the political agreements reached at that Conference;

RECALLING ALSO resolutions AG/RES. 1643 (XXIX-O/99), "Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security," and AG/RES. 1795 (XXXI-O/01), "Preparations for the Summit-Mandated Special Conference on Security";

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that one of the essential purposes of the Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 2 of the OAS Charter, is to strengthen the peace and security of the continent; and

BEARING IN MIND the offer of the Government of Mexico to host the Special Conference on Security;
RESOLVES:

1. To convene the Special Conference on Security for the first half of May 2003.

2. To thank the Government of Mexico for its offer to hold the Special Conference on Security in that country and to accept its offer.

3. To instruct the Permanent Council, through its Committee on Hemispheric Security, to prepare the recommendations for that Special Conference on all pertinent matters, as well as the draft agenda, the draft rules of procedure, and the draft final documents of the Conference.

4. To instruct the Permanent Council, through its Committee on Hemispheric Security, and in fulfillment of its mandate, take into account prior discussions, particularly those held during its special meetings devoted to the topic.

5. To request the member states to provide the Permanent Council with all the information they deem relevant, including bilateral and subregional elements, to contribute to the preparations for the Special Conference on Security.

6. To instruct the Permanent Council to carry out the aforementioned activities within the resources allocated in the program-budget and other resources.

7. To invite all member states, in particular those that have not yet done so, to submit, no later than September 30, 2002, their opinions and views in response to the Committee on Hemispheric Security’s "Questionnaire on New Approaches to Hemispheric Security" (CP/CSH-338/00 rev. 5).

8. To request the Permanent Council:

a. To complete by December 2002 its study on the problems and risks to peace and security in the Hemisphere and on conflict prevention and resolution in the Hemisphere:

b. To forward all of the annual reports, studies, and resolutions related to hemispheric security form the General Assembly, the Permanent Council, and the General Secretariat, to the preparatory body of the Special Conference on Security as a contribution to the preparations for that Conference;

c. To carry out the preparatory work for the Summit-Mandated Meeting of Experts on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures to evaluate implementation and consider next steps to further consolidate mutual confidence; and

d. To carry out the preparatory work for the Second High-Level Meeting on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States, with a view to holding it in early 2003.

9. To establish a working group of the Committee on Hemispheric Security to present to the Permanent Council, by January 31, 2003, a study and recommendations on the modernization and changes needed to provide the OAS with technical, advisory, and educational expertise on defense and security issues in order to support the ongoing examination of the institutions of the inter-American system related to hemispheric security.

10. To request the Secretary General to present to the Permanent Council, at the commencement of its preparatory work for the Conference, a comprehensive document containing all the General Assembly mandates related to the preparation of the Conference and directed to the various organs of the system.

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