AG/RES. 2005 (XXXIV-O/04): Addressing Extreme Poverty, Inequality, And Social Exclusion As A Means Of Strengthening Hemispheric Security

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 8, 2004)

Having seen the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4265/04 add. 5 corr. 1), in particular the section on the topics assigned to the Committee on Hemispheric Security; and

CONSIDERING:

That the "Declaration of Bridgetown: The Multidimensional Approach to Hemispheric Security" [AG/DEC. 27 (XXXII-O/02)] recognized that security threats, concerns, and other challenges in the hemispheric context are of diverse nature and multidimensional scope, and that the traditional concept and approach must be expanded to encompass new and nontraditional threats, which include political, economic, social, health, and environmental aspects;

That in the Declaration on Security in the Americas, adopted at the Special Conference on Security (Mexico City, Mexico, October 27 and 28, 2003), the States of the Americas declared that their "new concept of security in the Hemisphere is multidimensional in scope, includes traditional and new threats, concerns, and other challenges to the security of the states of the Hemisphere, incorporates the priorities of each state, contributes to the consolidation of peace, integral development, and social justice, and is based on democratic values, respect for and promotion and defense of human rights, solidarity, cooperation, and respect for national sovereignty";

That likewise the States of the Americas recognized that "extreme poverty and social exclusion of broad sectors of the population … also affect stability and democracy" and that "[e]xtreme poverty erodes social cohesion and undermines the security of states";

That, in that Declaration on Security, the States undertook to strengthen cooperation mechanisms and actions to address extreme poverty, inequality, and social exclusion on an urgent basis; and they recognized that overcoming those unacceptable conditions is a primary task of the states of the Hemisphere, which requires continued commitment and actions to promote economic and social development, and education, which should be complemented with coordination, cooperation, and solidarity among states, and action by international financial institutions, including innovative financial mechanisms that emerge in the competent fora;

That, in the same Declaration, they also reaffirmed their commitment to combating extreme poverty within their states by adopting and implementing actions in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, the Monterrey Consensus, and the Declaration of Margarita, inter alia, promoting development through economic cooperation of the Hemisphere and fully utilizing national, regional, and international development agencies;

That cooperation mechanisms for addressing new threats, concerns, and other challenges to security, as in the case of extreme poverty, inequality, and social exclusion, may be different from the mechanisms for addressing traditional threats, as was recognized in the Declaration on Security in the Americas;

That the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are the specialized inter-American fora that play a guiding role in hemispheric efforts to address poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in the region; and

That, in the Declaration of Santiago, adopted at the Fifth Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas (Santiago, Chile, November 18 to 22, 2002), the Ministers of Defense declare that, considering the relationship between economic growth and security, a greater commitment from the countries in the Hemisphere is required to create opportunities and eliminate structural barriers to economic and social development; that therefore the adoption of effective policies, such as the promotion of fair and equitable trade with a view to reducing poverty, shall significantly contribute to greater democratic stability and security in the Hemisphere; and that, at the same time, security in itself is an indispensable component for economic and social development,

RESOLVES:

1. To urge member states to implement, by means of domestic, subregional, hemispheric, and global measures, the commitments they made in the Declaration on Security in the Americas with regard to the fight against extreme poverty, inequality, and social exclusion.

2. To instruct the Permanent Council to include the topic "addressing extreme poverty, inequality, and social exclusion as a means of strengthening hemispheric security" on the agenda of the Committee on Hemispheric Security, for the purpose of examining, from a strategic point of view, the risks that the persistence of extreme poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in the region pose to hemispheric security.

3. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth regular session on the implementation of this resolution by the pertinent organs, agencies, and entities of the inter-American system.