AG/RES. 1643 (XXIX-O/99): Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security

(Resolution adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 7, 1999)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council (AG/doc.3830/99) and, in particular, the chapter on the Report of the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CP/CSH-214/99), which includes the topic "Work Program of the Committee on Hemispheric Security in Preparation for the Special Conference on Security";

BEARING IN MIND that, under Article 2 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, one of the essential aims of the Organization is to strengthen the peace and security of the continent;

RECALLING its resolutions on strengthening peace and security in the Hemisphere [AG/RES. 1121 (XXI-O/91) and AG/RES. 1123 (XXI-O/91)] and on confidence- and security-building measures [AG/RES. 1179 (XXII-O/92), AG/RES. 1237 (XXIII-O/93), AG/RES. 1284 (XXIV-O/94), AG/RES. 1288 (XXIV-O/94), AG/RES. 1353 (XXV-O/95), AG/RES. 1409 (XXVI-O/96), AG/RES. 1494 (XXVII-O/97), and AG/RES. 1566 (XXVIII-O/98)];

RECALLING AS WELL that the Heads of State and Government, meeting at the Second Summit of the Americas, instructed the Committee on Hemispheric Security 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 OAS framework, once these tasks had been completed and no later than the beginning of the following decade;

RECALLING ALSO the contribution made by the Forum on the Future of International Security in the Hemisphere, a meeting organized by the Government of Chile with support from the Government of the United States and the General Secretariat and held at OAS headquarters on April 19 and 20, 1999, at which scholars and experts from the member states exchanged views on security matters in the Hemisphere; and

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION the special meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security held on April 20 and 21, 1999 with experts from member states, to examine the meaning, scope, and implications of international security concepts in the Hemisphere and pinpoint ways to revitalize and strengthen the institutions of the inter-American system related to the various aspects of hemispheric security; as well as the written contributions to this process submitted by member states, such as Bolivia (CP/CSH-163/99) and Canada (CP/CSH-216/99),

RESOLVES:

1. To instruct the General Secretariat to conduct a study or update existing studies, as appropriate, on the status of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) and on the Inter-American Defense Board, to compile the legal instruments pertaining to the inter-American system related to different aspects of hemispheric security, and to present those studies to the Permanent Council by November 15, 1999.

2. To instruct the General Secretariat to prepare an updated record of the participation of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) in multilateral disarmament and arms control treaties, requesting cooperation from the United Nations to that end.

3. To urge the member states to continue to provide their opinions and views to the Committee on Hemispheric Security on the fulfillment of the mandates of the Second Summit of the Americas, in accordance with resolution AG/RES. 1566 (XXVIII-O/98), and especially on the matters mentioned in the first operative paragraph above.

4. To urge the member states to promote the holding of academic forums, with the participation of experts and other nongovernmental forums, to further the analysis and discussion of all aspects of international security in the Hemisphere.

5. To request the member states to provide the Permanent Council with any information they deem relevant on the application of security-related subregional and bilateral agreements to which they are parties, thereby contributing to the process of studying hemispheric security, including its subregional aspects.

6. To request that the Permanent Council study, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, the problems and risks to peace and security in the Hemisphere, as well as to conflict prevention and resolution.

7. To instruct the Permanent Council to hold, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, one or two special meetings, with experts from the member states, to continue to develop the most appropriate common approaches to the various aspects of international security in the Hemisphere, taking into account the background information contained in the studies and communications referred to above in operative paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6, as appropriate, and thereby, once those tasks are completed, further the preparations for the Special Conference on Security.

8. To instruct the Permanent Council to carry out the activities referred to in this resolution in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget and other resources.