AG/RES. 2274 (XXXVII-O/07) Follow-Up to the Special Conference on Security

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 section on the matters entrusted to the Committee on Hemispheric Security;

RECALLING the decisions of the Second Summit of the Americas (Santiago, 1998), the Third Summit of the Americas (Quebec City, 2001), the Special Conference on Security (Mexico City, 2003), the Special Summit of the Americas (Monterrey, Mexico, 2004), and the Fourth Summit of the Americas (Mar del Plata, Argentina, 2005), and the mandates issued in General Assembly resolutions in connection with the Special Conference on Security, especially resolution AG/RES. 2185 (XXXVI-O/06), "Follow-up to the Special Conference on Security";

RECALLING ALSO that the Declaration on Security in the Americas states that "[o]ur 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";

REAFFIRMING the commitment to revitalize and strengthen the organs, institutions, and mechanisms of the inter-American system related to the various aspects of hemispheric security, to achieve greater coordination and cooperation among them, within their areas of competence, in order to improve the ability of the states of the Americas to meet the traditional threats, as well as the new threats, concerns, and other challenges to hemispheric security;

RECALLING that at its thirty-second special session the General Assembly adopted the Statutes of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB), which established the legal and institutional relationship between the Organization of American States and the IADB;

TAKING NOTE of the establishment of the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security and of the Department for the Prevention of Threats against Public Security, as part of the General Secretariat's efforts to strengthen its capacity to better serve the member states and the political organs of the Organization with respect to hemispheric security; and

WELCOMING the progress made within member states, as reported at the meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security to review progress in implementing the Declaration on Security in the Americas, held in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2007,

RESOLVES:

1. To urge all member states to continue implementing the Declaration on Security in the Americas, with a view to consolidating peace, stability, and security in the Hemisphere.

2. To request the Permanent Council to continue, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security:

a. Coordinating cooperation among the organs, agencies, entities, and mechanisms of the Organization of American States (OAS) related to the various aspects of security and defense in the Hemisphere, respecting the mandates and areas of competence of each, in order to achieve the application, evaluation, and follow-up of the Declaration on Security in the Americas;

b. Maintaining the necessary liaison with other institutions and mechanisms, whether subregional, regional, or international, related to the various aspects of security and defense in the Hemisphere, respecting the mandates and areas of competence of each, in order to achieve the application, evaluation, and follow-up of the Declaration;

c. Requesting, with the periodicity deemed appropriate, reports on measures and action related to implementation of the Declaration from the following inter-American and international bodies:

i. OAS organs, agencies, entities, and mechanisms related to the various aspects of security and defense in the Hemisphere; and

ii. Other subregional, regional, and international institutions and mechanisms related to the various aspects of security and defense in the Hemisphere;

d. Conducting an ongoing assessment of the progress achieved in the implementation of the Declaration at the national, subregional, regional, and international levels, taking into account the particular circumstances of each subregion and state, with the participation of the organs, agencies, entities, and mechanisms of the OAS, relevant international and subregional organizations, and, when appropriate, civil society, to be reflected in the annual report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly;

e. Preparing, in coordination with the relevant organs, agencies, and entities of the OAS, including among others the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), and the Consultative Committee of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), coordinated strategies and integrated action plans related to the new threats, concerns, and other challenges to hemispheric security, in accordance with the Declaration on Security in the Americas;

f. Considering in its work plans and, when appropriate, in developing coordinated strategies and integrated action plans, the recommendations formulated by specialized meetings and conferences of the inter-American system related to the subject of security in the Hemisphere; and

g. Considering in its work related to the new threats, concerns, and other challenges to hemispheric security, the contributions and cooperation of civil society in this area, where appropriate.

3. To request the Permanent Council to convene, through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, a meeting in the first half of 2008 to coordinate preparations by member states for commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Declaration on Security in the Americas, which will be held in Mexico during the last quarter of 2008.

4. To instruct the Permanent Council to carry out the activities mentioned in this resolution in accordance with the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

5. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth regular session on the implementation of this resolution and to present any recommendations it deems appropriate.