Security of small island states
Introduction
The special security concerns of the small island states were initially
identified at the special meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security held in October
1996, and subsequently, at the High-Level
Meeting on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States, held in San Salvador,
in February 1998. These meetings concluded that security for small island states is
multidimensional in scope and application, and encompasses, inter alia:
the
military-political aspects traditionally associated with the security of states;
the
protection and preservation of the states sovereignty and territorial integrity;
freedom from
external military attack and coercion;
freedom from
external interference by state or non-state actors in its internal political affairs;
protection
from environmental conditions and ecological disasters which could imperil its viability;
the
link between trade, economic development, and security; and
the
ability to maintain and protect democratic institutions, which ensure domestic
tranquility.
A
second high-level meeting on the Special Security Concerns of the Small
Island States is programmed to take place in Barbados, immediately prior
to the thirty-second regular session of the General Assembly, scheduled
to be in June 2002.
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