AG/DEC. 13 (XXVII-O/97)
COMMITMENT OF LIMA:
TOWARD A CULTURE OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE AMERICAS
(Adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 2, 1997)
We, the ministers of foreign affairs and heads of delegation of the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), meeting in Lima on the occasion of the twenty-seventh regular session of the General Assembly, reaffirm, on behalf of our peoples and governments, that:
Consequently, it is imperative that the inter-American system and its instruments and strategies function in such a way as to respond effectively to the requirements and challenges faced by our peoples so that member states are able to translate into reality the decisions emanating from dialogue among countries of the region as well as from mechanisms for concerted action in which the heads of state and government of the Hemisphere have been engaged as they strive to promote cooperation for peace and development.
On the basis of mutual respect, a spirit of cooperation, and a commitment to assume and share responsibilities and to establish carefully our priorities, we reiterate our willingness to pursue efforts to modernize the OAS to respond effectively to hemispheric concerns and to strengthen the support that the inter-American system gives to member states.
Within the framework of the purposes and principles of the Charter, we will intensify cooperation to strengthen our democratic institutions; promote and protect human rights in all their dimensions; combat and eradicate terrorism, corruption, and illegal trafficking in narcotics and in arms, ammunition, and explosives, among other areas of common interest. We will continue to strive for the modernization of the state, maintaining the independence of the executive, legislative, and judicial powers. We will promote as well, as a priority, the education and civic training of our peoples through high-quality, comprehensive national policies which promote peace, friendship, tolerance, dialogue, solidarity, and understanding among our peoples.
These purposes and priorities are the subject of a comprehensive, fruitful dialogue and of cooperative action among governments, and between them and all sectors of society. This is demonstrated by the progress achieved at the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and in the Second Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development in Mexico City, which approved the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 1997-2001. The second Summit of the Americas, which will be held in Santiago in 1998, will give us the opportunity to make even greater progress in taking concrete actions in this direction.
We will support the development and appropriate preparation of inter-American legal instruments and promote the signing and ratification of, or accession to, currently existing ones. We will further the effective application of conventions and treaties in force, as well as their broader dissemination.
To this end, we pledge to ensure continued dialogue and concerted action, with a view to the next millennium, so that we can make real progress toward the well-being of our peoples and toward the greater and more efficient participation of the Americas in the international arena.