Confidence and
security-building measures
Declaration of Santiago
REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONFIDENCE-AND
SECURITY-BUILDING MEASURES
November 8-10, 1995
Santiago, Chile |
OEA/Ser.K/XXIX.2
COSEGRE/doc.18/95 rev. 3
Original: Spanish |
DECLARATION OF SANTIAGO ON CONFIDENCE- AND
SECURITY-BUILDING MEASURES
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on
November 10, 1995)
Changes that have taken place in
the international arena, the emergence of democratic governments in
the Hemisphere, and the end of the Cold War have created a climate
conducive to strengthening peace and security in the Hemisphere. The
way has thereby been paved for OAS member states of the Organization
of American States to continue the necessary process of reflection
to eliminate those factors that breed mistrust among states of the
Hemisphere and identify new modalities of cooperation to consolidate
peace, ensure effective achievement of the purposes of the OAS
Charter and adherence to its principles, guarantee effective
compliance with international law, and promote ties of friendship
and cooperation, all of which will enhance security in the region.
The adoption of confidence- and
security-building measures is a significant contribution to
transparency, mutual understanding, and regional security, and to
the attainment of development goals, including efforts to overcome
poverty and protect the environment. Economic, social and cultural
development is inextricably linked to international peace and
security.
Confidence- and security-building
measures must be adapted to the geographic, political, social,
cultural and economic conditions of each region, and they have their
own scope, as experience in the Hemisphere has amply demonstrated.
Respect for international law,
faithful compliance with treaties, the peaceful settlement of
disputes, respect for the sovereignty of states and
non-intervention, and prohibition of the use or threat of the use of
force in accordance with the terms of the OAS and United Nations
Charters are the basis for peaceful coexistence and security in the
Hemisphere and constitute the framework of the Organization of
American States and the United Nations for the development of
confidence- and security-building measures.
The governments express their
satisfaction with progress made in the Hemisphere in the area of
economic integration, since, in their view, this promotes confidence
and security in the region.
An essential condition for
achieving an effective international security system is that all
states subject themselves to universal, equal, and binding rules.
The agreements arising from the
regional and subregional meetings of heads of state and government
and from the Summit of the Americas held in Miami in 1994 are
important guidelines for strengthening regional security.
Negotiations on security- and
confidence-building measures pursued at the subregional level, such
as those conducted by the Central American countries through, inter
alia, the Central American Commission on Security, make for a
stronger climate of security in the Hemisphere.
Other inter-governmental
meetings, such as the Williamsburg event held by invitation of the
United States (Defense Ministerial of the Americas), contribute to
the dialogue and exchange of points of view on this subject.
A key component in the
Hemisphere's contribution to the cause of peace and security is the
Treaty of Tlatelolco, whose provisions banning nuclear weapons have
made Latin America and the Caribbean the first populated nuclear
weapons-free zone in the world. Ratification of the Convention on
the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use
of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons, and on their
Destruction, signed in 1972, and the Convention on the Prohibition
of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical
Weapons, and on their Destruction, signed in 1992; the conclusion in
1996 of the comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty, and progress in
negotiations in the area of weapons of mass destruction, the
limitation of conventional weapons, and the prohibitions or
restrictions on the use of certain conventional weapons which may be
deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects
will contribute to a more secure international environment.
The application of confidence-
and security-building measures helps create a climate conducive to
effective limitation of conventional weapons, which makes it
possible to devote more resources to the economic and social
development of member states, which is a basic purpose of the OAS
Charter.
The strengthening of bilateral
and multilateral dialogue facilitates mutual understanding and
increased collaboration in the face of the challenges of the next
century. Confidence- and security-building measures in the Americas
are especially significant for building ties of friendship and
cooperation.
The Meeting of Experts in Buenos
Aires in March of 1994, as well as OAS General Assembly resolutions,
in particular, AG/RES. 1179 (XXII-O/92), AG/RES. 1284 (XXIV-O/94),
and AG/RES. 1288 (XXIV-O/94), and the draft inventory submitted by
the Inter-American Defense Board to the Permanent Council in
compliance with resolution CP/RES. 650 (1031/95), are noteworthy in
the process of identifying confidence- and security-building
measures.
In accordance with the foregoing,
the governments of the OAS member states, meeting in Santiago,
Chile, agree to recommend the application, in the manner that is
most suitable, of confidence- and security-building measures, among
which the following should be mentioned:
a. Gradual adoption of agreements
regarding advance notice of military exercises;
b. Exchange of information and
participation of all member states in the United Nations Register of
Conventional Arms and the Standardized International Reporting of
Military Expenditures;
c. Promotion of the development
and exchange of information concerning defense policies and
doctrines;
d. Consideration of a
consultation process with a view to proceeding towards limitation
and control of conventional weapons;
e. Agreements on invitation of
observers to military exercises, visits to military installations,
arrangements for observing routine operations and exchange of
civilian and military personnel for regular and advanced training;
f. Meetings and activities to
prevent incidents and increase security for transport by land, sea,
and air;
g. Cooperation programs in the
event of natural disasters or to prevent such disasters, based on
the request and authorization of the affected states;
h. Development and establishment
of communications among civilian or military authorities of
neighboring countries in accordance with their border situation;
i. Holding of seminars and
courses, and studies on mutual confidence- and security-building
measures and policies to promote confidence involving the
participation of civilians and military personnel, and on the
special security concerns of small island states;
j. A High-level meetings on the
special security concerns of small island states; and
k. Education Programs of
education for peace.
The measures that have been
announced require that a series of actions be set in motion for the
monitoring and periodic evaluation of their implementation. To that
end, the representatives of the OAS member state governments request
the Committee on Hemispheric Security to undertake those tasks and
to prepare a report on this subject for consideration by the General
Assembly at its twenty-sixth regular session, which will decide,
inter alia, whether a regional conference should be held to follow
up the Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building
Measures held in Santiago, Chile.
In view of the importance of
knowing about other measures being applied or that might be adopted,
the representatives agree to provide periodically to the OAS
Committee on Hemispheric Security information on the application of
confidence- and security-building measures so as to facilitate
preparation of the complete and systematic inventory of these
measures, as instructed by the OAS General Assembly.
The representatives support
continuation of the international negotiations on the prohibition
of, traffic in, and indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines,
given the harmful effects that anti-personnel mines have on the
civilian population and on economic and social development. In this
regard, they recognize the work of mine-clearing in which the
Organization of American States and the Inter-American Defense Board
are engaged in Central America.
The governments of the Hemisphere
attach special priority to identifying the risks, threats and
challenges facing the Americas on the threshold of the next
millennium, and to promoting an international climate confidence
trust and peace based on cooperation in accordance with the
objectives and principles of the OAS Charter.
In this context, they commit
their efforts toward achieving, as soon as possible, the settlement
of ongoing disputes by means of negotiated agreements, inspired by
justice and full respect for international law and the treaties in
force.
The representatives agree that
the Americas are in a position to contribute to bolstering
international peace and security effectively through an exchange of
experiences in confidence- and security-building measures with other
regions.
The representatives state for the
record their appreciation to the Government of Chile for the warm
welcome extended to them and the fine organization of the meeting.
They also extend their appreciation to the General Secretariat of
the OAS.
SANTIAGO, November 10, 1995
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