MEETING OF EXPERTS ON CONFIDENCE- OEA/Ser.K/XXIX
AND SECURITY-BUILDING MEASURES RESEGRE/doc.7/03
February 3-4, 2003 26 March 2003
Miami, Florida Original: Spanish/English
REPORT OF THE RAPPORTEUR
(Presented by Federico Villegas Beltrán, Argentina, at the fourth plenary session,
held on February 4, 2003
- 38 -
REPORT OF THE RAPPORTEUR
(Presented by Federico Villegas at the fourth plenary session,
held on February 4, 2003)
I. Introduction
The Meeting of Experts on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures, held in Miami, Florida, February 3-4, 2003, was convened by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States to evaluate measures adopted in the two regional conferences in Santiago in 1995 and San Salvador in 1998, and to agree upon the next steps to consolidate mutual confidence.
This report contains two elements: first, the procedures adopted during the course of the meeting for carrying out its work, and second, a summary of some of the common points in the statements of the experts on specific subjects of the agenda, especially those which took the form of special presentations.
I would like to state that I have done my best to reflect these elements, and I am open to any delegation that wises to give the Secretariat any comments it may have for inclusion in the final version of this report.
II. Procedure
Organization of the work
There was an inaugural session, four plenary sessions, and a closing session. A working group was formed to consider the Declaration of Miami, and an informal group was set up to consider the illustrative list of measures.
Participants
The Secretariat registered a substantial number of delegates, representing the following member states: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Special guests also participated (see List of Participants prepared by the General Secretariat, contained in document RESEGRE/doc.8/03 rev. 1).
Inaugural session
The Chair of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Arturo Duarte, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the OAS, opened the inaugural session on February 3, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. The Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Ambassador Luigi R. Einaudi, emphasized the significance of the meeting in view of the upcoming Special Conference on Security in Mexico, and the importance of the adoption of confidence- and security-building measures and agreements, such as the agreements for peaceful settlement of disputes recently signed by OAS member states, among them the agreements between Honduras and Nicaragua, and between Belize and Guatemala. The Representative of the United States, Ambassador Peter DeShazo, recalled the great progress of the OAS in the area of confidence-building measures in recent years with more than 100 General Assembly resolutions since 1991 in the framework of the democratic consolidation of the region, and the adoption of several inter-American instruments, such as the Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, and the Inter-American Democratic Charter. He also referred to the meeting’s important responsibility to agree upon measures for confronting new threats, challenges, and concerns related to security of the States.
First plenary session
Officers of the meeting were elected by acclamation at the first plenary session, held on February 3.
The delegation of El Salvador nominated Ambassador Peter DeShazo, Alternate Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS, as Chair of the meeting. This nomination was seconded by the delegation of Canada.
The delegation of Argentina nominated Ambassador Carlos Portales, Director General for Foreign Policy of Chile, as First Vice Chair of the meeting. This nomination was seconded by the delegation of Guatemala.
Ambassador Margarita Escobar, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the OAS, was elected Second Vice Chair of the meeting, having been nominated by the delegation of Nicaragua. The nomination was seconded by the delegation of Chile.
I had the honor to be elected Rapporteur of the meeting, nominated by Brazil and seconded by Peru, whom I thank for this demonstration of confidence.
Adoption of the Agenda, Calendar, and Rules of Procedure
The meeting then adopted the decisions of the Permanent Council, specifically with regard to the agenda, calendar, and rules of procedure. At the suggestion of the Chair, the documents were adopted as presented.
The delegation of Mexico expressed a reservation concerning point 4 of the Agenda in the resolution of the Permanent Council, CP/RES. 830 (1342/02). This reservation dealt with the nature of the document to be considered by the Experts.
To expedite the work, at the suggestion of the Chair, two working groups were formed to consider the abovementioned basic documents. The Second Vice Chair of the meeting, Ambassador Margarita Escobar, was designated to coordinate the work of the Working Group on the formal Declaration of Miami, and the First Vice Chair of the meeting, Ambassador Carlos Portales, was entrusted with coordinating the working group on the informal Illustrative List of Confidence- and Security-Building Measures.
III. Consideration of the substantive points of the agenda
Based on the General Assembly’s mandate, contained in the first operative paragraph of resolution AG/RES. 1880 (XXXII-O/02), the experts were to consider two main subjects:
1. Evaluation and analysis of implementation of confidence- and security-building measures; and
2. Consideration of the next steps to further consolidate mutual confidence.
Evaluation and analysis of implementation of confidence- and security-building measures
The Chair stated that the main purpose of this topic is review of the implementation and impact of the measures taken in 1995 and 1998 in order to define how they might be improved, or what additional measures the States should develop and adopt to face all threats to and concerns about security.
To kick off this discussion, the delegations of Canada[1]/ and Argentina were invited to offer some observations. In addition, the General Secretariat was asked to make a presentation on the OAS Inventory of confidence- and security-building measures applied by the member states.[2]/ These presentations formed the backdrop for the ensuing discussion.
In his presentation for Canada, Ambassador Paul Durand, the chief of delegation, mentioned among other points the importance of the United Nations Register of Conventional Weapons, compliance with the information reporting requirements by the States of the region, and the significance of Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, which entered into force in November 2002, thus converting what is voluntary compliance in the global sphere to a binding treaty commitment of the American States. He also noted the importance of transparency in spending, which permits modernization of the armed forces without arousing suspicions in other States, thus promoting confidence and security.
Ambassador Carlos Sersale di Cerisano, head of the Argentine delegation, among other points reviewed the evolution of application of confidence-building measures adopted in various regional forums, and their positive impact on the consolidation of the subregional integration processes. He also noted progress by countries in the region in adherence to compliance with the international commitments and arms control mechanisms for weapons of mass destruction, which helped mould a favorable setting for confidence- and security-building.
Following these presentations, the representative of the General Secretariat, Jorge Mario Eastman, noted the importance of continuing to obtain data from the member states on application of confidence- and security-building measures, taking into account that most of them have provided the information and it should be complete by the Special Conference on Security.
Next, several delegations made statements on each State’s view on this question. The speeches presented in writing on this matter (by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, Nicaragua, and Venezuela) are in Annex I of this report.
In general, the subsequent statements and comments by the delegations expressed the following common points, among others:
· Confidence- and security-building measures are indispensable to overcome possibilities of conflict that have characterized relations between some states, and to make decisive progress in cooperation and integration. In this context, several delegations of States that have recently reached agreements on peaceful settlement of disputes stressed the importance of including confidence- and security-building mechanisms for consolidation of these agreements.
· To make sustained progress in the process begun at the start of the 1990s it is necessary to build a consensus among the countries of the region, bearing in mind their constitutional, legislative, and institutional differences, particularly as regards measures for facing the new security threats, concerns, and challenges.
· At the subregional and bilateral levels, throughout the region, there are now many sustained developments that have made it possible to advance firmly in the adoption of measures to build mutual confidence and security. Much of this progress stemmed from the adoption of regional agreements on the subject, which contributed to the consolidation of democracies in the region and were built on the consensus on this question in the OAS framework, representing an important stimulus to continue developing these mechanisms.
· Development of the confidence- and security-building measures in the region has occurred not only in the classic military area, but measures have been taken to increase the member states’ ability to face new threats, concerns, and challenges, such as natural disasters and humanitarian aid.
· The traditional measures of a military nature have succeeded in reducing mistrust among States in the region, but have not sufficed to overcome the traditional threats and face the new security threats, concerns, and challenges in the region. It is therefore necessary to move ahead with adoption and implementation of new measures to tackle these challenges to security. In this context, it is essential that this new generation of measures be implemented in the context of coordinated action at the multilateral level, through the relevant institutions and mechanisms of the inter-American system.
· It is necessary to continue analyzing the development of the concept of hemispheric security, recognizing that it is not the same for all countries of the region and the various subregions, so it is indispensable to reflect differing views and special requirements in the context of cooperation and solidarity in order to contribute to guaranteeing security in the region in the current international context.
· Several delegations expressed concern that it is necessary to avoid militarizing the response to the new security threats, concerns, and challenges in the region. This calls for understanding different viewpoints among the States on their own security requirements, and for strengthening inter-American instruments to cooperate continuously and efficiently to increase security in the region, generating a new structure of hemispheric security for the 21st century.
· Several delegations also highlighted the need to strengthen and continue developing the multidimensional concept of hemispheric security, adopted by the General Assembly in the Declaration of Bridgetown in June 2002, to identify ways of developing this concept and simultaneously moving decisively ahead with concrete steps to efficiently and effectively guarantee increased security in the region.
Next steps for greater consolidation of mutual confidence
The meeting took up its second main topic, on next steps for greater consolidation of mutual confidence, at the second plenary session held in the afternoon of February 3.
The discussion began with two presentations on proposals to continue developing confidence- and security-building measures in the region, particularly in light of the new threats, concerns, and challenges in the region.
The first speaker, Ambassador Ellsworth John, head of the delegation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, reported on the measures proposed by the Second High-Level Meeting on Special Security Concerns of Small Island States. He recalled that this high-level meeting, held in Kingstown, was tasked by the General Assembly with preparation of confidence- and security-building measures to present to this Meeting of Experts. Ambassador John stressed their importance for the new regional security structure, and urged that the conclusions of that important meeting be taken into account not only by this Meeting of Experts but also by the Special Conference on Security, as recommended by the General Assembly itself.[3]/
Ambassador Carlos Portales, head of the Chilean delegation, made a presentation on the results of the Fifth Conference of Ministers of Defense of the Americas, held in Santiago, Chile, in November 2002. He noted, among other aspects, the important agreements reached during the meeting, which illustrate the need for special hemispheric cooperation efforts in the complex international situation, in order to maintain stability in the relations among States in the region and to respond properly to the challenges posed by emerging threats.[4]/
General Carl Freeman made a presentation of the study prepared by the Inter-American Defense Board on confidence- and security-building measures in other regions of the world, summarizing the contents of the report presented to the Committee on Hemispheric Security.[5]/
IV. Working Group on the Declaration of Miami on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures: Recommendations for the Special Conference on Security
This Working Group was chaired by Ambassador Margarita Escobar. It held a total of three meetings on February 3 and 4. It took as its working document RESEGRE/doc.4/03, and after two days of intense discussion successfully adopted a document titled “Consensus of Miami – Declaration by the Experts on Confidence- and Security Building Measures: Recommendations to the Summit-mandated Special Conference on Security.”
The consensus emerged from intense discussion among the delegations, which led to a more thorough understanding of the proposed mechanisms and important agreements on the content, the wording, and the nature of the meeting.
Specifically, in accordance with the abovementioned reservation made by one delegation when the agenda was approved, there was a debate on the title and nature of the document to be approved by the Meeting of Experts, which was successfully resolved with the adoption of a consensus formula that reflects the great effort of all delegations to contribute to the success of the meeting.
In this context, it should be noted that with regard to the definition of various measures recommended by the experts, several delegations said it is necessary to separate those related to security questions from those dealing with defense, to properly address the States’ differing constitutional, legislative, and institutional arrangements.