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UNASUR Statement on Peace in Region
August 28, 2009, 2009
EMERGENCY MEETING OF UNASUR HEADS OF STATE
DECISION
The Heads of State and Governments of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), meeting in an emergency session August 28, 2009 in San Carlos de Bariloche, Republic of Argentina;
Reaffirming our commitment to the principles of International Law regarding friendly and cooperative relations among States, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations;
Recognizing, likewise, that military cooperation agreements must be governed by a strict respect for the principles and purposes expressed in the Charter of the United Nations and the fundamental principles of the UNASUR Constituent Treaty;
Emphasizing that unconditional respect for the territorial sovereignty, integrity and inviolability of States, noninterference in internal matters and self-determination of the people are essential to consolidate integration in the region;
Reiterating our will to consolidate a zone of peace in South America, fundamental to the integral development of our peoples and the preservation of our natural resources through the prevention of conflict, peaceful solutions to controversies and the abstention from resorting to threats or use of force;
Underscoring the work of UNASUR for peaceful solutions to controversies and promotion of dialogue and consensus in matters of defense by means of encouraging measures of cooperation, trust and transparency;
DECIDE TO:
1. Strengthen South America as a zone of peace, committing to the establishment of a mechanism of mutual trust in matters of defense and security, upholding our decision to abstain from resorting to threats or use of force against the territorial integrity of another UNASUR State.
2. Reaffirm our commitment to strengthen cooperation in the fights against terrorism and transnational organized crime and their connected offenses: drug trafficking, small and light arms trafficking, as well as the rejection of the presence and actions of armed groups operating outside the law.
3. Reaffirm that the presence of foreign military forces -with their means and resources linked to their own objectives- cannot threaten the sovereignty and integrity of any other South American nation, and in consequence threaten the peace and security of the region.
4. Instruct the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Defense to hold an emergency meeting during the first two weeks of next September, in order that, in pursuit of greater transparency, they design measures to encourage trust and security in a manner that is complementary to the existing means used in the framework of the OAS, including concrete implementation mechanisms and guarantees for all nations applicable to existing agreements with countries of the region and outside the region; such as the trafficking of illicit weapons, drug trafficking and terrorism in accordance with the legislation of each country. These mechanisms must consider the principles of unconditional respect for territorial sovereignty, integrity and inviolability and noninterference in internal matters of the states.
5. Instruct the South American Defense Council, that it may analyze the text of “South American Strategy, White Book, Mobile Air Command (AMC)” and conduct a verification of the situation on the borders and deliver the results of the study to the Council of Heads of State and Government, so that a course of action can be considered.
6. Instruct the South American Council on Drug Trafficking to urgently elaborate its Statutes and Plan of Action with the objective of defining a South American strategy in the fight against the trafficking of illicit drugs and the strengthening of cooperation among specialized bodies in our respective nations.
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