Decision 587
Guidelines for the External Security Policy
of the Andean Community
THE ANDEAN
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
HAVING
REVIEWED: Articles 16 and 17 of the
Cartagena Agreement, coded through Decision
563 and Decision 458 –Guidelines for the
Common External Policy-, the Andean
Presidential Council Declarations of
Galápagos, Carabobo and Quirama, and the
Lima Commitment –Andean Charter for Peace
and Security, Limitation and Control of the
External Defense Expenditures-; and
WHEREAS: The
Heads of State of the Member Countries of
the Andean Community have reaffirmed in
several opportunities their commitment to
strengthen the peace, security and
cooperation in the subregion, as an
indispensable requirement to promote the
integral development of the Andean peoples;
To that effect,
they commissioned the Andean Council of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs to prepare,
with the support of the General Secretariat,
the guidelines for the Andean Common
External Security Policy, giving
consideration to the establishment of a
peace zone in the Andean Community pursuant
to the parameters of the Lima Commitment;
To comply with
such commission, the General Secretariat
carried out, among others, the activities
contemplated in the Commitment of Lima, with
the participation of government
representatives, experts and broad sectors
of the civil society of the Member Countries
of the Andean Community;
Decision 458
contemplates as one of its areas of action
the adoption of joint measures to promote a
culture of peace and the pacific settlement
of disputes, the promotion of confidence,
specially in border areas, the limitation of
armaments and the development of new
regional democratic security conceptions;
The Andean
Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
established that from an Andean perspective,
security is seen as the situation in which
the State and society are protected from
threats or risks susceptible of affecting
the integral development and welfare of
their citizens, including also the free
exercise of their rights and liberties in a
fully democratic environment. In this
respect, security is a concept of
multidimensional and comprehensive character
that involves political, economic, social
and cultural matters reflected in the
policies of so widely different topics, such
as the strengthening of democratic
institutions, the Rule of Law, defense,
health, environment, economy, economic
development and the prevention of natural
disasters, among others;
The
Declaration on the Security of the Americas
adopted in October 2003, within the
framework of the Organization of American
States acknowledges the multidimensional
character of security and the contribution
that the subregional and regional
integration processes are called to make for
the stability of the Hemisphere:
The
formulation of the Guidelines of an Andean
Common External Security Policy reaffirms
the commitment of the Member Countries to
continue advancing in their efforts to
intensify their political cooperation for
the consolidation of the identity and
cohesion of the Andean Community, and to
strengthen the participation of the Member
Countries in hemispheric and world security
mechanisms; and
Taking into
consideration the agreement adopted in the 2nd
Meeting of the High Level Group on matters
of Security and Promotion of Confidence, the
General Secretariat has submitted Proposal
124/Rev. 2 on the Guidelines for the Andean
Common External Security Policy;
DECIDES:
Article 1.-
To approve the
following Guidelines for the Common External
Security Policy:
I. Objectives
1. To confront
any threats posed to the security of the
Andean Community in a cooperative and
coordinated manner.
2. To develop
and consolidate the Andean Peace Zone, as an
area free of nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons, promoting mechanisms
that ensure the pacific settlement of
disputes, the building of reciprocal
confidence, and that contribute to overcome
factors susceptible of generating disputes
among the Member Countries.
3. To prevent,
combat and eradicate the new threats to the
security, and their interrelations, when
appropriate, through cooperation and
coordination efforts to confront the
challenges that such threats represent for
the Andean Community.
4. To
contribute to the economic development and
social welfare of the Andean Community
population by reinforcing the security of
the subregion.
5. To
contribute to the consolidation and the
enhancement of the Peace Zone and South
American Cooperation within the framework of
a South American integration area.
6. To promote
the participation of the Member Countries in
the definitions and procedures of the
collective, hemispheric and world security.
II. Principles
The Andean
Common External Security Policy will be
based on the following principles.
1.
Preservation of the Rule of Law and
democracy as the system of government.
2. Promotion
and protection of human rights.
3. Application
of the humanitarian international law.
4. Abstention
from using or the threat to make use of
force within their reciprocal relations.
5. Pacific
settlement of disputes.
6. Respect for
the territorial integrity and sovereignty of
each one of the Member Countries.
7.
Nonintervention in internal affairs.
8. Respect for
the international law and international
obligations.
9. Observance
of the collective security systems of the
United Nations and the Organization of
American States.
10.
Development and security cooperation.
11.
Strengthening of the integration process.
12. Ban on the
development, manufacture, possession,
display and use of any type of mass
destruction weapons, and their transit
through the Member Countries.
III.
Foundations
1. Peace and
security as public property that pursuant to
the national legislation the State
guarantees to its citizenship.
2. Andean
identity and community interests.
3. Territorial
continuity of the community area.
4. Solidarity
and cooperation among the Member Countries.
IV. Criteria
The Andean
Common External Security Policy will
contemplate the following criteria:
1. Peace
option: Its purpose is to prevent and
fight against any threats to security within
a democratic and non offensive conception of
the External security and to promote the
necessary conditions to ensure free and
equal opportunities for its population and a
favorable environment for its material and
spiritual realization.
2.
Multidimensional:
Includes the
threats to defense and to the establishment
of democratic institutions and public
security.
3. Integrated:
The
plans and programs to be developed within
the framework of the Andean Common External
Security Policy are supplemented and
mutually reinforced with actions aimed at
its economic and social sustainable
development, the strengthening of democratic
institutions, the promotion and protection
of human rights and the achievement of the
best competitive terms for the participation
of the Member Countries in the world economy.
4.
Complementariness:
This is a
community instrument to strengthen the
application of national security policies
and to favor, when appropriate, their
convergence and harmonization.
5. Cooperative:
Seeks to develop a system of relations to
strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of
each one of the Member Countries for the
enhancement of confidence and the prevention
of tensions or confrontations.
6. Flexible:
Its
application is adapted to the dynamics of
the Andean, regional, hemispheric and world
context, and the changes in the perceptions
and conceptions on the matter, preserving
the coherence of its objectives and actions.
7. Gradual:
It
allows a gradual progress in the priorities
of the community, and the regional,
hemispheric and world security agendas, in
accordance with the common interests.
8. Preventive:
Seeks to anticipate the development of
threats to security through early warning
and response mechanisms, and the pacific
settlement of disputes.
9.
Participatory:
Acknowledges
that security is a task of society as a
whole without detriment to the fundamental
responsibility of the State. Therefore, it
should provide opportunities for the active
participation of the several public and
private bodies and agents in the decision
making process concerning its design,
execution, follow-up and verification.
V.
Institutional mechanisms
1. The Andean
Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs is
the body responsible for the definition and
coordination of the Andean Common External
Security Policy. When deemed convenient, it
will hold joint meetings with the Ministers
of Defense, and when appropriate, with the
competent authorities of the Member
Countries for a further dialog and agreement
on several aspects of such policy. The
Council will contemplate at least once every
year the aspects related to the execution of
the common external security policy.
2. The
Executive Council of the Andean Common
External Security Policy, in which Senior
Officials of the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs and Defense will have a seat, and as
appropriate, other competent sectors on
security matters, will be responsible
together with the General Secretariat of the
Andean Community, and other Andean
Committees with responsibilities connected
with security topics, for the design of
operation proposals and community provisions
related to this policy and its submission
for its consideration by the Andean Council
of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The
Executive Committee can create the
specialized technical subcommittees it may
deem pertinent. It will meet at least twice
every year.
3. The Andean
Security Network will be constituted by
political, business, academic, and other
organizations of the civil society together
with the governmental and intergovernmental
organizations of the subregion. It will be
in charge of promoting national
intersectorial and subregional dialogs in
which public and private organizations will
accompany the design, implementation and
evaluation of the progress made in the
development of the Andean Common External
Security Policy.
4. The General
Secretariat of the Andean Community will be
responsible for the follow up of the
execution of the Andean Common External
Security Policy.
VI. Operation
Instruments
The Andean
Common External Security Policy will be
provided with the following instruments:
1. The Common
External Policy, aimed at promoting the
international conditions for the compliance
with the objectives of the Andean Common
External Security Policy, the maintenance of
peace and regional and international
security, and also a coordinated action in
the regional and world disarmament
negotiations.
2. The Andean
Cooperation Plan against Illicit Drugs and
Connected Offenses, Decision 505, and the
Operation Programs adopted within such
framework.
3. The Andean
Plan for the Prevention, Fight and
Eradication of the Illicit Traffic of Small
and Lightweight Arms in all its aspects, and
its Coordinated Action and Operation Plan,
Decision 552.
4. The Customs
Cooperation in aspects connected with
external security and defense.
It will also
incorporate to the operation instruments:
5. The Andean
Plan Against Terrorism.
6. The Andean
frameworks for the legal, police and
judicial cooperation.
7. The Andean
Framework for the Pacific Settlement of
Disputes and the development and application
of Measures for the Promotion of Confidence
and Security.
8. Other plans
and programs that may be established in the
future, specially, with a view to fight,
among others, corruption, smuggling and the
traffic of persons, and also to implement a
standardized method for the measurement of
defense expenditures.
VII. Forms of
Action
The agenda of
the Andean Common External Security Policy
includes the following forms of action:
1.
Community: the actions implemented by
the Member Countries or through or by means
of the community bodies of the integration
process;
2.
Subregional: the actions implemented
jointly by two or more Member Countries as a
result of subregional coordination;
3.
Bilateral: the actions exclusively
implemented by two Member Countries to
comply with national goals and objectives
consistent with the Andean Common External
Security Policy;
4. National:
the actions implemented by a Member
Country in its respective territory within
the framework of the Andean coordination,
with a view to comply with the goals and
objectives of the programs included in the
Andean Common External Security Policy;
5. External:
the coordinated or joint action with the
international, regional, hemispheric and
world organizations or conferences on
matters of security and disarmament.
VIII. Agenda
The agenda of
the Andean Common External Security Policy
includes cooperation in the following topics:
1. Pacific
settlement of disputes.
2. Promotion
of measures to foster confidence and
security.
3. Promotion
of a Peace Culture.
4. Defense
expenditures.
5. Fight
against terrorism.
6. Fight
against organized crime, its activities and
manifestations to the detriment of
citizenship and state security.
7. Fight
against the world drug problem and related
offenses.
8. Laundering
of assets.
9. Fight
against corruption.
10. Prevention,
fight and eradication of the illicit traffic
of small and lightweight arms in all its
aspects.
11. Traffic in
persons.
12. Prevention
of threats to democratic stability and
institutions.
13. Collective,
hemispheric and world security.
14. Regional
and world disarmament negotiations.
15. Other
matters that may be decided by the Andean
Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
Article 2.-
At
the community, South American, hemispheric
and world level, the Andean Common External
Security Policy is executed by the Andean
Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
applying the different mechanisms of the
Common External Policy.
At a national
level, the Andean Common External Security
Policy will be executed through the
competent authorities, pursuant to the
national legislation.
Transitory
Provisions
Article 3.-
To
commission the Executive Committee of the
Andean Common External Policy to prepare in
coordination with the General Secretariat:
a) An Andean
Program of Measures for the Promotion of
Confidence and Security taking into
consideration the advances made by the
Member Countries in their neighborhood
relations, and the Lima Commitment, the
Declarations of Santiago (1995) and San
Salvador (1998), and the Consensus of
Miami (February 2003). The medium term
objective of the Program should be the
joint planning of the peace and security
of the subregion incorporating formulas
that allow the participation of the Andean
countries in peace maintenance operations,
under the mandate of the United Nations.
To that effect, it will contemplate
actions at the bilateral, subregional,
regional, hemispheric and world levels.
A proposal
for the creation of an Andean Security
Network, as an institutional mechanism for
support and advisory on security related
matters and for promotion of confidence,
that will include, among others, a
diagnosis of potentially conflictive
situations, early warnings, conflict
prevention and crisis management, as well
as information systems on such situations
or declared conflicts. This will be
accomplished through national and
subregional dialogs, with the
participation of representatives from the
pertinent government agencies, political
parties, academic institutions and civil
society.
Article 4.-
To commission the General Secretariat to
prepare in coordination with the competent
national authorities, international
specialized agencies and other cooperation
sources, the proposal for an Andean
cooperation program against laundering of
assets.
Given in the
city of Quito, Republic of Ecuador, on July
10, 2004.
