New York, December 2, 2004

Today, December 2, 2004, the Permanent Peruvian Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Oswaldo de Rivero, on behalf of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, presented a draft resolution to the General Assembly, giving international recognition and support to the “Andean Peace Zone.”

The Andean Peace Zone, adopted through the Presidential Declaration of San Francisco de Quito, on July 12, 2004, and encompassing the territory, airspace, and sovereign waters of the Andean countries, is the result of one of the most advanced processes for opening up a true space for peace and security in the hemisphere.

It constitutes the culmination of important processes like the “Lima Commitment” of June 17, 2002, which sets limits on and controls over and ensures the transparency of spending on conventional weapons; the Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects, of June 2003; and Decision 587 of July 2004, establishing Andean Common External Security Policy Guidelines.

The key objective of the resolution is to obtain international recognition of the Andean Peace Zone, whose aim is to prohibit the presence of weapons of mass description and antipersonnel mines in the Andean Community. It also includes among its goals putting an Andean Program of Confidence- and Security-Building Measures into effect, fostering the participation of the Andean countries in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes, irrespective of their nature.

The draft resolution is the product of negotiations among the five Andean Member countries and with other delegations that have made contributions toward improving the text.

This new peace zone coincides fully with the principles and objectives enshrined in the United Nations Charter, and for that reason the General Assembly approved the resolution unanimously.

Press Release of the Office of the Peru’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.