A Cooperative Hemispheric Security Architecture of the 21st CenturyMarc Grossman, Under Secretary for Political AffairsSpecial Conference on Hemispheric Security Mexico City, Mexico October 28, 2003 Fifty-eight years ago, nations of our hemisphere met in Mexico City for the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace. That Conference in 1945 adopted the “Act of Chapultepec,” which identified the threats facing the Americas and our collective and cooperative response to address them. The Act of Chapultepec highlights a truth that is as valid today as it was over half a century ago. Here is what it says: “The new situation in the world makes more imperative than ever the union and solidarity of the American peoples, for the defense of their rights and the maintenance of international peace.” This half-century old statement of course describes the security environment with which we are confronted today and highlights cooperation and common action as the means for building and sustaining peace in the Americas.
That same commitment was echoed, in one form or another, at the Miami, Santiago, and Quebec Summits; all of which were pivotal gatherings of our region’s democratic leaders. We believe it is time to send another message from this place and at this time -- that success for the people of our Hemisphere is built upon democracy, prosperity, and security, and that the benefits of success must flow to all of our citizens.
The Rio Treaty’s continued relevance was underscored by its invocation in response to the terrorist attacks of the September 11, 2001. The Rio Treaty remains an essential component of our security architecture because it is the legally binding security instrument within our Hemisphere which we can use for the collective defense of our Hemisphere. The Hemisphere’s experience since September 11, 2001 has demonstrated our ability to respond and adapt to changing security needs.
The United Nations Security Council has declared terrorism a threat to global peace and security. All of our nations have suffered terrorism. In Colombia, the U.S. stands with President Uribe, supporting the efforts of Colombians to confront narco-terrorism. We support the Government of Colombia’s effort to achieve “democratic security” and re-establish state presence throughout the country. We support President Uribe’s efforts to pursue a peace process with justice for the victims of gross human rights abuses and accountability for the perpetrators. Colombians have made real progress. We are pleased a strong statement of support will be issued at this conference expressing hemispheric solidarity and support for Colombia.
The Democratic Charter adopted in Lima on September 11, 2001, states that the peoples of the Americas have the right to democracy and their governments have the obligation to promote and defend it. Every country in the hemisphere, with one exception, made this pledge, and it is our firm conviction that the right to democracy so clearly and boldly stated applies to all peoples in the Americas, without exclusion. As President Bush stated, “This Hemisphere is on the path to reform, and our nations travel it together. We share a vision- a partnership of strong and equal and prosperous countries, living and trading in freedom…our vision… unleashes the possibilities of every society and recognizes the dignity of every person.” Prosperity and democracy are linked. Each reinforces the other. Sustained economic growth is achieved by promoting trade, investment, sound fiscal reforms, the rule of law, human rights, pluralism and transparency. The countries of this hemisphere form a market of over 800 million people producing nearly $14 trillion in goods and services every year. To help expand this market and ensure that all our citizens enjoy its benefits, President Bush gives high priority to concluding negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. This agreement, along with other trade agreements, completed and under negotiation, will promote investment in trade and enhance democracy, political stability, and security in the region. We stand ready to work to realize those gains as soon as possible. The United States will support these efforts in many ways. Two examples today: President Bush’s proposed Millennium Challenge Account, for which we are asking our Congress to approve money this year; and the President’s proposal to spend $15 billion to fight HIV/AIDS, which in this hemisphere targets extra resources for the people of Haiti and Guyana. The Cold War is over. New and emerging threats endanger our societies. We must respond to these threats with flexible cooperative, coordinated and multilateral responses that identify specific ways we can work together to defeat terrorism, to prevent traffickers from moving drugs and arms between our nations, and to imprison members of transnational criminal gangs that roam our streets, to defeat HIV/AIDS, and to mitigate natural disasters.Today’s threat is multidimensional. Today’s successful defense is multidimensional. As President Bush noted in January 2002, defeating threats like terrorism depends on our ability to build complete societies. “We are committed to building a prosperous, free, and democratic hemisphere. Nothing will distract us, and nothing will deter us, in completing this great work." Or as Secretary Powell said in September of this year, “We can combat terrorism and illicit trafficking. We can fight disease. We can strengthen human ties. We can expand trade. But none of our efforts will be enough if men and women lack confidence in their democracies and in their prospects for a better future.” In this declaration, we embrace a cooperative approach to hemispheric security because no one state can address these threats alone. Our security architecture must recognize the important contributions of sub-regional arrangements, agreements, and measures which foster hemispheric security because they play a critical role in our present and future security architecture. We need structures in which all states find tools relevant to their security concerns and in which they can participate. The mandate for this conference given to us by our presidents and leaders at Santiago in 1998 focuses on confidence and security building measures (CSBMs). Since the 1994 Miami Summit of the Americas, we have endorsed CSBMs as a means of sustaining democracy and transparency in the region. Today, there is consensus on the value of CSBMs because they form an essential component of our security architecture. Since the first CSBMs meeting in Buenos Aires in 1994, we have successfully created an impressive regime of confidence and security building measures that serves as model for other regions to follow. Our job now is to further develop, implement, assess, and institutionalize CSBMs with the OAS system. As highlighted in the Declaration of Miami, a new generation of non-military CSBMs -- Confidence Enhancing Measures -- is required to address the emerging transnational threats, concerns, and other challenges of the 21st century. The establishment, within the OAS framework, of a permanent forum for confidence and security building to review and evaluate existing CSBMs and to discuss, consider, and propose new CSBMs is extremely important. The declaration we approve at this meeting will serve as our hemispheric security charter for the 21st century. We stand together to take action to address the danger posed by disruptions to democracy, WMD proliferation, terrorism, transnational organized crime, illicit arms trafficking, narco-trafficking, money laundering, traditional threats, natural disasters, health concerns, and poverty.
Our work here is also critical because it complements our already dynamic security architecture and provides a practical guide for resolving interstate border tensions, lowering pressure for arms spending, promoting democratic norms, and fostering a climate of confidence, trust, transparency, and cooperation in our Hemisphere. We have worked to fulfill the mandate our Presidents gave us at the Santiago and Quebec Summits. The task ahead is to make our architecture even more relevant and effective. The end goal is simple, but fundamental. We will answer the first call of any government; to protect and improve the lives of individuals. That is the standard by which history will judge the outcome of our effort.
|
 | |||
|
