| United Nations | A/50/671 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
24 October 1995
ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH
Fiftieth session
Agenda item 37
ZONE OF PEACE AND COOPERATION OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC
Report of the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Page
I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................2
II. REPLIES RECEIVED FROM GOVERNMENTS ..................................3
A. Argentina ......................................................3
B. Brazil .........................................................4
C. Malawi .........................................................5
D. South Africa ...................................................5
E. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ...........6
III. REPLIES RECEIVED FROM ORGANIZATIONS AND BODIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
SYSTEM .............................................................7
A. Department of Public Information ...............................7
B. Economic Commission for Europe .................................8
C. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ........8
D. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization9
E. World Meteorological Organization ..............................9
95-32234 (E) 021195
*9532234*/...
I. INTRODUCTION
1. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution
49/26 of 2 December 1994 on a zone of peace and cooperation of the South
Atlantic in which, inter alia, it took note of the report of the Secretary-
General. 1/ It welcomed with satisfaction the holding of the third meeting
of the States members of the zone, held at Brasilia on 21 and 22 September
1994, and took note of the Final Declaration, the Declaration on the
Denuclearization of the South Atlantic, the Declaration on the Marine
Environment, the Declaration on Business Cooperation in the South Atlantic
and the decision on the establishment of the Permanent Committee of the
zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic, adopted at the
meeting. 2/
2. In the same resolution, the General Assembly affirmed the importance of
the South Atlantic to global maritime and commercial transactions and its
determination to preserve the region for all activities protected by
customary international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea. 3/
3. The General Assembly called upon all States to cooperate in the
promotion of the objectives established in the declaration of the zone of
peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic and to refrain from any action
inconsistent with those objectives and with the Charter and relevant
resolutions of the United Nations, particularly action which might create
or aggravate situations of tension and potential conflict in the region.
It also requested the relevant organizations, organs and bodies of the
United Nations system to render appropriate assistance which States of the
zone might seek in their joint efforts to implement the objectives of the
zone. The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to keep the
implementation of resolution 41/11 of 27 October 1986 and subsequent
resolutions on the matter under review and to submit a report to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session, taking into account, inter alia,
the views expressed by Member States.
4. Pursuant to the above resolution, the Secretary-General addressed a
note verbale on 4 May 1995 to the Governments of the States Members of the
United Nations, requesting their views on the implementation of the
declaration on the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic. On
the same day, letters were also dispatched to the relevant organizations
and bodies of the United Nations requesting them to convey their
contributions for the preparation of the report of the Secretary-General by
1 August 1995.
5. As of 11 October 1995, five Governments had replied to the
SecretaryGeneral. Those replies are reproduced in section II of the
present report. Any further replies and notifications that may be received
at a later date will be published as addenda to the present report.
6. By the same date, communications had been received from five of the
organizations and United Nations bodies addressed, and are set out in
section III of the present report.
II. REPLIES RECEIVED FROM GOVERNMENTS
A. Argentina
[Original: Spanish]
[1 August 1995]
1. The Argentine Republic once again affirms its full support for the
principles and purposes of the zone of peace and cooperation of the South
Atlantic declared in General Assembly resolution 41/11 of 27 October 1986.
2. In this connection, it wishes to underline the special importance which
the promotion of democracy and political pluralism and the protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms have for the strengthening of the
zone, without which a truly effective zone of peace would be very difficult
to envisage.
3. The commitment of the Argentine Republic to the consolidation of a
lasting peace in the region has been tangibly demonstrated by its
participation in the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM),
even at the cost of loss of life.
4. As regards the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and international
cooperation, the Argentine Republic believes it is important to strengthen
and promote the development of international law relating to the physical
protection of nuclear materials.
5. As the Foreign Minister of Argentina stated at the Review and Extension
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, held in April-May 1995:
The transport of materials such as plutonium or highly enriched uranium
raised major questions regarding contamination, which require the closest
possible attention of the international community.
The recent transit of radioactive waste through the waters of the South
Atlantic has placed Argentina in a difficult situation because of the clear
ecological risks it may face, given the particular characteristics inherent
in navigation in the southern seas. We believe that the international
community should go on record in favour of the efforts being made to
strengthen existing instruments in the area of physical protection of
nuclear materials and management of radioactive waste, in order to make
those instruments truly useful in the event of an ecological emergency.
6. The Argentine Government has repeatedly expressed its concern about the
protection of the environment of the south-west Atlantic, in particular
about the dangers caused by the passage of ships transporting highly
radioactive substances.
7. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea confers on coastal
States the authority to exercise jurisdiction in their exclusive economic
zone, inter alia, for the protection and preservation of the marine
environment, and they thus have the power to enact and enforce norms aimed
at avoiding contamination of their waters. Argentina has exercised and
will continue to exercise that authority in accordance with international
law.
8. Argentina acts responsibly in all matters relating to the protection
and preservation of resources. However, without international cooperation,
Argentina's efforts to preserve and protect the environment in the south-
west Atlantic could prove to be insufficient.
9. While the Argentine Republic respects freedom of navigation as governed
by international instruments, it believes that such freedom should be
regulated in the case of ships transporting highly radioactive substances.
The Government is determined to call upon the relevant international
organizations to enforce and strengthen international rules and standards
for preventing, reducing and controlling contamination, and to develop
rules regulating the passage of ships transporting highly radioactive
substances, to ensure, in particular, that the packing of such substances
meets the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerning safety in packing.
10. Finally, the Argentine Republic wishes once again to state that the
colonial situation of the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich
Islands persists in the South Atlantic, affecting its territorial
integrity. The increasing normalization of relations between Argentina and
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the ongoing
cooperation efforts and the expressly manifest will to regain sovereignty
by peaceful means and in accordance with the principles of international
law, of which the SecretaryGeneral and the United Nations General Assembly
have been informed, in addition to the constitutional commitment to respect
the way of life of the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands, have not
achieved a solution to the sovereignty dispute, which is greatly desired in
the South Atlantic region.
B. Brazil
[Original: English]
[14 August 1995]
1. The Government of Brazil reiterates its commitment to the purposes and
objectives of the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic
(ZPCSA), as expressed in resolution 41/11, in subsequent resolutions of the
General Assembly and in the decisions and declarations adopted by its
Member States.
2. Brazil hosted the third meeting of the States members of the ZPCSA,
held at Brasilia on 21 and 22 September 1994. The Final Declaration of
that meeting, Declarations on the Denuclearization of the South Atlantic,
on the Marine Environment and on Business Cooperation, and a decision on
the inter-sessional follow-up mechanism have been circulated in a document
submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session. 4/
3. Recent developments in the context of the South Atlantic, such as the
integration of a democratic South Africa in the ZPCSA and progress in
subregional integration agreements, offer new opportunities for enhancing
the links among countries sharing the African and South American coasts of
the South Atlantic. Further joint efforts are to be expected in order to
address challenges in areas such as the easing of tension, preservation of
the environment, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
cooperation for development, and in multilateral issues.
4. The Government of Brazil looks forward to participating in the next
meetings of the member States of the zone and welcomes the offers made by
the Governments of South Africa, Argentina and Benin to host future
meetings.
C. Malawi
[Original: English]
[9 August 1995]
The Government of Malawi is committed to the promotion of international
peace and security, and questions of peace and security are central to its
domestic and foreign policies. The Government therefore endorses the
objectives of the resolution. In addition, it supports measures which are
aimed at the conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources.
D. South Africa
[Original: English]
[11 October 1995]
1. South Africa welcomes the objectives of General Assembly resolution
49/26 of 2 December 1994. Bringing the countries of the South Atlantic rim
together in closer understanding and cooperation and by bridging a
military-free and nuclear-free ocean to increase political, economic and
cultural links between eastern South America and West African countries,
can be warmly subscribed to.
2. In this regard the South African Government wishes to underline recent
developments in relations between South Africa and the States members of
the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic, which developments
have contributed not only to a lessening of tension in the South Atlantic
but also to prospects for increasingly close economic and other contacts.
3. It is clear that the emergence of a democratic non-racial Government of
National Unity in South Africa, preceded by the independence of Namibia and
the reintegration of Walvis Bay into that territory, has not only afforded
South Africa the advantage of becoming the twenty-fourth member State of
the zone, but also provided a more propitious environment for furthering
the objectives of the zone.
4. The Government of South Africa remains committed to the principles and
objectives of the Declaration of the third meeting of the States members of
the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic, held in Brazil on
21 and 22 September 1994, and reaffirms its belief in the zone as a
veritable instrument for promoting international peace and security as well
as development cooperation.
5. As a mark of its commitment, South Africa will be hosting the fourth
ministerial meeting of the zone in Cape Town, South Africa, early in 1996.
6. South Africa recognizes the intraregional opportunities for the
expansion of trade, investment, cultural, tourism, sporting and other links
and wishes to cooperate in these fields in a positive and constructive
manner.
7. The zone provides a very important opportunity and framework for
promoting the common interests and aspirations of those African and South
American States which share the South Atlantic. Such an instrument could
also provide impetus and substance to South-South dialogue and cooperation
in general.
8. Global developments that have brought an end to the cold war and
realigned balances of power, particularly also in the South Atlantic,
afford member States a safer environment in which to pursue more relevant
and substantive economic, social, environmental and other regional issues,
and as a grouping vis-a-vis the rest of the world.
9. These new opportunities should be sought and vigorously pursued. As it
will be chairing the next meeting, South Africa will hope to make a
meaningful input in this regard.
10. It remains necessary, at the same time, not to become complacent about
the many problems that do beset the region and individual Member States.
Poverty and deprivation, human rights and asymmetrical development that
would benefit all, and not just some, must continue to receive earnest
attention. The region is capable of looking to itself for solutions and
the necessary political will must be found to establish that beyond
dispute.
E. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
[Original: English]
[9 August 1995]
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland welcomes the objectives of General Assembly resolution 49/26 of 2
December 1994, which are to promote peace and cooperation in the South
Atlantic. In this regard, the British Government wishes to draw the
Secretary-General's attention to developments in Anglo-Argentine relations
which have contributed to the lessening of tension in the south-west
Atlantic. In particular, cooperation continues in the forum of the South
Atlantic Fisheries Commission (contributing to the conservation of stocks),
and in the field of military confidence-building measures under the Interim
Reciprocal Information and Consultation System. Discussions continue to
try to find areas for cooperation over oil exploration around the Falkland
Islands (Malvinas), and to enable the removal of land mines left on the
Islands following the conflict of 1982.
III. REPLIES RECEIVED FROM ORGANIZATIONS AND
BODIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
A. Department of Public Information
1. The adoption of General Assembly resolution 49/26 was highlighted by
the Department's daily news programmes for broadcasting organizations,
including the Radio Bulletin Board, and received emphasis in its press
release service on 2 December 1994. United Nations information centres and
services, particularly those located in the region, publicized the action
taken by the General Assembly through their newsletters.
2. From the beginning of December 1994 to the end of June 1995, questions
relating to the purposes and objectives of the zone, with particular
emphasis on the interrelationship of peace, security and sustainable
development, have been the subject of 612 radio magazine and documentary
programmes produced altogether in 11 languages and distributed to about 800
broadcasting organizations. During the same period, 506 press releases in
English and French on issues pertaining to the resolution, including press
coverage of the World Summit for Social Development and of meetings of
intergovernmental bodies at Headquarters, have been produced and
distributed. A great number of those press releases, as well as relevant
background notes, have been transmitted by electronic mail and by pouch to
United Nations offices around the world, and through publicly accessible
databases and networks such as the Internet.
3. Through newsletters, group briefings, adaptation of information
materials produced at Headquarters and other forms of dissemination of
information, all United Nations information centres have drawn attention to
the efforts of the international community with regard to the establishment
of a zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic and its
objectives. These activities related to the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action 5/ adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on
25 June 1993 to promote human rights, the progress towards the full entry
into force of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin
America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), 6/ the implementation of
the Declaration on the Denuclearization of Africa, 7/ the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea and its importance to the South Atlantic,
the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21, 8/ and
the activities of the Organization on achieving a lasting peace and on
rendering humanitarian assistance to Angola and Liberia. Within the region
addressed by the resolution, special efforts with regard to the objectives
of the resolution have been undertaken by the information service in
Santiago and the information centres in Accra, Buenos Aires, Dakar, Lagos,
Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Washington and Windhoek.
4. Nine productions of the United Nations Television series "UN in Action"
for broadcasting by over 100 television stations, and six productions of
its programme "World Chronicle" for broadcasting by television stations in
North America, have been directed to issues with relevance to the
resolution. Issues before the World Summit for Social Development were the
theme of a 30-minute programme which was aired by major television
organizations.
B. Economic Commission for Europe
1. Although the major part of the zone falls outside the geographical
scope of the region of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the
Commission is offering its cooperation, if needed, in the field of the
environment, in which it has developed a number of environmental
conventions that could serve as a model for other regional groupings.
2. ECE would like to draw particular attention to the Secretary-General's
note to the Economic and Social Council 9/ on a Europe-Africa permanent
link through the Strait of Gibraltar and corresponding Council resolution
1993/60 of 30 July 1993. A similar note has been prepared for the
forthcoming session of the Council, outlining the work done on the bridge
or tunnel options during the period 1993-1994. ECE has been following this
issue since 1982.
C. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
1. The activities of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) focused on implementing the recommendations of the
meetings of experts on the law of the sea of the States members of the
zone, in the framework of the results of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development.
2. Since there have been no further meetings of its kind since 1991, the
ECLAC contribution to the goals of General Assembly resolutions on the
subject has been essentially through the transmission of pertinent
documentation of its activities in relevant areas such as the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Convention on Biological
Diversity 10/ and the Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary
Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 1989. 11/ ECLAC has been
sending these documents to Headquarters for submission to the Coordinator
of the zone.
3. ECLAC believes that stronger cooperation on environmental affairs in
the zone is essential and would like to be informed about technical forums
to be convened in the future, as well as about other possible existing
channels for information exchange with the newly established Permanent
Committee on the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic. Two
specific areas deserve inclusion in cooperation efforts between experts of
States members of the zone. The first is the need for cooperation between
Africa and Latin America in the control of the illegal traffic of hazardous
products and wastes and, in this connection, in the fostering of closer
links between the Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa
and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous
Wastes within Africa, 12/ and the Latin American and Caribbean
arrangements. The establishment of regional centres for training and
transfer of technology in the field could be another interesting area of
cooperation. The second area relates to the need for the preparation of
guidelines on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological
diversity. ECLAC convened a meeting in October 1994 to analyse some
aspects referring to coastal management in marine and coastal areas of high
biodiversity in the Atlantic.
D. United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
1. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) are
working in the South Atlantic through the regional subsidiary body of IOC
for the central eastern Atlantic (IOCEA), through Integrated Management of
Coastal Systems (COMAR) in Africa and South America, through a subregional
programme for the upper south-west Atlantic of Argentina, Brazil and
Uruguay, and through the initiation of a programme for the Benguela Current
system, including Namibia and South Africa, and possibly other partners in
Africa.
2. In this context, South-South cooperation is encouraged. Several
activities are carried out jointly with the United Nations Division for
Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. IOC has proposed a training centre
in West Africa as part of the United Nations/United Nations Development
Programme Train-Sea-Coast Programme.
E. World Meteorological Organization
1. Three countries bounding the South Atlantic (Argentina, Brazil and
South Africa) accepted international responsibility, under the new WMO
marine Broadcast Systems for the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
of IMO, for the broadcast of meteorological forecasts and warning, via
satellite, in support of maritime safety, to specified zones in the South
Atlantic. These broadcast services are now operational. The same three
countries also accepted provisional responsibility for providing
meteorological support services, under the WMO Marine Pollution Emergency
Response Support System (MPRESS), for the same zones, for operations in
response to marine pollution emergencies on the high seas. Formal trials
of the MPRESS are now under way.
2. Following a joint initiative of the WMO/IOC Data Buoy Cooperation Panel
and WMO/IOC/United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/International
Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) Global Climate Observing System (GCOS),
a cooperative international South Atlantic Buoy Programme (ISABP) was
formally established in October 1994. The programme groups 12 institutions
from six countries with interests in the South Atlantic (Argentina, Brazil,
Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of
America), with the objective of maintaining operationally an agreed network
of drifting buoys in the South Atlantic, measuring various meteorological
and surface oceanographic variables, in support of major programmes of WMO
such as the World Weather Watch (WWW) and those implemented jointly with
IOC, such as GCOS, the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the World
Climate Research Programme (WCRP). All data from these buoys are
distributed globally through the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) of
WMO. Technical coordination for ISABP is provided by the South African
Weather Bureau.
3. Under the IOC/WMO Integrated Global Ocean Services System (IGOSS), the
Argentine navy maintains a specialized oceanographic centre for the
collection, processing, archival and delivery, as required, of sub-surface
oceanographic data (primarily temperature and salinity) for the South
Atlantic.
Notes
1/ A/49/524.
2/ A/49/467, annexes I-V.
3/ Official Records of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of
the Sea, vol. XVII (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.84.V.3),
document A/CONF.62/122.
4/ A/49/467.
5/ A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III.
6/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 634, No. 9068.
7/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Twentieth Session, Annexes,
agenda item 105, document A/5975.
8/ See Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions adopted by
the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and
corrigenda), resolution 1, annex I.
9/ E/1993/80.
10/ See United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological
Diversity (Environmental Law and Institutions Programme Activity Centre),
June 1992.
11/ International Legal Material, vol. 28, p. 687.
12/ Ibid., vol. 30, 1991 and vol. 31, 1992.
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