Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean region – SecGen report

STRENGTHENING OF SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Report of the Secretary-General

CONTENTS

I.  INTRODUCTION

1. In its resolution 44/125 of 15 December 1989, entitled "Strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region", and adopted without a vote, the General Assembly, inter alia, welcomed any further communication to the Secretary-General from all States of proposals, declarations and recommendations on strengthening peace, security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region; invited the States members of the relevant regional organizations to lend support and to submit to the Secretary-General concrete ideas and suggestions on their potential contribution to the strengthening of peace and co-operation in the Mediterranean region; renewed its invitation to the Secretary-General to give due attention to the question of peace, security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region and, if requested to do so, to render advice and assistance to Mediterranean countries in their concerted efforts in promoting peace, security and co-operation in tho region and requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its forty-fifth session, on the basis of all replies received and notifications submitted in the implementation of the resolution and taking into account the debate on this question during its forty-fourth session, a detailed report on the strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region.

2. Pursuant to that resolution, on 6 April 1989, the Secretary-General addressed a note verbale to the Governments of Member States requesting their views on the question of strengthening security, peace and co-operation in the Mediterranean region.

3. As at 8 November 1990, six Governments had replied to the Secretary-General.  Replies and notifications received subsequently will be published as addenda to the present report.

4. Several delegations expressed their concern over the persistent tension in different parts of the region and the consequent threat to peace and reiterated their commitment to the strengthening of security in the Mediterranean region.

A number of speakers pointed out the link between security in Europe and in the Mediterranean region.  In that connection they stressed the necessity of continuous dialogue between non-aligned Mediterranean countries and the other States of the region and expressed hope that the follow-up meeting on the Mediterranean of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, to be held at Palma de Mallorca and forthcoming summit meeting between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Stated of America, to be held in Malta, could contribute to strengthening of confidence and security in the Mediterranean.

5. Some delegations noted that the next Ministerial meeting of non-aligned countries of the region, to be held in Algeria in 1990, could provide a new impetus for the improvement of the general situation in the Mediterranean.

6. Several delegations recalled that security and co-operation in the Mediterranean demanded settlement of the Middle East conflict, including the Palestinian question, a solution of the problem of Cyprus and the settlement of the crisis in Lebanon. Some delegations expressed concern over foreign military presence in the region. Several speakers reiterated an earlier proposal to create a zone of peace and co-operation in the Mediterranean through the reduction of military confrontation confidence-building measures and the withdrawal of the forces of non-regional Powers from the area. Some delegations emphasized that establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East should be a basic element in creating an atmosphere of trust in the entire region.

III.  REPLIES RECEIVED FROM GOVERNMENTS

CYPRUS

[Original:  English]

[4 June 1990]

1. The government of the Republic of Cyprus is firmly committed to the strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean. It therefore welcomes General Assembly resolution 44/125.

2. While the Republic of Cyprus joins others in acknowledging and welcoming the positive development and trends that have emerged particularly on the European continent, the Mediterranean region continues to be infiltrated by hotbeds of tension, occupation, aggression as well as continued military and naval presence of non-regional powers.

3. The security of the Mediterranean is closely linked with that of Europe and invariably conflict or tension in one region affects the other. Conversely, a stable situation helps to create a positive atmosphere of security. This principle of interdependence between the two regions was affirmed in the Helsinki Final Act of 1915.

4. It is in this context that the Republic of Cyprus continues to be alarmed at the persistence of conflicts affecting the Mediterranean region such as the Middle East problem, the question of Palestine, the critical situation in Lebanon and that of the continued military occupation of part of the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish armed forces following the invasion in 1974.

5. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has continuously advocated that the Mediterranean region should be a zone of security, peace end co-operation, free from conflict and confrontation, on the basis of the principles of sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, security, non-intervention and non-interference, non-violation of international borders, non-use of force or threat of use of force, the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, the peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for permanent sovereignty over natural resources.

6. The Government or the Republic of Cyprus reaffirms the applicability of the above and reiterates its commitment to the total demilitarization of the Republic of Cyprus upon the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation forces. There can be no doubt that a demilitarized Cyprus can contribute significantly to peace and security in the Mediterranean, in Europe and to international peace and security in the wider context.

7. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus wishes to reiterate the significance of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and the concluding documents of the Madrid and Vienna follow-up meetings, particularly the Mediterranean chapters.  It wishes to repeat in this respect the proposal of Malta, Yugoslavia and Cyprus to hold a meeting of experts from the countries participating in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe on problems of the Mediterranean.  It further emphasizes the validity of the declarations concerning the Mediterranean region adopted by the Foreign Ministers in 1984 and 1987 of the Mediterranean non-aligned countries in Valletta and Brioni, respectively, and the recent Non-Aligned summit held in Belgrade in 1989, as well as those of the Foreign Ministers of the CSCE countries in 1990, the Council of Ministers of the European Community and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held at Kuala Lumpur in 1989.

8. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus firmly believes that the United Nations can play an important role in resolving urgent Mediterranean problems, as expounded on in the General Assembly resolutions on the strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region and in the adoption of numerous Security Council resolutions dealing with the various conflicts in the region.  Adherence to and implementation of the General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, however, must occur if the Mediterranean region is to be transformed to one of security, peace and co-operation.

ECUADOR

[Original:  Spanish]

[8 May 1990]

1. Ecuador, a peace-loving country which has demonstrated its unswerving adherence to the principles enshrined in the United Nations charter as an essential basis for peaceful co-existence among nations and peoples, reaffirms its support for any measure that tends to strengthen and preserve international peace and security and, for that reason, unrestrictedly supports any initiative and recommendation designed to transform the Mediterranean region into a zone of peace and co-operation, through the elimination of the conflicts that have affected that region for many years.

2. Ecuador hopes that the encouraging development of international relations will have favourable repercussions on the settlement of those pending, difficult and complex issues, bringing solutions that guarantee peace, security and stability in the region and eliminating, at the same time, the threat to international peace and security that they present, to Europe in particular.

3. Similarly, Ecuador hopes that the envisaged meeting in 1990, at Palma de Mallorca, will help to strengthen confidence and security in the Mediterranean region.

IRAQ

[Original:  Arabic]

[11 May 1990]

The Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nation. presents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and, with reference to his note of 9 April 1990, drawing attention to General Assembly resolution 44/150 of 15 December 1981, entitled "Strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region", has the honour to inform him that Iraq reaffirms its previous position on this subject.

MEXICO

[Original:  Spanish]

[11 July 1990]

1. The Government of Mexico believes that the strengthening of security in the Mediterranean region depends on the measures taken to guarantee non-intervention effectively and to establish co-operation in the field of disarmament.

2. Security in the Mediterranean should be of interest not only to the countries of the region, because if this is weakened, international peace and security are endangered. Accordingly, all the countries of the world should urge the countries of the Mediterranean region to promote peace, security and co-operation in the region.

3. Mexico, which agrees with the content and scope of the resolution on the strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region, calls upon the States of the region to redouble their efforts tor the reduction of tension and arms and the creation of appropriate conditions to increase co-operation in all areas, on the basis of the principles of the United Nations Charter.

4. The Government of Mexico is aware that only the countries of the region can strengthen security and co-operation there. Accordingly, it urges them to act in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and with the provisions of the Declaration on Principles of International Law and to endeavour to intensify their relations of mutual friendship and co-operation.

UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

[Original: Russian]

[12 July 1990]

1. The Mediterranean region occupies an important place in the intricate mosaic of the problem of strengthening international security on our planet. In addition to sharing the general aspects of this problem, the Mediterranean has its own characteristic features. There are several concurrent security issues in the regional security and co-operation in Europe, a Middle East settlement, and the stabilization of the situation in North Africa. This strategic complexity is a legacy of the special situation of the Mediterranean, not only its geographical situation, but its political and economic situation, too. Moreover, the interests of many States, including the great Powers, clash and intertwine in this region.

2. It is particularly worrying that the military and political situation in the Mediterranean should remain so very complicated. Against the background of the retreat from confrontation and movement towards disarmament taking place in Europe and in a number of other regions of the world, the Mediterranean remains a military testing ground and the site of one of the most deep-rooted conflicts – the conflict in the Middle East. The region is saturated with the most up-to-date weaponss and powerful naval groups are deployed there. The arms race has developed on a gigantic scale in the Middle East, creating the threat of the appearance of chemical and nuclear weapons and powerful missiles.

3. It is therefore a matter of great importance and urgency to extend to the Mediterranean region the disarmament and confidence-building measures already being implemented in the European theatre. In this connection it would be extremely useful to apply to all military activities in the Mediterranean, whether naval, air or other operations, the confidence-building and security measures envisaged for Europe.

4. The situation in the region would certainly be improved by the implementation of the proposals of the Soviet Union on the demilitarization of the Mediterranean Sea, which include the simultaneous withdrawal therefrom of United States and Soviet warships.  As a start, the numbers of such ships and the potential of the naval forces of the two countries in the region, could be frozen and quantitative limits could subsequently also be introduced. It would be a useful concrete step in the direction of a transition from confrontation in the Mediterranean to co-operation if the USSR and the United States, without waiting for a final agreement on such measures, immediately introduced the practice of prior notification of each other and the other countries of the region concerning ship movements and military exercises, and if observers were invited to such exercises.

5. The various proposals of the countries of the region concerning the removal from it of foreign bases and fleets and the restriction of naval activities to an essential minimum are of great significance for the strengthening of security in the Mediterranean.

6. On the subject of the importance of removing military and political tension from the Mediterranean, it is important to note the relevance to the solution of this problem of the comprehensive development of regional co-operation with respect to the economy, the environment, transport, tourism, culture, and other sectors, for this would create the preconditions for building confidence and, subsequently, lowering the level of confrontation.

7. These approaches take into account, inter alia, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which stresses the importance of the CSCE process for strengthening security and improving co-operation in the Mediterranean region. The agreement reached in Vienna to convene a meeting on the Mediterranean at Palma de Mallorca in the autumn of 1990 has as its goal the consideration of various aspects of co-operation with a view to accelerating the social and economic development of the countries of the region, and protecting the ecosystems, biosphere and natural resources of the Mediterranean, and so on, as well as the drafting of the corresponding conclusions and recommendations.  This meeting must also take into account in its work the provisions of resolution 44/125 on the strengthening of security and co-operation in the Mediterranean and resolution 44/21 on enhancing international peace, security and international co-operation in all its aspects in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, which were adopted by the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session without a vote.

8. The Ukrainian SSR, as a Black Sea and therefore also a Mediterranean State, attaches great importance to the successful development of this process and considers it essential to step up the constructive efforts, including those made in the United Nations, to solve the problems of the Mediterranean on the basis of a broad dialogue and co-operation among all the States of this region of the world, with a view to transforming it into a zone of lasting peace, security and co-operation.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

[Original:  Russian]

[11 September 1990]

1. The growing rejection of confrontation in international relations and, above all, the radical changes in the political situation in Europe are creating a sound basis for the strengthening of stability and security in the Mediterranean and, at the same time, are rendering more relevant the search for ways of attaining this goal.

2. The Soviet Union is vitally concerned with the promotion of peace, security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region and ascribes great significance to the identification and practical implementation of a viable formula for the stable and secure development of this most important region.

3. In his address in Belgrade, in March 1988, the President of the USSR, Mr. Gorbachev summarized the Soviet initiatives in this area. These include proposals that the number of Soviet and American warships deployed in the Mediterranean should be frozen and limited, that ships carrying nuclear weapons should be withdrawn as should the United States and Soviet fleets on the basis of reciprocity, that the deployment of nuclear weapons in the territory of non-nuclear Mediterranean countries should be rejected and that the nuclear Powers should undertake not to use such weapons against any Mediterranean country which does not permit their deployment in its territory, that prior notification should be given of the movements of naval vessels and of the conduct of naval exercise and that observers should be invited to attend them, that there should be a reduction of armed forces, that the elaboration of principles and methods to guarantee the safety of busy shipping routes in this region should be promoted, and that agreed confidence-building measures should be extended to the region.

4. In November 1989, during his visit to Italy, the President of the USSR announced new ideas concerning consultations on problems caused by the continuing presence in the Mediterranean of the Soviet and United States fleet, consultations on a multilateral agreement to avert incidents at sea and in the airspace above the sea, contacts between the USSR and the European Economic Community, and between the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the European Economic Community, relating to the region's economic problems; and the creation of a forum for economic co-operation between Mediterranean States, including the Black Sea States.

5. The Soviet Union is willing to discuss the initiatives of all Mediterranean countries. It would like to reaffirm its proposal regarding the establishment of international machinery to assemble, organize and determine the order of priority and system for implementing all the existing proposals for the improvement of the situation in the Mediterranean. To this end, it favours the holding of a meeting of experts from the Mediterranean States and other interested States to discuss

this topic.

6. The USSR is pleased to note that encouraging signs are emerging in the situation in the Mediterranean. Its attention is drawn to a number of recent constructive initiatives, notable among which is the idea, currently being elaborated by France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, of convening a broad meeting on security and co-operation in the Mediterranean, drawing on the experience of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). Although many questions, such as the political content of this forum, its dates and its participants still need to be clarified, the very fact that the issue is to be raised at such a representative conference is evidence of the serious concern of the Mediterranean countries with the state of affairs in the region, and of their desire to change it for the better.

7. In its belief that tho solution of military and political questions is crucial to the normalization of the situation in the Mediterranean, the USSR is also closely following developments with regard to other pressing problem. in the region. It maintains that the time has come for a start to be made towards the attainment of goals which are generally acceptable to all Mediterranean countries, such as the solution of problems relating to the environment, the economy, transport, culture and tourism, and the development of parliamentary and other ties. The Soviet Union regards comprehensive co-operation at various levels, between Mediterranean States as one of the principal means of achieving stability and security in this region.

8. The USSR believes that every support should be given to the constructive role played in the Mediterranean process by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. The meetings of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Mediterranean members of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries at Valletta (1984) and Brioni (1987), as well as the results of the third meeting, held in June 1990 at Algiers, demonstrate that the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has considerable potential in facilitating the search for solutions to the region's many urgent problems.

9. A significant contribution to the task of normalizing the situation in the Mediterranean should be made by the effective holding of the meeting on the Mediterranean convened by the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.  The Soviet Union sincerely hopes that this meeting will be conducted in a businesslike atmosphere, free of confrontation and conducive to the pooling of ideal and initiatives. Questions concerning social and economic development and the protection of the environment of the Mediterranean region, as well as the unity of the environmental and hydrological systems of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, are of great practical importance to the USSR and to a number of Union Republics.  The Soviet Union will make concerted efforts to ensure that the meetings gives the necessary impetus to solving the complex of Mediterranean problems.

10. The Soviet Union is convinced that the United Nations is capable of making a significant contribution to the normalization of the situation in the Mediterranean. The General Assembly resolutions on the strengthening of security and co-operation in the region provide a positive basis for progress towards that goal. A prominent role could also be played in this by the United Nations specialized agencies concerned with the problems of the region. Importance attaches to the implementation of the United Nations programmes on the Mediterranean, such as those adopted under the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). Progress could also be furthered by other international organizations, whose activities are connected with the Mediterranean region (such as the League of Arab States, the Organization of African Unity and the Organization of the Islamic Conference).

11. The Soviet Union remains prepared, as before, to continue its productive co-operation with all interested parties with a view to making collective efforts towards transforming the Mediterranean into a region of lasting peace, confidence, stability and broad international co-operation.

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