OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1622 (XXIX-O/99)
7 June 1999
Original: Spanish

CONSOLIDATION OF THE REGIME ESTABLISHED IN THE TREATY FOR
THE PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN LATIN AMERICA
AND THE CARIBBEAN (TREATY OF TLATELOLCO)

(Adopted at the first plenary session, held on June 7, 1999,
and pending review by the Style Committee)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

RECALLING its previous resolutions on this topic, especially resolutions AG/RES. 1499 (XXVII-O/97) and AG/RES. 1571 (XXVIII-O/98);

CONVINCED that the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones is an important step toward disarmament, which significantly strengthens all aspects of the international nonproliferation regime, thus contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security;

CONVINCED ALSO, that as stated in the Preamble to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, militarily denuclearized zones are not an end in themselves, but rather a means for achieving general and complete disarmament at a later stage;

RECOGNIZING that the Treaty of Tlatelolco has become the model for the establishment of other nuclear-weapon-free zones in various regions of the world, such as the South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga), Southeast Asia (Treaty of Bangkok), and Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba), which, when they enter into force, will cover more than half the countries of the world and all the territories in the Southern Hemisphere;

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that on August 21, 1998, Guatemala deposited its instrument of ratification of the amendment to the Treaty, pursuant to resolution 267 (E-V) of the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL);

NOTING WITH SATISFACTION ALSO that on January 18 and 20, 1999, Colombia and Costa Rica, respectively, deposited their instruments of ratification of the amendments to the Treaty, pursuant to resolutions 267 (E-V), 268 (XII), and 290 (E-VII) of the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL); and

BEARING IN MIND that the Treaty of Tlatelolco is now in force for 32 sovereign states of the region,

RESOLVES:

1. To welcome the steps taken by a number of countries in the region to consolidate the regime established by the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

2. To urge the governments of the region that have not yet done so to deposit their instruments of ratification of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, as well as of the amendments to the Treaty, pursuant to resolutions 267 (E-V), 268 (XII), and 290 (E-VII) of the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL).

3. To reaffirm the importance of strengthening the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) as the appropriate legal and political forum for ensuring unqualified observance of the Treaty in its zone of application and cooperation with the agencies of other nuclear-weapon-free zones.

4. To renew its appeal to the governments that have not yet done so to negotiate, as soon as possible, multilateral or bilateral agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency for application of that Agency's safeguards to their nuclear activities, as stipulated in Article 13 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

5. To reaffirm its commitment to continue striving for a universal, genuine, and nondiscriminatory nonproliferation regime in all its aspects.

6. To request the Secretary General to transmit this resolution to the Secretary General of OPANAL and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.