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SPECIAL DECLARATION 4: ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
The Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean, gathered in the Dominican Republic, on occasion of the Fifth Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), on January 25, 2017;
1. Reaffirm our commitment to the consolidation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a“ZoneofPeace,”proclaimedduringtheIICELACSummitheldinHavana,Cuba, on January 29th, 2014, which includes the commitment of the States of the region to continuepromotinggeneral,completeandnondiscriminatorynucleardisarmament as a priority objective.
2. We reiterate our deep concern for the threat to humanity that the existence, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as their humanitarian impact, and we stronglyemphasizethattheymustnotbeusedunderanycircumstances,andthat theuseandthreatofuseofnuclearweaponsconstituteacrimeagainsthumanity andaviolationagainstInternationalLaw,includingHumanitarianInternationalLaw as well as the United Nations Charter, thus, the only effective guarantee against the useorthethreatofuseofnuclearweaponsistheirtotalprohibitionandelimination in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner and within a clearly defined timeframe.
3. Weemphasizeourcondemnationoftheperfectingofexistingnuclearweaponsand ofthedevelopmentofnewtypesofthese weapons,whichisinconsistentwiththe obligation to adopt effective measures in favor of nuclear disarmament.
4. We urge the States who possess nuclear-weapon to fulfill their unequivocal obligations to eliminate their nuclear arsenals, under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the commitments arising from the NPT Review Conferences. We reaffirm that the NPT does not establish any right to the indefinite possession of nuclear weapons by any State, since the Treaty establishes a transitional status.
5. Wewelcometheupcomingcelebrationofthe50thAnniversaryoftheTreatyof Tlatelolco, to be held at the ministerial level in Mexico City, on February 14, 2017, withintheframeworkoftheXXVSessionoftheGeneralConferenceoftheAgency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), this meeting will reaffirm the support and the cooperation between its member States to continue working jointly towards the Nuclear Disarmament at the world level following the mandate of the Heads of State and Government of CELAC.
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6. Wereaffirm the importance of collaboration and cooperation between CELAC and OPANAL.
7. Wecallfortheadoption,intheleastamountoftimepossible,ofauniversaland legallybindinginstrumentinmattersofnegativesecurityassurances. Weurgethe States who possess nuclear weapons to withdraw the interpretative declarations made to Protocols I and II of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and to respect the denuclearized nature of Latin America and the Caribbean.
8. We welcome the adoption of Resolution No. 71/258 of the United Nations General Assembly [A/C.1/71/L.41], in light of which it is decided, among other aspects, to convene, in 2017, a United Nations conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument, that prohibits nuclear weapons, and leads towards their total elimination. We also encourage the active participation of all CELAC Member States in this multilateral process.
9.Wecommit toactiveparticipationof theregionintheHigh-LevelInternational Conference of the UN General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament in 2018, convened by Resolution No. A/ RES/68/32.
10.Wecelebratethe25thanniversaryoftheBrazilian-ArgentineAgencyforAccounting and Control of Nuclear Materials-ABACC-, the only global binational system for accounting and control of nuclear material, and we underscore its importance in safeguard matters, as well as in terms of transparency, dialogues and trust building.
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, January 25th,2017