CELAC declares peace culture: friendly relations, respect for self-determination, sovereignty, human rights, international law

CELAC Proclamation

Excerpt, end brief comment by Carolyn Bennett

Proclamation of Latin America and Caribbean as a zone of peace (Original signed by the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), Wednesday January 29, 2014

“…Cognizant also of the catastrophic global and long-term humanitarian impact of the use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and the ongoing discussions on this issue … Declare[d] (eight points):

Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace based on respect for the principles and rules of International Law, including the international instruments to which Member States are a party to, the Principles and Purposes of the United Nations Charter;

Our permanent commitment to solve disputes through peaceful means with the aim of uprooting forever threat or use of force in our region;

The commitment of the States of the region with their strict obligation not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any other State and observe the principles of national sovereignty, equal rights and self-determination of peoples;

The commitment of the peoples of Latin American and Caribbean to foster cooperation and friendly relations among themselves and with other nations irrespective of differences in their political, economic, and social systems or development levels; to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors;

The commitment of the Latin American and Caribbean  States to fully respect for the inalienable right of every State to choose its political, economic, social, and cultural  system, as essential conditions to ensure peaceful coexistence among nations;

The promotion in the region of a culture of peace based, inter alia, on the principles of the United Nations Declaration on a Culture of Peace;

The commitment of the States in the region to guide themselves by this Declaration in their International behavior;

The commitment of the States of the region to continue promoting nuclear disarmament as a priority objective and to contribute with general and complete disarmament, to foster the strengthening of confidence  among nations;

“We urge all Member States of the International Community to fully respect this Declaration in their relations with CELAC Member States in witness of the undersigned having duly signed this Proclamation in Havana, on the 29th day of the month of January of 2014, in a copy written in the Spanish, English, French and Portuguese languages.”

HEAR! HEAR!  

Well done.

Sources and notes

Zone of Peace declared

Summit: Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) gathered in Havana, Cuba, on January 28 and 29, 2014 at the Second Summit, on behalf of their peoples and faithfully interpreting their hopes and aspirations … signed declaration, http://celac.cubaminrex.cu/en/articles/proclamation-latin-america-and-caribbean-zone-peace-original-signed-heads-state-and-governm

 

T

he Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is a regional group of Latin American and Caribbean states which rose out of the February 23, 2010 Rio Group–Caribbean Community Unity Summit and was established on December 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, with the signature “The Declaration of Caracas.” CELAC consists of 33 sovereign countries in the Americas representing roughly 600 million people.

CELAC Member States: 33 countries speaking five different languages: 

Eighteen Spanish-speaking countries (56 percent of the area/63 percent of the population)
Argentina
Bolivia	Chile
Colombia	Costa Rica
Cuba	Dominican Republic
Ecuador	El Salvador
Guatemala	Honduras
Mexico	Nicaragua
Panama	Paraguay
Peru	Uruguay
Venezuela
One Portuguese-speaking country (42 percent of the area/34 percent of the population)	Brazil
	One French-speaking country (0.1 percent of the area/1.6 percent of the population)
	Haiti
Twelve English-speaking countries (1.3 percent of the area/1.1 percent of the population)
Antigua and Barbuda	Bahamas
Barbados	Dominica
Belize	Guyana
Grenada	Saint Lucia
Jamaica	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Trinidad and Tobago
One Dutch-speaking country (0.8 percent of the area/0.1 percent of the population)	Suriname
	Twelve countries are in South America: 87 percent of the area/68 percent of the population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Latin_American_and_Caribbean_States

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