Security of small island states
Reports
PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY
|
OEA/Ser.G
CP/CSH-58/97 corr.1
10 February 1997
Original: English |
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY ON THE
SPECIAL SECURITY CONCERNS OF SMALL ISLAND STATES
RAPPORTEUR’S REPORT
I. INTRODUCTION
The Special Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric
Security on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States was
held on October 17 and 18, 1996 in accordance with General Assembly
resolution “Promotion of Security in the Small Island States “AG/RES.
1410 (XXVI-O/96), to consider the Agenda approved by the Committee on
September 20, 1996 /.
The meeting was presided over by the Chair of the
Committee, Ambassador Carmen Moreno de Del Cueto. The Chair of the
Permanent Council, Ambassador Beatriz Ramacciotti and the Assistant
Secretary General, Ambassador Christopher R. Thomas, addressed the
opening session of the meeting. The Secretary General's message to the
Meeting was also read /.
Delegations from Member States, which included
experts, participated actively in the two day deliberations and the
principal interventions have been attached to this Report /. A number
of presentations were also submitted in writing and circulated during
the meeting /.
The Meeting covered a wide and complex range of
issues. This Report attempts to record the salient points of the
presentations.
II. PROCEEDINGS
In order to facilitate an understanding of the issues,
an historical overview of the small island states of the Caribbean was
presented with emphasis on their democratic political traditions, and
cultural and developmental processes.
The deliberations were structured along the lines of
the Agenda, but there was considerable overlap in the presentations;
this section of the Report has therefore been organised under the
major themes which emerged from the various interventions.
The presentations underscored:
1. Security Concerns of Small Island States in the
Caribbean
• The subject of security within the Hemisphere
presents issues of common concern to all OAS Member States. There are
however, particular concerns regarding the nature and salience of
security threats to the small island states of the Caribbean.
• For the small island states in the Caribbean,
security is multidimensional, with military, political, economic and
environmental elements, involving both state and non-state actors.
• Threats to the maintenance of peace and security in
the Caribbean region emanate from both external and internal factors,
many of which cannot be managed or contained by individual national
initiatives.
• Due to their special vulnerabilities, small island
states consider that these threats include illegal trafficking in
narcotics, illegal trade in arms, increasing levels of crime and
corruption, illegal migration, economic vulnerability, environmental
degradation, susceptibility to natural disasters, transportation of
nuclear waste and increased levels of poverty.
1.a Sub-regional Responses
• Limited national capacity and the peculiar nature of
many security concerns, have led these small states to establish a
number of formal and informal sub-regional co-operative mechanisms and
arrangements, involving both military and civilian security personnel.
Operational links also exist with military and civilian security
forces outside of the sub-region.
• A notable example of sub-regional cooperation in
this area is the Regional Security System (RSS) established by treaty
in 1982, with seven member states in the Eastern Caribbean: Antigua
and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.
Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The RSS, which brings
together the military and/or police forces of its member states,
focusses on combatting drug trafficking and smuggling; responding to
natural disasters; and providing security assistance. The RSS has
operational links with other forces in the Caribbean and the
Hemisphere.
• Some of the small island states are members / of the
Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) which provides support to their
relevant national institutions.
• Non-military security concerns and threats that
confront small island states require different approaches to those of
conventional doctrines on security.
• In a study distributed by the Permanent Mission of
Canada / it is stated that security management approaches, such as
confidence expanding, in the sub-region may enhance existing
co-operative arrangements such as the Regional Security System, and
other mechanisms, as well as may seek to include additional
hemispheric partners in a broader regime.
• Cooperation with and assistance from multilateral
organisations continues to strengthen the national capacity of small
island states, thereby helping to reduce their vulnerability to
threats to their security. In this context, emphasis was placed on the
contributions made by the OAS itself and under the White Helmets
Initiative.
• In the current reform process currently being
undertaken in many multilateral organisations small island states are
committed to ensuring the promotion of activities which support and
facilitate their national development.
• Capability limitations underscore the necessity of
strengthened multilateral co-operation for the maintenance of peace
and security of the sub-region while respecting the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of each state, as recognized by international
law and the Charters of the Organization of American States and the
United Nations.
2. The Caribbean as a Zone of Peace
• In the context of the long-standing peaceful
relations among small island Caribbean states as well as with other
countries in the wider region, small island states do not consider
external military threats a major security concern at this time.
• Furthermore, small island Caribbean states’
membership in sub-regional, hemispheric and international
organisations and the importance they place on adherence to the norms
of international law, including the peaceful settlement of disputes,
are important elements in reducing their vulnerability to external
military threats.
• The benefits of recognising and declaring the
Caribbean as a Zone of Peace within the context of the United Nations
proposal to create specific geographic areas as zones of peace, --a
proposal which has been supported by many small island states and
other states in the Hemisphere. The potential for heightening
international awareness of the peculiar security concerns of small
island states, for increased multi-national cooperation in priority
areas, and for greater support for strengthening peace and security in
the Caribbean was noted.
• Furthermore, in the context of General Assembly
resolution “The Western Hemisphere as an antipersonnel-land-mine-free
zone” [AG/RES. 1411 (XXVI-O/96)], the small island Caribbean states
are free of antipersonnel-land-mines and do not produce, use or trade
in these weapons.
• Hemispheric states have an important role to play in
promoting international recognition of the Caribbean as a zone of
peace.
• As one step towards being declared as a Zone of
Peace, small island Caribbean states, which have not yet done so, can
benefit from ratifying the amendments to the Treaty for the
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (the
“Treaty of Tlatelolco”).
3. Special Security Concerns
The detailed aspects of special security concerns of
small island states can be categorised under two broad headings:
Economic and Social Issues, and Environmental Issues.
3.a Economic and Social Issues
i. Illegal drug-trafficking
• The problem of the production, consumption and abuse
of, and trafficking in illegal drugs was clearly identified as one of
the major non-military threats to the security of small island states.
• The consequential myriad of adverse effects,
including trafficking in illegal arms and high-powered weapons,
increasing levels of crime, institutional corruption and money
laundering, impact negatively on crucial economic sectors and on the
maintenance of peaceful, stable, democratic societies.
• A number of national and sub-regional mechanisms and
arrangements have been developed by small island states and supported
by hemispheric and international organizations, including the OAS, to
fight illegal drugs and related crimes.
• Limited capacity by small island states to deal
fully with this problem demands greater support for these measures and
further collaboration in this area, while respecting the sovereignty
of these states.
ii. Economic vulnerability
• Small island states are characterised by limited
domestic markets, open economies with a high dependence on trade, and
dependence on one or two exports of primary products and raw material
destined for one or two major markets. Trade policies of more
developed economies and of the international community are therefore,
critical variables in the economic viability of small island states.
• Stable and increasing market access is critical to
the economic security of small island states.
• The intensification of trade integration and the
liberalisation process presents both new opportunities and challenges
for small island states.
• Historical sensitivity to the economic
vulnerabilities of small island states which had led to special trade
regimes covering most of their exports should not be prematurely
jettisoned in the current global and regional trade liberalisation and
integration processes, as markets crucial to the economic viability of
those states could be lost, thereby ultimately threatening their peace
and stability .
• There is great concern in the Caribbean at the
possible impact of the current action against the European Union’s
Banana Regime in the World Trade Organisation (WTO); and the
implications for peace, security and stability in these small island
states.
• If preferential access for bananas exported by small
island states to Europe is rapidly dismantled as a result of the
complaint to the WTO, this would lead to the collapse of the banana
industry in the affected states, thereby resulting in massive losses
of foreign exchange earnings and rapidly increasing rate of
unemployment, in turn leading to social instability.
• In addition, the adverse effects of the collapse of
the banana industry in small island states would extend to other
non-banana producing small island states and the wider sub-region
because of the impact on the common currency of the Eastern Caribbean
countries, and the inter-dependence of trade in goods and services.
• Further, the capacity of many small island states to
import goods and services from developed hemispheric countries would
be eroded.
iii. Financing and debt relief
• The limited capital base of small island states can
place severe constraints on domestic efforts to develop and strengthen
socio-economic processes crucial to the maintenance of national peace
and security.
• One consequence of this limitation is the need for
continued access to external concessional financing, a significant
element in the sustainable development of small island states. The
inability of many small island states to access concessional financing
because of comparatively high per capita income indices, is cause for
great concern to them, as these indices do not reflect the high unit
costs in small island states. The issue of graduation as it applies to
small island states therefore, needs to be urgently re-examined by the
international community.
• The call for the establishment of a Regional
Development Fund which can assist small island states in meeting the
capital costs of improving their infrastructure.
• The export of capital through continuing high debt
burdens is a further constraint on domestic development processes and
has an adverse impact on the maintenance of stable society. Additional
creative mechanisms for reducing the debt burden of affected states
should be put in place.
3b. Environmental Issues
• The livelihood of small island states is founded
largely on agriculture, fisheries and tourism so that these countries
are highly dependent on their fragile eco-systems. The adverse impact
of natural disasters (hurricanes, volcanoes, floods and drought) on
their economies and on the fabric of their societies is significantly
heightened as any of these can cause immediate devastation, loss of
life, extensive damage to property, leading to the disruption to key
sectors of the total economy for protracted periods of time.
• The transhipment of nuclear waste through the
Caribbean Sea constitutes a threat of immense proportions to the
fragile eco-systems of the Caribbean and is itself therefore, a threat
to the security of small island states.
• Small island states have attempted to mitigate the
effects of natural disasters by developing, with the support of the
OAS and other regional and international bodies, a number of national
and sub-regional arrangements, which provide for training of relevant
personnel, identification of disaster-prone areas, development of new
building codes, and the mobilisation of both human and material
resources to assist disaster-stricken areas throughout the sub-region.
Intensified hemispheric cooperation on such initiatives is required ,
and in this context, continued support for the Plan of Action adopted
at the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island States / is of crucial significance for the mitigation process.
III. CONCLUSIONS
The interventions by the country experts and delegates
elucidated the special security concerns of small island states of the
Caribbean, providing a wealth of information on their peculiar
vulnerabilities and concerns to a wide range of non-traditional
threats. The Meeting served also to focus attention on the imminent
and farreaching impact of these threats to the immediate and long-term
viability of these small island states as independent sovereign
states.
The Committee decided to continue its consideration of
the issue of the special security concerns of small island states in
accordance with its mandates towards fostering and strengthening
security measures in small island states.
My duty as Rapporteur of this Special Meeting would be
incomplete if I did not mention the appreciation expressed during the
meeting to the His Excellency Lionel A. Hurst, Ambassador of Antigua
and Barbuda for his country’s initiative in placing this as a priority
issue on the agenda of the Organisation; the excellent chairmanship of
the Special Meeting by Her Excellency, Ambassador Carmen Moreno de Del
Cueto; and to the Permanent Observer Missions of France and the United
Kingdom for their participation in the deliberations. I also wish to
express my deep appreciation for the invaluable contribution by the
members of staff of the OAS Secretariat to the success of this
Meeting.
It was an honour to serve as Rapporteur of this
Special Meeting and I now submit this Report to the Committee on
Hemispheric Security.
January 1997
Gail Mathurin Minister, Alternate Representative of
Jamaica to the OAS
APPENDIX I
1. Special Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric
Security on the Special Security Concerns of Small Island States —
Agenda
PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE
OEA/Ser.G
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
CP/CSH-40/96 rev. 2
17 October 1996
COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY
Original: English
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC
SECURITY ON THE SPECIAL SECURITY CONCERNS OF SMALL ISLAND STATES
AGENDA
(Approved by the Committee at its meeting on September
20, 1996)
1. The security of small island states in the
Caribbean
a. Historical overview and the characteristics of the
region: democracy, culture, and development
b. Military alliances and ties with other security
institutions in the Hemisphere
2. Special security concerns of small island states in
a pacific age and peaceful region
a. External threats
i. Military
ii. Non-military (drugs, international crime, and
illegal arms trade)
b. Economic vulnerability
3. Multilateral cooperation to reduce threats to the
security of small island states
a. Inter-American experiences
i. The White Helmets experience
ii. Multilateral assistance by the OAS
b. International experiences
i. Economic assistance and human resource development
ii. Multilateral assistance from the UN, the
Commonwealth, and other international organizations
iii. The Pacific Islands' experience
4. The Caribbean as a zone of peace: background and
prospects
- Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in
Latin American and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco)
- Antipersonnel Land Mines
5. Building sustainable economic, social, and natural
security defenses to external threats in small island states
a. Development and use of appropriate economic
measurement devices
b. Natural disasters as causal factors in
un-sustainable development
c. Trade
i. trade in commodities and produce
ii. trade in services and tourism
iii. hemispheric integration
d. Finance
i. support for small- and medium-sized enterprises
ii. debt relief
e. Infrastructural development
f. Social development
g. Importance of international economic cooperation
for development in small island states
6. Final report
APPENDIX II 1/
1. Remarks by the Chair of the Permanent Council at
the Opening Session
2. Statement by the Assistant Secretary General at the
Opening Session
3. Message from the Secretary General
4. Intervention by the Chair of the Committee on
Hemispheric Security
APPENDIX III
1. Historical Overview and Characteristics of the
Caribbean Region (Antigua and Barbuda) 2. Realities of the Caribbean
security landscape (Antigua and Barbuda) 3. Special Security Concerns
of Small Island States: The Threat (Trinidad and Tobago) 4. Democracy,
Culture and Development (Antigua and Barbuda) 5. The Caribbean as a
Zone of Peace (Antigua and Barbuda) 6. El Caribe como Zona de Paz
(Venezuela) 7. Special Security Concerns of Small Island States in a
Pacific Age and peaceful Region: Economic Vulnerability (Jamaica) 8.
Special Security Concerns of Small Island States in a Pacific Age and
peaceful Region: The Importance of Considering the Security of Small
Island States (Antigua and Barbuda) 9. Special Security Concerns of
Small Island States in a Pacific Age and peaceful Region: Military
(Antigua and Barbuda) 10. Special Security Concerns of Small Island
States in a Pacific Age and peaceful Region: Non-Military (Jamaica)
11. La Securité des Petites Iles: les facteurs non militaires (France)
12. Multilateral Responses to Economic, Social and Natural Security
Threats for Small Island States (United States) 13. Multilateral
Responses to Economic, Social and Natural Security Threats for Small
Island States (Barbados) 14. Multilateral Responses to Economic,
Social and Natural Security Threats for Small Island States (Antigua
and Barbuda) 15. Multilateral Cooperation to Reduce Threats to the
Security of Small Island States: Multilateral Assistance from the
United Nations, the Commonwealth and other International Organizations
(Grenada) 16. Building Sustainable Economic, Social and Natural
Security Defenses to External Threats in Small Island States: "Trade
in Commodities and Produce" (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) 17.
Building Sustainable Economic, Social and Natural Security Defenses to
External Threats: Natural Disasters; Trade in Tourism and Services;
and Hemispheric Integration (Antigua and Barbuda) 18. Edifications de
defense économique, sociale et naturelle soutenable face auz menaces
extérieures dans les petits Etats insulaires: le problème des réfugiés,
déplaces et émigrés (Haiti) 19. Economic Assistance and Human Resource
Development 20. Development and the Use of Appropriate Economic
Measurement Devices in Small Island States (St. Kitts and Nevis) 21.
Natural Disasters (Antigua and Barbuda) 22. Natural Disasters
(Barbados) 23. Natural Disasters (St. Lucia) 24. Prevention des
catastrophes (France) 25. Natural Disasters (United Kingdom)
APPENDIX IV
1. Confidence Building: Managing Caribbean Security
Concerns, James Macintosh and Ivelaw Griffith, Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade Verification Research Program, Canada,
October 1996 (Canada) 2. Cascos Blancos en Acción (Argentina) 3.
Multilateral Cooperation to Reduce Threats to the Security of Small
Island States: Multilateral Assistance from the United Nations, the
Commonwealth and other International Organizations (Antigua and
Barbuda) 4. Special Security Concerns of Small Island States in a
Pacific Age and Peaceful Region: Non-Military (Bahamas) 5. A Call for
a Moratorium on the Manufacture, Trade, Transfer and use of
Anti-Personnel Land-Mines—A Synopsis (St. Lucia) 6. Multilateral
Cooperation to Reduce Threats to the Security of Small Island States:
The Pacific Islands' Experience (Antigua and Barbuda)
1. AVAILABLE ONLY IN HARD COPY
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