ARGENTINA
in BRIEF
Foreign
Policy
The
main thrust of Argentine Foreign Policy can be summarized as follows:
Argentina
abides by the United Nations Charter maintaining friendly relations with
the different member States. It
respects the decisions emanated from the General Assembly and the
Security Council participating in peacekeeping activities decided by the
Organisation.
At
regional level Argentina attaches great importance to the relations with
Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
MERCOSUR (the Common Market set up by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
and Paraguay) is a model of economic integration based on freedom and
democracy, in which cooperation is at the very heart of the system. Bolivia and Chile
have become associate partners of MERCOSUR through the negotiation of a
free trade agreement with the four original members.
As
a demonstration of the excellent relations with neighbouring countries
in the area of security and defence, Argentina proposed the adoption of
the political declaration of MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile as a zone of
peace, which was signed at the MERCOSUR summit held in Argentina on July
24th 1998.
On
nuclear issues, Argentina was the first country which, having mastered
the nuclear fuel cycle, chose to limit the use of this technology to
peaceful purposes. This
commitment has been shown through the following concrete steps:
i)
The ratification of the Tlatelolco Treaty in 1994 and the
Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995, and
ii)
Becoming a member of the nuclear suppliers group.
In
the chemical and bacteriological field, Argentina was the country that
promoted the Mendoza Declaration of 1991, an engagement originally
limited to Argentina, Brazil and Chile which was later extended to most
Latin American countries. Domestic
legislation was also adopted to strictly control exports related to the
dual use of chemical products, bacteriological substances and missile
technology.
The
vitality of democratic ideals in the region was confirmed with the
signing of the Ushuaia protocol on July 24th 1999, as a
follow up of the Mendoza Declaration.
This protocol established the region as an area free of weapons
of mass destruction, and reaffirmed that only countries ruled
democratically can be members of MERCOSUR.
It was signed by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and
Uruguay.
With
regard to conventional weapons, Argentina strongly supports the UN Arms
Register to which it regularly provides information. It also supports other important initiatives recently adopted
within the framework of the Organisation of American States (OAS), such
as the Convention which forbids the production and illicit traffic of
weapons, ammunition, explosives, and related materials.
Traffic on small arms constitutes another source of international
concern;
it is worth mentioning that regional and international seminars have
recently been held in Buenos Aires on this topic.
Argentina
is not indifferent to the grave scourge of antipersonnel mines.
In 1995, it established a moratorium on the exports of mines and
more recently, in December 1997 in Ottawa, Argentina signed the
Convention on the prohibition of Antipersonnel Mines.
In
its region Argentina works earnestly and in a spirit of commitment to
overcome all differences by means of negotiation.
As each of the few cases of pending bilateral disputes are
gradually resolved, the Latin American continent is definitively
consolidating as a zone of peace.
The
resurgence of terrorist attacks comes as a harsh reminder that no state
is immune to terrorism. Argentina
firmly supports the initiatives underway to supplement the network of
anti-terrorism rules currently in force with new conventions, leading to
enhanced international cooperation and the establishment of the
obligation of all states to bring to justice and punish those
responsible for these terrorist acts.
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The
year 1998 marked the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Connected with this are the severe global humanitarian crises,
which are usually accompanied by large displacement of people.
Argentina has joined the international community's efforts with
bilateral assistance programs. In
1998, Argentina commemorated the 40th Anniversary of its participation
in peacekeeping operations. The
vast experience acquired over these past forty years has been embodied
in the Argentine joint training centre for peace-keeping operations, and
in the training centre of the Argentine Gendarmerie specialising in
civilian police operations. Members
of the Armed Forces and the Gendarmerie are serving under the United
Nations´ peacekeeping operations in different places all around the
world, including Cyprus, Croatia, East Timor, and Kosovo.
Argentina's
natural interest in the South Atlantic is reflected in its participation
in the zone of peace and cooperation that brings together twenty four
African and Latin American countries on both shores of the Atlantic
Ocean. On the 21st and 22nd
October 1999, Argentina was the venue of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting
of the Member Countries of the South Atlantic Zone of Peace and
Cooperation.
Unfortunately,
an important issue remains unresolved in the South Atlantic: the
sovereignty dispute between the Argentine Republic and the United
Kingdom regarding the Malvinas Islands.
The dispute’s existence has been unequivocally recognised in
many Resolutions of the General Assembly and the Committee on
Decolonisation, as well as in various international fora.
Argentina has repeatedly urged the United Kingdom to listen to
the call of the international community and observe United Nations
Resolutions that call upon both governments to resume negotiations on
all aspects of this issue.
In
spite of this dispute, Argentina has rebuilt its relationship with the
United Kingdom and strengthened political, trade and cultural ties. This
is evidenced by visits at the highest level between the two countries,
most recently that of President Nestor Kirchner in 2003.
Argentina
maintains the creation of a climate of mutual trust in the South
Atlantic, cooperating with the United Kingdom as regards the
preservation of fisheries resources and the exploration for
hydrocarbons.
The
deterioration of the environment, in its various forms, is one of the
problems urgently requiring concrete answers and effective commitments
by governments and the civil society.
In awareness of this necessity, Argentina hosted the Fourth
Conference of Contracting Parties of the Convention on Climate Change
and the Tenth Session of the
Conference of the Parties (COP 10), from 6-17 December 2004 in Buenos Aires.
In
2001 the city of Buenos Aires was elected as the permanent headquarters
of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, which seeks to protect Antarctica's
environment and natural habitat.
With
regard to the reform of the Security Council, Argentina believes that
the situation born out of the Second World War cannot prevail
indefinitely. It is
necessary to find democratic solutions that will allow for periodic
renewal of the members of the Security Council within the modalities
chosen by each region, however, any increase in the numbers of permanent
members should be based on rotation.
The viability of this reform will necessarily depend on the
political engagement of the parties towards consensus.
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