1. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, convened in their Eighth Meeting of Consultation, declare that the continental unity and the democratic institutions of the hemisphere are now in danger.
The Ministers have been able to verify that the subversive offensive of communist governments, their agents, and the organizations which they control, has increased in intensity. The purpose of this offensive is the destruction of democratic institutions and the establishment of totalitarian dictatorships at the service of extra-continental powers.
The outstanding facts in this intensified offensive are the declarations set forth in official documents of the directing bodies of the international communist movement, that one of its principal objectives is the establishment of communist regimes in the underdeveloped countries and in Latin America; and the existence of a Marxist-Leninist government in Cuba which is publicly aligned with the doctrine and foreign policy of the communist powers.
2. In order to achieve their subversive purposes and hide their true intentions, the communist governments and their agents exploit the legitimate needs of the less-favored sectors of the population and the just national aspirations of the various peoples. With the pretext of defending popular interests' freedom is suppressed, democratic institutions are destroyed human rights are violated and the individual is subjected to materialistic ways of life imposed by the dictatorship of a single party. Under the slogan of "anti-imperialism" they try to establish an oppressive. aggressive imperialism which subordinates the subjugated nations to the militaristic and aggressive interests of extra-continental powers. By maliciously utilizing the very principles of the inter-American system, they attempt to undermine democratic institutions and to strengthen and protect political penetration and aggression. The subversive methods of communist governments and their agents constitute one of the most subtle and dangerous forms of intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
3. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs alert the Peoples of the hemisphere to the intensification of the subversive offensive of communist governments, their agents and the organizations that they control and to the tactics and methods that they employ and also warn them of the dancers this situation represents to representative democracy to respect for human rights, and to the self-determination of peoples.
The principles of communism are incompatible with the principles of the inter-American system.
4. Convinced that the integrity of the democratic revolution of the American states can and must be preserved in the face of the subversive offensive of communism, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs proclaim the following basic political principles:
a. The faith of the American peoples in human rights, liberty, and national independence as a fundamental reason for their existence, as conceived by the founding fathers, who destroyed colonialism and brought the American republics into being;
b. The principle of nonintervention and the right of peoples to organize their way of life freely in the political, economic, and cultural spheres, expressing their wills through free elections, without foreign interference. The fallacies of communist propaganda cannot and should not obscure or hide the difference in philosophy which these principles represent when they are expressed by a democratic American country, and when communist governments and their agents attempt to utilize them for their own benefit;
c. The repudiation of repressive measures which, under the pretext of isolating or combating communism, may facilitate the appearance or strengthening of reactionary doctrines and methods which attempt to repress ideas of social progress and to confuse truly progressive and democratic labor organizations and cultural and political movements with communist subversion;
d. The affirmation that communism is not the way to achieve economic development and the elimination of social injustice in America. On the contrary, a democratic regime can encompass all the efforts for economic advancement and all of the measures for improvement and social progress without sacrificing the fundamental values of the human being. The mission of the peoples and governments of the hemisphere during the present generation is to achieve an accelerated development of their economies and to put an end to poverty, injustice, illness, and ignorance as was agreed in the Charter of Punta del Este and
e. The most essential contribution of each American state in the collective effort to protect the inter-American system against communism is a steadily greater respect for human rights, improvement in democratic institutions and practices, and the adoption of measures that truly express the impulse for a revolutionary change in the economic and social structures of the American republics.
International communism makes use of highly complex techniques of subversion, and in the task of counteracting such techniques certain states may benefit from mutual advise and support;
The, American states are firmly united for the common goal of fighting the subversive action of international communism and for the preservation of democracy in the Americas, as expressed in Resolution XXXII of the Ninth International Conference of American States. held in Bogota, in 1948, and that for such purpose they can and should assist each other, mainly through the use of the institutional resources of the Organization of American States; and
It is advisable, therefore, to make available to the Council of the Organization of American States a body of an advisory nature, made up of experts, the main purpose of which would be to advise the member governments which, as the case. may be, require and request such assistance,
The Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Serving as Organ of Consultation in Application of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance,
1. To request the Council of the Organization of American States to maintain all necessary vigilance, for the purpose of warning against any acts of aggression, subversion, or other dangers to peace and security, or the preparation of such acts, resulting from the continued intervention of Sino-Soviet powers in this hemisphere, and to make recommendations to the governments of the member states with regard thereto.
2. To direct the Council of the Organization to establish a Special Consultative Committee on Security, composed of experts on security matters, for the purpose of advising the member states that may desire and request such assistance, the following procedures being observed:
a. The Council of the Organization shall select the membership of the Special Consultative Committee on Security from a list of candidates presented by the governments, and shall define immediately terms of reference for the Committee with a view to achieving the full purposes of this resolution.
b. The Committee shall submit reports to such member states as may request its assistance; however it shall not publish these reports without obtaining express authorization from the state dealt with in the report.
c. The Special Consultative Committee on Security shall submit to the Council of the Organization, no later than May 1, 1962, an initial general report, with pertinent recommendations regarding measures which should be taken.
d. The Committee shall function at the Pan American Union, which shall extend to it the technical, administrative, and financial facilities required for the work of the Committee.
e. The Committee shall function for the period deemed advisable by the Council of the Organization.
3. To urge the member states to tale those steps that they may consider appropriate for their individual or collective self-defense, and to cooperate, as may be necessary or desirable, to strengthen their capacity to counteract threats or acts of aggression, subversion, or other dangers to peace and security resulting from the continued intervention in this hemisphere of Sino-Soviet powers, in accordance with the obligations established in treaties and agreements such as the Charter of the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.
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The inter-American system is based on consistent adherence by its constituent states to certain objectives and principles of solidarity, set forth in the instruments that govern it:
Among these objectives and principles are those of respect for the freedom of man and preservation of his rights, the full exercise of representative democracy, nonintervention of one state in the internal or external affairs of another, and rejection of alliances and agreements that may lead to intervention in America by extra-continental powers;
The Seventh Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in San Jose, Costa Rica, condemned the intervention or the threat of intervention of extra-continental communist powers in the hemisphere and reiterated the obligation of the American states to observe faithfully the principles of the regional organization;
The present Government of Cuba has identified itself with the principles of Marxist-Leninist ideology, has established a political, economic, and social system based on that doctrine, and accepts military assistance from extra-continental communist powers, including even the threat of military intervention in America on the part of the Soviet Union;
The Report of the Inter-American Peace Committee to the Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs establishes that:
The present connections of the Government of Cuba with the Sino-Soviet bloc of countries are evidently incompatible with the principles and standards that govern the regional system, and particularly with the collective security established by the Charter of the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance;
The above-mentioned Report of the Inter-American Peace Committee also states that:
It is evident that the ties of the Cuban Government with the Sino-Soviet bloc will prevent the said government from fulfilling the obligations stipulated in the Charter of the Organization and the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance;
Such a situation in an American state violates the obligations inherent in membership in the regional system and is incompatible with that system;
The attitude adopted by the present Government of Cuba and its acceptance of military assistance offered by extra-continental communist powers breaks down the effective defense of the inter-American system; and
No member state of the inter-American system can claim the rights and privileges pertaining thereto if it denies or fails to recognize the corresponding obligations.
The Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Serving as Organ of Consultation in Application of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
1. That, as a consequence of repeated acts, the present Government of Cuba has voluntarily placed itself outside the inter-American system.
2. That this situation demands unceasing vigilance on the part of the member states of the Organization of American States, which shall report to the Council any fact or situation that could endanger the peace and security of the hemisphere.
3. That the American states have a collective interest in strengthening the inter-American system and reuniting it on the basis of respect for human rights and the principles and objectives relative to the exercise of democracy set forth in the Charter of the Organization; and, therefore
1. That adherence by any member of the Organization of American States to Marxism-Leninism is incompatible with the inter-American system and the alignment of such a government with the communist bloc breaks the unity and solidarity of the hemisphere.
2 That the present Government of Cuba, which has officially identified itself as a Marxist-Leninist government, is incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system
3. That this incompatibility excludes the present Government of Cuba from participation in the inter-American system.
4. That the Council of the Organization of American States and the other organs and organizations the inter-American system adopt without delay the measures necessary to comply with this resolution.
The Inter-American Defense Board was established pursuant to Resolution 39 of the Third Meeting of Consultation of Foreign Ministers held in Rio de Janeiro in 1949;, recommending the immediate meeting of a commission composed of military and naval technicians appointed by each of the governments to study and to suggest to them measures necessary for the defense of the hemisphere
The Inter-American Defense Board, on April 26, 1961, resolved that the participation of the Cuban regime in defense planning is highly prejudicial to the work of the Board and to the security of the hemisphere; and
The present Government of Cuba is identified with the aims and policies of the Sino-Soviet bloc.
The Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Serving as Organ of Consultation in Application of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.
To exclude immediately the present Government of Cuba from the Inter-American Defense Board until the Council of the Organization of American States shall determine by a vote of two-thirds of its members that membership of the Government of Cuba is not prejudicial to the work of the Board or to the security of the hemisphere.
The Report of the Inter-American Peace Committee to the Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs states, with regard to the intense subversive activity in which the countries of the Sino-Soviet bloc and the Cuban Government are engaged in America, that such activity constitutes "a serious violation of fundamental principles of the inter-American system"; and,
During the past three years 13 American states have found it necessary to break diplomatic relations with the present Government of Cuba,
The Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Serving as Organ of Consultation in Application of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
1. To suspend immediately trade with Cuba in arms and implements of war of every kind.
2. To charge the Council of the Organization of American States. in accordance with the circumstances and with due consideration for the constitutional or legal limitations of each and every one of the member states, with studying the feasibility and desirability of extending the suspension of trade to other items, with special attention to items of strategic importance.
3. To authorize the Council of the Organization of American States to discontinue, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members, the measure or measures adopted pursuant to the preceding paragraphs, at such time as the Government of (tuba demonstrates its compatibility with the purposes and principles of the system.
Honduras wishes to have the explanation of the position it adopted in voting for Resolution VI, Exclusion of the Present Government of Cuba from Participation in the Inter-American System, recorded in the Final Act
With regard to the observations of a juridical nature made by several distinguished foreign ministers, Honduras maintains the existence of sufficient bases in the letter and in the spirit of the treaties and conventions of the regional system.
In the last analysis, however, in view of the threat to the peace and security of the hemisphere, in view of the threat to the dignity and freedom of the inhabitants of the Americas, and in view of the political presence of the Soviet Union in America, the Delegation of Honduras, aware of the juridical doubt that might arise, has not hesitated to give the benefit of the doubt to the defense of democracy in America.
In view of the statement made by the Representative of Uruguay at the second plenary session, held on January 31, 1962, the Delegation of Argentina wishes to record that it reiterates the juridical views expressed by Dr. Miguel Angel Carcano, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, at the ninth session of the General Committee, in explanation of his vote on Resolution VI of this Final Act.
The position of Colombia has been defined in the two statements that will be shown in the minutes of the second plenary session of this Eighth Meeting of Consultation, and that refer to general policy and to Resolution VI.
The Delegation of Mexico wishes to make it a matter of record in the Final Act of the Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, that, in its opinion, the exclusion of a member state is not juridically possible unless the Charter of the Organization of American States is first amended pursuant to the procedure established in Article 111.
My country is proud to have participated in these discussions, which have taken place in an atmosphere of calm, of courtesy, and of mutual respect.
Haiti came to Punta del Este with the firm intention of defending the principles of nonintervention and self-determination of peoples with all that they imply. Haiti remains firmly attached to these intangible principles, which guarantee an order of mutual respect in relations among peoples of different languages and cultures.
Here Haiti has become persuaded that "the fallacies of communist propaganda cannot and should not obscure or hide the difference in philosophy which these principles represent when they are expressed by a democratic American country, and when communist governments and their agents attempt to utilize them for their own benefit."
This is the sole reason for the change in the position and attitude of my country, which is honored to have had a modest part in resolving a problem which jeopardized the peace, the solidarity, and the unity of the hemisphere.
The Delegation of Ecuador wishes to state in the record that the exclusion of a member state from the inter-American system could only be accomplished through the prior amendment of the Charter of the Organization of American States to grant the power to exclude a state.
The Charter is the constitutional juridical statute that prevails over any other inter-American instrument.
With respect to Resolution VIII, Ecuador abstained from voting, inasmuch as sanctions are being applied, by invoking the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, sanctions that begin with the suspension of traffic in arms with the possibility of being extended to other items, with special attention to items of strategic importance, a concept that might include basic necessities of which the Cuban people should not be deprived and thus make the present situation more critical.
Of course, Ecuador, as a peace-loving country, reaffirms its faith in peaceful methods to settle controversies between states and condemns illegal traffic in arms.
In view of the statement made by the Representative of Uruguay at the plenary session held on January 31,1962, the Delegation of Brazil reaffirms the validity of the juridical bases of the position taken by its country with respect to Resolution VI of the Eighth Meeting of Consultation, which position was explained at length by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil in statements made at the sessions of the General Committee held on January 24 and 30,1962.
The Delegation of Uruguay wishes to state in the record that, in adopting its position in the Eighth Meeting of Consultation, far from violating or forgetting the juridical standards applicable to the Cuban case, it adhered strictly to them, as befits its old and honorable tradition of being a defender of legality. The bases for this position were explained at the plenary session held on January 31, as will be shown in the minutes of that session.
(1) A total of nine resolutions were adopted. Those listed herein carry their original numbering. The resolutions were adopted In General Committee during the evening of January 30 and in the early morning of January 3l, 1962. They were incorporated In the Final Act which was adopted unanimously in plenary session on January 31,1962. Back
(2) Adopted by a vote of 20 to 1 (Cuba). Back
(3) Adopted by a vote of 19 to 1 (Cuba), with 1 abstention (Bolivia). Back
(4) Adopted by a vote of 14 to 1 (Cuba), with 6 abstentions (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). Back
(5) Adopted by a vote of 20 to 1 (Cuba). Back
(6) Adopted by a vote of 16 to 1 (Cuba), with 4 abstemious (Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). Back
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Source: Inter-American relations; collection of documents, legislation, descriptions of inter-American organizations, and other material pertaining to inter-American affairs. Compiled by Barry Sklar and Virginia M. Hagen Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1972 |