PRESS COMMUNIQUE M-NAC-2(92)106 For immediate release
17th December 1992
MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL
NATO Headquarters, Brussels - 17th December 1992
FINAL COMMUNIQUE
1. We have met today at a time of serious challenges to
European security arising from regional conflicts. We have
consulted on this grave situation and on the contributions that
the Atlantic Alliance can make to meeting these challenges. As
the Harmel Report emphasised 25 years ago, the ultimate political
purpose of the Alliance is to achieve a just and lasting peaceful
order in Europe. This remains our goal. In our new Strategic
Concept, we have recognised the changing security environment.
To meet the new risks and challenges, we will use Alliance
resources and expertise in a framework of mutually reinforcing
institutions, while continuing to ensure an effective collective
defence.
Transatlantic Link
2. The transatlantic partnership, which is embodied in our
Alliance, remains vital for European security and stability. The
Alliance not only guarantees its members' security, but also
remains one of the indispensable instruments for promoting
stability and shaping change throughout Europe. An effective
Atlantic Alliance and a continuing active, broad cooperation
between Europe and North America are essential for a durable
order of peace and cooperation in the Euro-Atlantic area. The
substantial presence of US armed forces in Europe and the
continuing political and military commitment and active
engagement in European security of both the United States and
Canada will remain essential. The tasks we face in supporting
the process of democratic reform in Central and Eastern Europe
and the republics on the territory of the former Soviet Union
underscore the importance of maintaining a strong transatlantic
partnership based on a community of values and purpose.
NATO's Role in Peacekeeping
3. Following the decision which we took in Oslo, we have
reviewed the progress made concerning Alliance support for CSCE
peacekeeping, and have instructed the Council in Permanent
Session to complete its work on this issue. We will further
strengthen Alliance coordination in peacekeeping, and develop
practical measures to enhance the Alliance's contribution in this
area. The Military Committee has already advised the Council in
Permanent Session of the resources available and the modalities
for possible Alliance support for peacekeeping. We are ready to
share experiences in peacekeeping with our Cooperation Partners
and other CSCE participating states, and to join them as required
in supporting CSCE peacekeeping operations.
4. We confirm today the preparedness of our Alliance to
support, on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with our own
procedures, peacekeeping operations under the authority of the
UN Security Council, which has the primary responsibility for
international peace and security. We are ready to respond
positively to initiatives that the UN Secretary-General might
take to seek Alliance assistance in the implementation of UN
Security Council Resolutions. We have asked NATO's Secretary
General to maintain in this respect, under the guidance of the
Council in Permanent Session, the necessary contacts with the
Secretary-General of the UN regarding the assistance that the
Alliance could provide.
5. In this spirit, we are contributing individually and
as an Alliance to the implementation of the UN Security Council
resolutions relating to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
For the first time in its history, the Alliance is taking part
in UN peacekeeping and sanctions enforcement operations. The
Alliance, together with the WEU, is supporting with its ships in
the Adriatic the enforcement of the UN economic sanctions against
Serbia and Montenegro and of the arms embargo against all
republics of former Yugoslavia. UNPROFOR is using elements from
the Alliance's NORTHAG command for its operational headquarters.
NATO airborne early-warning aircraft - AWACS - are monitoring
daily the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Relations with Cooperation Partners and NACC
6. The Alliance is helping to promote stability throughout
the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia and
is supporting their reform processes. The North Atlantic
Cooperation Council, created a year ago, has developed into a
valuable forum for consultations on security and conflict
prevention. We have built up a broad and diverse programme of
practical cooperation in areas where our Alliance has competence
and expertise. We intend to develop further this dynamic
cooperative process step by step, giving it a more practical
focus. We have prepared, together with our cooperation partners,
a new and expanded Work Plan for 1993. The commitment of all
partners to full respect for human rights and democratic
principles, as set out in the CSCE documents and in accordance
with their international legal obligations, will continue to be
the basis of our cooperation. We welcome all positive steps
taken in this regard by our North Atlantic Cooperation Council
partners, and urge continued efforts.
Strengthening the CSCE Structures
7. The CSCE has an essential role to play in developing
a cooperative approach to security and in conflict prevention and
crisis management. We support the further strengthening of CSCE
structures and the extension of the CSCE's authority and
operational involvement in the prevention of conflict. We
welcome in this respect the strategy of active diplomacy agreed
at the CSCE Ministerial Council in Stockholm. We welcome, in
particular, the strengthening of the CSCE's operational
capabilities through structural reforms and the appointment of
a Secretary General; the appointment of a High Commissioner on
National Minorities; and the establishment of additional
mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes. As required,
we will support the work of the CSCE with whatever experience and
expertise we can usefully contribute.
8. We attach great importance to the Forum for Security
Co-operation in Vienna, established by the CSCE Helsinki Summit
Meeting as a framework for shaping a new relationship of
cooperative security among all CSCE participating states. We
have put forward, in association with other participating states,
a number of proposals for the Programme for Immediate Action
agreed in Helsinki dealing with the harmonisation of existing
arms control obligations, with defence planning and with the non-
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional
arms transfers. We will continue to develop further proposals.
We urge all states of the CSCE to participate in the Vienna Forum
as well as in all the other CSCE fora.
Practical Relationship between NATO and WEU
9. We reaffirm our support for the development of a common
European foreign and security policy and defence identity as
reflected in the Declaration on Peace and Cooperation adopted by
the Alliance in Rome on 8 November 1991 and in the Treaty and
Declarations adopted by the European Community and the Western
European Union in Maastricht on 9 and 10 December 1991. We
believe that the Alliance's interests are best served by a more
united Europe and that the maintenance of a strong Atlantic
Alliance will be a fundamental element in any emerging European
defence policy.
10. We welcome the results of the WEU Ministerial Council
meeting in Rome on 20 November, which confirmed the participation
of all European Allies in the activities of the WEU as full
members, associate members or observers, thereby reinforcing the
European pillar of the Alliance. We also welcome the progress
made by the WEU in further developing its operational role and
structures. These developments will facilitate close working
relations and interaction between NATO and the WEU. Our
cooperation in the Adriatic is a case in point. We reaffirm the
importance of maintaining Allies' existing obligations and
commitments of forces to NATO and we emphasise in this regard
that the primary responsibility of forces answerable to the WEU
will remain NATO's collective defence under the Washington
Treaty.
11. We have endorsed an Alliance document proposing
guidelines for the practical working relations between the two
organisations. These arrangements will help to ensure that all
the Allies are properly involved in decisions that may affect
their security. We look forward to the transfer of the WEU
Council and Secretariat to Brussels early in 1993, which will
allow close practical cooperation between the two Councils and
Secretariats. We welcomed the presence of the Secretary General
of the WEU, Mr. Willem van Eekelen, who participated in our
meeting for the first time.
We are committed to ensuring that the two organisations
continue to work on the basis of transparency and
complementarity, recognising that it is for each of them to take
its own decisions. We reiterate our appreciation of the fact
that in stating their aim of introducing joint positions into the
process of consultation in the Alliance, the WEU member states
have affirmed that the Alliance will remain the essential forum
for consultation among its members and the venue for agreement
on policies bearing on the security and defence commitments of
Allies under the Washington Treaty; and also of WEU's stated
intention to strengthen the role, responsibilities and
contributions of the WEU member states in the Alliance and to act
in conformity with the positions adopted in the Alliance.
12. We express our satisfaction at the initiative taken by
the French and German governments in submitting to the Council
their joint proposal on the relationship between the European
Corps they have created and the Alliance.
This major unit, which we note is open to the other WEU
partners, is a step forward in strengthening both the European
security and defence identity and the European pillar of the
Alliance.
We welcome the agreement between the French and German
Chiefs of Staff and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe on the
conditions under which the Corps is to be used within the
framework of the Atlantic Alliance.
This agreement will be considered by the Military
Committee and submitted expeditiously to the Council in Permanent
Session for approval.
Regional Issues
13. The use of force in contravention of international law
for whatever goal is intolerable. Regional conflicts cannot be
settled through violence, but only through negotiations and full
respect for human and democratic rights, including those of
persons belonging to national minorities, the territorial
integrity of all states and the inviolability of all frontiers
in accordance with CSCE principles and other relevant
international commitments and norms. We remain profoundly
concerned by the continuing violence in the former Yugoslavia,
including the abhorrent practice referred to as "ethnic
cleansing", and have issued today a separate statement on this
conflict.
14. We deeply regret the ongoing hostilities in and around
Nagorno-Karabakh. We urge the parties involved to establish an
effective ceasefire. We strongly support UN and CSCE principles
as well as all steps and decisions taken by the CSCE in relation
to the present conflict. We continue to believe the proposed
CSCE Conference in Minsk offers an immediate opportunity to
achieve a peaceful settlement of this conflict, and we support
efforts to convene the conference on the basis of the
continuation of the work begun in the framework of the Rome
meeting.
15. Completion of the expeditious withdrawal of foreign
troops from the Baltic states under appropriate withdrawal
agreements is important in view of the overriding principle that
military forces should be stationed on the territory of a foreign
state only with the consent of that state. The continuation of
the withdrawal process will be a major contribution to stability
in the Baltic region. We recognise that practical difficulties
have to be overcome, but temporary problems should not be allowed
to delay the overall process. This withdrawal should not be
linked to other issues.
We invite all parties to exercise flexibility and
moderation in negotiations to resolve remaining problems,
including those of a social and material nature.
Arms Control
16. We welcome the definitive entry into force on 9
November of the CFE Treaty, which, together with the Concluding
Act of the Negotiation on Personnel Strengths of Conventional
Armed Forces in Europe (CFE 1-A), we consider one of the
foundations of European security. We stress, following the end
of the CFE baseline validation period, the importance of all
parties adhering to the schedule for the reduction of Treaty-
limited equipment as well as to the information exchange,
verification and other provisions of the Treaty.
17. We look forward to the early entry into force of the
Treaty on Open Skies and to adherence to it by interested states
participating in the CSCE which were not original signatories to
the Treaty as provided for by Article XVII of the Treaty and
called for in the CSCE Open Skies Declaration of 24 March 1992.
18. We welcome the consolidation by CIS states of former
Soviet tactical weapons in Russia, the adherence to the START
Treaty by Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and the commitments
by those three states to eliminate all nuclear weapons on their
territories. We urge the earliest possible ratification of the
START Treaty in conformity with the Lisbon Protocol by those
State Parties having not yet done so. We reiterate our
expectation that Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine will take rapid
steps to fulfil their repeated commitments to accede to the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as non-nuclear weapon states.
Failure to do so would be a cause of serious concern. We also
renew our call upon them to expedite the elimination from their
territories of nuclear weapons as agreed.
We welcome all agreements concluded by Allies with
Russia to facilitate the rapid, safe and secure elimination of
former Soviet nuclear weapons. Allies underline their continuing
readiness to support this process of elimination and to consult
on the matter in the Alliance.
19. We welcome the agreement last June between the United
States and Russia to reduce their nuclear forces substantially
below START levels, and in particular the decision to eliminate
all multiple-warhead land-based strategic missiles.
20. We welcome the successful achievement of a draft
Chemical Weapons Convention. We look forward to becoming
original signatories of the Convention, and commit ourselves to
its early ratification. We call on all other states to do
likewise.
21. We remain fully committed to ongoing efforts to prevent
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related
technologies, as well as illegal arms transfers.
We urge all countries that have not yet done so,
particularly those located in regions where the risks of the
proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as well
as the acquisition of relevant technology have increased
alarmingly in recent years, to become parties to the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty and the Biological Weapons Convention, and
to commit themselves to signing and ratifying the Chemical
Weapons Convention as soon as possible. Strict compliance with
these accords is essential. We reaffirm our support for the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and for its indefinite extension
in 1995.
We urge transparency and restraint in the field of
conventional arms transfers. We support the newly establishedUN Register of
Conventional Arms and urge all UN member states
to provide by next April all required data in order to enable
this Register to be fully operational and effective.
* * * *
22. We were honoured by the presence of Minister Pierre
Harmel at our meeting. Despite all that has been accomplished
in recent years, we have not yet achieved the just and lasting
peaceful order in Europe which the Harmel Report laid down as the
goal of our Alliance. We had hoped that conflict and cruelty
might be banished from the continent. In the face of the new
challenges, that hope remains, and we will strive to our utmost
to realise it. The North Atlantic Alliance will continue to make
an essential contribution to securing peace and stability.
* * * *
23. We have asked the Secretary General, Mr. Manfred
Warner, to remain in office until 30th June 1996, and noted with
pleasure his acceptance.
24. The Spring 1993 meeting of the North Atlantic Council
in Ministerial session will be held in Athens in June.