Assembly expresses 'firmest support' for peace plan for Central America; special plan of co-operation to be ready in April 1988.

Assembly expresses 'firmest support' for peace plan for Central America 

Special plan of co-operation to be ready in April 1988

In its first political action, the forty-second General Assembly expressed its "firmest support" for the Guatemala Agreement for the establishment of peace in Central America. The Presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua -- who signed the Agreement on 7 August 1987 -- were called on to continue their efforts to achieve a firm and lasting peace in the region.

The Assembly adopted resolution 42/1 without a vote on 7 October, urging the international community to increase technical, economic and financial assistance to the Central American countries. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar was asked to prepare a special plan of economic action and co-operation for the region in support of the ongoing peace process, to be submitted to the General Assembly by 30 April 1988.

In the text, the Assembly stated its conviction that the peoples of Central America "wish to achieve peace, reconciliation, development and justice, without outside interference, in accordance with their own decision and their own historical experience, and without sacrificing the principles of self-determination and non-intervention".

The Guatemala Agreement, an initiative of President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his effort, "is the outcome of the decision by the Central Americans to take up fully the historical challenge of forging a peaceful destiny for Central America", the Assembly said.

'Tired of struggle, worn down by suffering'

Costa Rica, in introducing the text on behalf of its sponsors, the Central American countries and the Contadora and Support Groups, said: "Our peoples, tired of struggle and worn down by suffering, hope that the United Nations will today be a source of encouragement for the road ahead and a source of support in the days to come". In Central America it was now "a matter not of losses on the battlefield, but of reopening collective means of communication, negotiation and cease-fire; and one can see the reality of this change".

The United States called on Nicaragua to emulate El Salvador and initiate an open dialogue with its armed opposition, rather than trying to impose its will solely through unilateral action.

Nicaragua said it hoped the United States would stop its "acts of aggression and the financing of forces against our country", as that would be the most effective way to demonstrate its wish for peace in the region.

A firm and lasting peace

The Guatemala Agreement -- entitled "Procedure for the establishment of a firm and lasting peace in Central America" -- calls for: national reconciliation, dialogue and amnesty, an end to hostilities, democratization, free elections, termination of aid to "irregular forces or insurrectionist movements", non-use of territory to attack other States, negotiations on security, verification and control and limitation of weapons, assistance to refugees and displaced persons, establishment of an International Verification and Follow-up Commission and a timetable for fulfilment of their commitments.

The Assembly asked the UN Secretary-General to fully support the Central American Governments in their effort to achieve peace, especially by providing assistance so that the International Commission could effectively function.

Commission members -- the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Foreign Ministers of the Central American countries and countries of the Contadora Group (Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela) and the Support Group (Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay) -- met at UN Headquarters in New York in December to assess progress made in implementation of the Agreement.

They held meetings with chairmen of national reconciliation commissions and agreed that a delegation of the International Commission should visit the five Central American countries in early January 1988 to gather information before finally drafting a report to be considered in February by the Central American Presidents.

A joint UN/OAS team of experts visited the capitals of the region in late October 1987 to evaluate requirements for on-site inspection regarding the security aspects of the Guatemala Agreement.

Photo: The five Central American presidents signed the Guatemala Peace Agreement in August. From left, Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua; Napoleon Duarte, El Salvador; Vinicio Cerezo-Arevalo, Guatemala; Jose Azcona, Honduras; and Oscar Arias Sanchez, Costa Rica.