Zone of Peace and Cooperation	Brief overview	Final Declaration	Plan of Action

LUANDA PLAN OF ACTION

VITH MINISTERIAL MEETING OF MEMBER STATES OF THE ZONE OF PEACE AND COOPERATION OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC (ZPCSA)
18-19 June 2007
Luanda, Angola

Annex A

We, the Ministers of the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic, hereinafter referred to as “the Zone”, meeting in Luanda, Angola from 18 to 19 June, 2007, on the occasion of the VIth Ministerial Meeting of Member States of the Zone, with a view to revitalizing the activities of the Zone;

Having realized the need for follow-up on the provisions of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, adopted by the 5th Ministerial Meeting, held in Buenos Aires from 21 to 22 October, 1998;

Welcoming the conclusions and recommendations of the three Workshops of the Zone, held in 2007, within the framework of the “Luanda Initiative”;

Having agreed to adopt the Luanda Plan of Action, we commit ourselves to ensuring its implementation as follows:

I. Economic Cooperation: Contributing to Poverty Eradication by Creating Partnerships for Sustainable Development, Trade, Investment, and Tourism

In order to increase cooperation in vital areas such as Clean Fuels and Environmentally Friendly Energy/Biofuel, Agricultural and Livestock Production, Human Resource Development, HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, Biotechnology, Education and Infrastructure Development, agree to:

Enhance the exchange of information, successful national experiences, lessons learnt as well as to exchange knowledge and technology, promote closer ties between business enterprises of the countries of the Zone, including trade fairs and commercial missions by encouraging, inter alia, the establishment of Diplomatic Relations among all Member States of the Zone;
Promote South-South cooperation, particularly in the fields of Science and Technology as well as in the Development of Human Resources;
Further develop transportation and communication within the Zone in order to facilitate greater contact, promote trade and enhance tourism among the Member States of the Zone;
Encourage the reinforcement of private sector cooperation, in particular business associations and Chambers of Commerce, to promote reciprocal investments and trade;

Encourage greater exchanges among civil societies of the Member States of the Zone, including in sports as well as the enhancement of cultural cooperation, bearing in mind the importance of youth and gender issues and the significance of the African Diaspora in South American countries;

Establish an Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on economic cooperation in order to contribute to poverty eradication by creating partnerships for sustainable development, trade, investment, and tourism.

II. Crime Prevention and Combating Drug Trafficking, Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons and Transnational Organized Crime, including Piracy

In the pursuit of crime prevention and the combating of illicit activities such as drug trafficking, the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons as well as other transnational organized crimes, including piracy, across the regions of the Zone, have decided on the following joint actions according to their national legislation:

1. Encourage technical cooperation for human and institutional capacity building;

2. Promote the exchange of experiences and best practices related to the reduction of the demand of illicit drugs with the objective of reducing the use and abuse of illicit drugs in the States of the Zone and generating greater resources for the treatment and social reintegration of drug dependents, and to foster cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination in combating traffic in human beings, drug trafficking, illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and transnational organized crime, including piracy, as well as for the establishment of early warning information on planned trafficking activities;

3. Emphasise that national policies could be complemented by regional, sub-regional, and international agreements, including through cooperation among the Member States of the Zone, for their implementation;

4. Promote the full implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action for the Prevention, Combating and Eradication of the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects, and support regional efforts to curb the flow of ammunition, as well as the implementation of regional initiatives with the same goal;

5. Foster cooperation for the reinforcement of border security and control;

6. Establish an information exchange and sharing network of Zone Member national authorities and institutions, including through judicial cooperation;

7. Establish or strengthen national arms registries, control policies and systems, including legislation, safekeeping of government inventories, building capacities in customs and law enforcement agencies;

8. Establish national and regional marking and tracing mechanisms;

9. Implement surplus and obsolete arms and ammunition destruction policies;

10. Design and implement public awareness campaigns, including with the participation of civil society;

11. Promote and exchange experiences on the voluntary surrender of illicit small arms and light weapons;

12. Request the Chair of the Zone to resume consultations with the United Nations International Drug Control Program on cooperation with the Member States of the Zone for the development and implementation of an anti-drug initiative within the Zone;

13. Establish an Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on combating illicit activities and transnational organized crime to further explore priorities, opportunities and mechanisms for cooperation among the Member States of the Zone and with relevant international institutions and organizations.

III. Peace, Stability and Security, including Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding within the Zone

In order to improve the capacity of Zone Members to engage in peacebuilding and peace support operations, further agree to take the following actions, taking into account the primary responsibility of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security:

Establish modalities for more effective cooperation, coordination and harmonization with regional and sub-regional organizations, in particular with the OAS, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), especially in the fields of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and take appropriate steps to take advantage of the provisions of the Security Council resolution 1631, regarding cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and regional as well as sub-regional organizations in maintaining International Peace and Security in conformity with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter;
Increase cooperation among the Member States of the Zone as well as with the international community on issues such as capacity building, logistics and information exchange;
Participate in the United Nations Registry of Conventional Arms;
Further increase the use of the existing Training Schools and the International and Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre, among others;
Promote the role of regional and sub-regional peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts and operations in accordance with chapter 8 of the United Nations Charter;
Undertake practical measures to address existing gaps between the United Nations mandates and the situations in the area. These measures could include:
- periodic updates of the Blue Book;
- establishment of permanent mechanisms for information gathering and sharing in the field;
- periodic update of the mandates as per the information obtained by these mechanisms;
- revision of the participation of the medical element in the missions;
- increment of the information on the context of the conflict, needed resources for the operation, and lessons learnt;
- inclusion of local legal and cultural frameworks to the mandates;
- joint training for the different participating agencies;
Explore the possibility of organizing joint exercises at the Zone level;
Promote, improve upon and deepen the capacity of Member States of the Zone to provide continuous support for, and participation in United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities;
Develop a list of Zone Member national institutions and contact points as a data base for information exchange and for facilitating the exchange of best practices;
Establish an Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on Peacekeeping and Peace Support Operations to further explore priorities, opportunities and mechanisms for cooperation among the Member States of the Zone.

IV. Scientific Research, Environment and Marine Issues

In this field, also agree to encourage Member States of the Zone to:

Engage in joint technical and scientific projects involving the protection and responsible management of their marine resources;
Strengthen human and institutional capacity-building, including through the promotion of effective and responsible Flag States practices and participation in Regional Fishing Management Organizations (RFMO) to combat and control Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing;
Promote the human rights of seafarers and request Member States of the Zone to consider setting up mechanisms to protect their rights;
Promote coordination of the international positioning on Genetic Marine Resources and IUU Fishing to ensure that the common interests of the Member States of the Zone are adequately treated in the competent international and regional fora;
Promote continued dialogue on the issue of intellectual property rights, as they relate to genetic marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction, so as to achieve a common understanding on the applicable regime;
Generate a research cooperation project among Zone Members on marine biodiversity and ecological issues;
Promote joint projects to explore existing institutional capacities to combat illegal spillages and dumping of toxic waste;
Share experiences on efficient national surveillance and enforcement systems;
Promote and maintain effective Flag State controls, including through the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), prevent and combat the issuance of flags of convenience among Zone Members;
Develop a list of Zone Member national authorities and institutions as a data base for information exchange and to promote South-South scientific and technical cooperation;
Establish an Ad Hoc Expert Working Group on Scientific Research, Environment and Marine Issues to further explore priorities, opportunities and mechanisms for cooperation among the Member States of the Zone.

V. Cross-cutting Issues and Means of Implementation

In order to promote the Zone as an effective mechanism for South-South Cooperation and implement the adopted Plan of Action, request the Chair to:

Promote the mainstreaming of the principles, recommendations and decisions of the Zone in all international and regional fora;
Ensure that the Luanda Declaration and Plan of Action are presented to all relevant international and regional organizations and agencies, particularly the United Nations General Assembly;
Carry out a review of national and multilateral financial mechanisms which can be used to finance projects in the Zone, consistent with the Buenos Aires Plan of Action;
Mandate the Permanent Committee to provide the framework and the format for the national needs assessment and to collect the results for the creation of a Zone capacity-building framework to guide the capacity needs of its Member States;
Maintain a documentation and database facility for all Zone countries to access in pursuance of the objectives of the Luanda Declaration and Plan of Action.

VI. Implementation and Follow-up Mechanism

In order to ensure that the coordination of the Zone’s initiatives are strengthened, further agree to:

Request the Chair, in consultation with Member States of the Zone, to make recommendations on mechanisms for the sharing and dissemination of information among Member States of the Zone, including through the design, maintenance and publishing of a website;
Request those Member States of the Zone that have not already done so, to appoint a national focal point and to inform the Chair accordingly within 30 days of the adoption of this Plan of Action;
Request the Chair to give priority to conducting a meeting with either the national focal points or the Permanent Committee of the Zone within 90 days of the adoption of the Luanda Plan of Action to develop the activities, modalities, and schedules for its implementation. The operational guidelines and final schedule should also contain, if possible, a funding plan for the support of the activities that emerge;
Request the Chair to convene meetings of the Ad Hoc Working Groups to facilitate the exchange of information and the promotion of practical and concrete actions among the Member States of the Zone within 90 days after the national focal points or Permanent Committee meeting;
Request the Chair to continue to provide oversight of the implementation of the Luanda Plan of Action and its implementation schedule, as well as to ensure that the Zone develops rules of procedure for the Permanent Committee and Ministerial Meetings.

Annex A to the VI Ministerial Conference and Declaration of Luanda, adopted in Luanda on June 19th, 2007.

to top