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Colombia Treaty Obligations
Colombia supported the two principal collective
security
agreements that have affected the interests of the Western
Hemisphere nations since 1945. In March 1945, Colombia
signed the
wartime Act of Chapultepec. In the event of an attack upon
an
American state, this act provided for consultation among
the member
nations of the hemisphere in order to formulate a
collective
response. Following the end of World War II (and the
resulting
termination of the Chapultepec agreement), Colombia signed
the 1947
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio
Treaty). The
Rio Treaty provided for collective defense in the event of
an armed
attack by an extra-hemispheric power.
The Rio Treaty bound Colombia to certain provisions for
the
peaceful settlement of disputes among signatory nations.
In 1948
Colombia was a founding member of the Organization of
American
States (OAS), the regional organization responsible for
determining
when the Rio Treaty's collective security provisions
should be
implemented. As a member of both the OAS and the UN,
Colombia was
obligated first to seek redress for defense-related
grievances at
the regional forum before presenting them to the UN.
In 1972 Colombia signed the Treaty for the Prohibition
of
Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Tlatelolco Treaty),
which
prohibits the introduction of nuclear weapons into the
region.
Colombian administrations, however, refused to sign the
Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which was opened
for
signature in 1970. Nevertheless, though it refrained from
endorsing
the treaty, the Colombian government apparently accepted
some of
the treaty's provisions for safeguards and inspections
that were
carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In 1974 Colombia joined with seven other Latin American
countries in issuing the Declaration of Ayacucho, an
agreement to
promote peace in the hemisphere by limiting armaments. By
1975 the
declaration's signers had reached a consensus on
prohibiting a
range of weapons and equipment, including nuclear,
biological, and
chemical weapons; ballistic missiles; aircraft carriers;
cruisers;
and nuclear submarines. Colombia also remained adamant in
opposing
the introduction of strategic missiles into the region--a
move
favored by neighboring Venezuela--as well as all models of
bomber
aircraft. In September 1980, Colombia joined with three of
the
declaration's original signers plus Costa Rica in agreeing
upon the
Charter of Conduct, which reaffirmed support for the
peaceful
resolution of conflicts and for the principles of the 1974
declaration.
Data as of December 1988
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