[Title] Political Declaration, Shaping The New Partnership

I

1. We, the leaders of our seven countries and the representatives of the European Community, support the democratic revolution which has ended the East-West confrontation and has fundamentally changed the global political landscape. Since we last met, further dramatic changes have accelerated progress towards democracy, market-based economies, and social justice. The way has been opened for a new partnership of shared responsibilities, not only in Europe which at long last is reunited, but also in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere in the world. We are entering an era where confrontation has given way to co-operation.

2. This new partnership will take many forms. The former adversaries of East and West will co-operate extensively on economic, political and security issues. We look for the worldwide development of similar patterns of co-operation within regions and between regions. As developed countries, we offer continuing support and assistance to developing countries. We believe that transnational problems, in particular the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, can be solved only through international co-operation. Partnership will flourish as common values take root, based on the principles of political and economic freedom, human rights, democracy, justice and the rule of law. We believe that political and economic freedom are closely linked and mutually reinforcing and that, to that end, good governance and respect for human rights are important criteria in providing economic assistance.

3. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the new states of the former Soviet Union can now seize unprecedented opportunities-but they also face enormous challenges. We will support them as they move toward the achievement of democratic societies and political and economic freedom. We encourage them to create a stable constitutional and legal framework for their reform programmes and commend their efforts to cut substantially the proportion of public spending devoted to the military sector.

4. The Treaty signed at Maastricht by the twelve members of the European Community is a historic step on the way to European Union. Its implementation will enhance political stability on the European continent and open up new opportunities for co-operation.

5. Since we last met, the creation of the North Atlantic Co-operation Council has enhanced the co-operative relationship of the North Atlantic Alliance with countries in Central and Eastern Europe and with the states of the former Soviet Union. WEU, too, is strengthening its relationship with countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

6. The need for international co-operation has also been underlined by new instabilities and conflicts due to resurgent nationalism and interethnic tensions. Communal and territorial disputes are being settled by force, causing death, destruction, and widespread dislocation of innocent people throughout the former Yugoslavia, in parts of the former Soviet Union, and elsewhere in the world.

7. The full and immediate implementation of all CSCE commitments is essential in building security and stability in Europe. All CSCE states must solve their disputes by peaceful means and guarantee the equal treatment of all minorities. We call upon the Helsinki CSCE Summit to take decisions to strengthen the CSCE's capabilities for conflict prevention, crisis management and peaceful resolution of disputes. We also look forward to the establishment of a security co-operation forum at the Helsinki Summit. In this regard, we welcome the recent decisions by NATO foreign ministers and WEU ministers on support for peacekeeping operations carried out under the responsibility of the CSCE. We support the development of a regular and productive dialogue between Japan and the CSCE on matters of common concern.

8. In the Asia-Pacific region, existing regional frameworks, such as the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conferences and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, have an important part to play in promoting peace and stability. We are seriously concerned at the present situation in Cambodia and urge all parties concerned to support UNTAC and uphold the still fragile peace process to bring it to a successful conclusion.

9. We welcome Russia's commitment to a foreign policy based on the principle of law and justice. We believe that this represents a basis for full normalization of the Russian-Japanese relationship through resolving the territorial issue.

II

1. The end of the East-West confrontation provides a historic opportunity, but also underlines the urgent need to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and missiles capable of delivering them. We are firmly of the view that the indefinite extension of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the 1995 Review Conference will be a key step in this process and that the process of nuclear arms control and reduction must be continued. The motivation for nuclear proliferation will also be reduced through efforts to advance regional security.

2. We urge countries not yet parties to the NPT to join. We look forward to the early adherence to the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states of Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus as well as the other non-Russian states of the former Soviet Union. We shall continue through bilateral contacts and the International Science and Technology Centres in Moscow and Kiev our efforts to inhibit the spread of expertise on weapons of mass destruction. We attach the highest importance to the establishment in the former Soviet Union of effective export controls on nuclear materials, weapons and other sensitive goods and technologies and will offer training and practical assistance to help achieve this.

3. The world needs the most effective possible action to safeguard nuclear materials and to detect and prevent the transfer or the illicit or clandestine production of nuclear weapons. Nuclear co-operation will in future be conditional on adherence to the NPT or an existing equivalent internationally binding agreement as well as on the adoption of full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, as recently laid down by the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The IAEA must receive the resources necessary to strengthen the existing safeguards regime and to conduct effective special inspections of undeclared but suspect nuclear sites as one means of achieving this. We will support reference by the IAEA of unresolved cases of proliferation to the UN Security Council.

4. We reaffirm our willingness to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology with all other states, in accordance with our non-proliferation commitments.

5. We will continue to encourage all countries to adopt the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and welcome the recent decision by the plenary session of the MTCR to extend the scope of the guidelines to cover missiles capable of delivering all kinds of weapons of mass destruction. Each of us will continue our efforts to improve transparency and consultation in the transfer of conventional weapons and to encourage restraint in such transfers. Provision of full and timely information to the UN Arms Register is an important element in these efforts.

6. We will continue to intensify our co-operation in the area of export controls of sensitive items in the appropriate fora to reduce threats to international security. A major element of this effort is the informal exchange of information to improve and harmonize these export controls.

7. Arms control agreements which have been signed by the former Soviet Union, in particular the START and CFE Treaties, must enter into force. The full implementation of the CFE Treaty will create the foundation for the new co-operative security framework in Europe. We welcome the far-reaching follow-on agreement on strategic nuclear weapons concluded by the US and Russia in June as another major step towards a safer, more stable world. Further measures, in particular the unilaterally announced elimination of ground-launched short-range nuclear weapons by the United States and the former Soviet Union, should be carried out as soon as possible. We support Russia in its efforts to secure the peaceful use of nuclear materials resulting from the elimination of nuclear weapons. The Geneva negotiations for a convention on the effective global ban on chemical weapons must be successfully concluded this year. We call on all nations to become original signatories to this convention.

III

1. The new challenges underline the need for strengthening the UN, taking account of changing international circumstances. Since our last meeting in London the tasks and responsibilities of the UN have further increased in a dramatic way, especially in the area of crisis prevention, conflict management and the protection of minorities. The UN has played a central role in the international response to developments in the Gulf, in Cambodia, in the former Yugoslavia and in other regions of the world.

2. We support the UN's role in maintaining international peace and security. The accession to the UN of new states has reinforced the importance of this role. We call upon all these new member states to abide by their solemn undertakings to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

3. We reaffirm our commitment to co-operate on existing refugee problems. We deplore action by any state or group against minorities that creates new flows of refugees and displaced persons.

4. We support moves undertaken so far by the Secretary-General to reform the Organization, including the appointment of a high-ranking emergency relief co-ordinator. The Secretary General's report "An Agenda for Peace" is a valuable contribution to the work of the United Nations on preventive diplomacy, peace-making and peace-keeping. We assure him of our readiness to provide the political support and resources needed to maintain international peace and security.

5. We strongly support improved co-operation between the UN and regional arrangements and agencies as envisaged in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, which have an increasing role in solving conflicts.

6. In closing this Declaration, we reaffirm that recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Human rights are not at the disposal of individual states or their governments. They cannot be subordinate to the rules of any political, ideological or religious system. The protection and the promotion of human rights remain one of the principal tasks of the community of nations.