The following is the full text of the Declaration agreed here in Georgetown, Guyana, at the IV Ordinary Meeting of The Council of Heads of State and Government of The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on Friday November 26, 2010:

THE Heads of State and Government of the Member Countries of the Union of South American Nations – UNASUR – meeting in Georgetown, Cooperative Republic of Guyana, on November 26, 2010:

1.    Express their profound sadness over the recent death of Dr. Néstor Kirchner, former President of the Argentine Nation and first Secretary -General of UNASUR and share the grief of the Distinguished President of the Argentine Republic, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and all the people of Argentina;
2.    Attest to the intense management efforts undertaken by the former Argentine President as Secretary -General of UNASUR. Néstor Kirchner, at decisive political moments for the region, led rapprochement between the sister Republics of Colombia and Venezuela. His unrelenting defence of democracy on the occasion of the attempted coup in Ecuador and his speech supporting the incorporation of democratic commitment to preserve the Rule of Law into the constitutive texts of the Union, constitute the legacy left to the region by this Latin American Statesman;
3.    Acknowledge the firm commitment displayed by the Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador, Economist Rafael Correa Delgado, in exercising the Pro Tempore Presidency of UNASUR, whose leadership allowed significant impetus toward the South American integration process, reaffirming its constitutive values. Thanks to that political commitment and the capabilities and efficiency demonstrated by his team of collaborators, in favour of the region, they contributed decisively to the results achieved;
4.    Express their satisfaction with the assuming of duties by the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, as Pro Tempore President of UNASUR, wishing him great success during his tenure and offering him all their willingness and commitment to collaborate on fulfilling the region’s objectives for the coming year;
5.    Declare their willingness to continue working toward the consolidation of a common space for the political, economic, social, cultural, energy, environmental and infrastructure integration of the Region, in order to achieve sustainable development;
6.    Highlight their firm commitment to work together to promote social and human development with equity and inclusion, and in harmony with nature, in order to eradicate poverty, reduce asymmetries and overcome inequalities, within a framework of unity, democracy, unwavering respect for human rights and co-operation, both regionally and internationally, in the context of strengthening the sovereignty and independence of States;
7.    Congratulate one another on the approval of the ‘Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty of UNASUR on Commitment to Democracy’ as a fundamental guarantee for democratic and constitutional order and an essential condition for the integration process of UNASUR Member States. This Additional Protocol emanates from the mandate established in the Declaration of Buenos Aires of October 1, 2010, where it is affirmed that Member States shall not tolerate any challenge to the institutional authority or any attempted coup against the legitimately constituted civil power and that they shall adopt concrete and immediate measures in event of violations against the constitutional order;
8.    Ratify what is set forth in the ‘Declaration of Buenos Aires’, dated October 1, 2010, concerning the situation in Ecuador, in which they “affirm that their respective Governments categorically reject and shall not tolerate, under any circumstance whatsoever, any new challenge to the institutional authority or any attempted coup against the legitimately elected civil power, and they warn that in the event of new violations against the constitutional order, they shall adopt concrete and immediate measures, such as border closure, suspension of trade, air traffic and the provision of energy, services and other supplies;”
9.    Express their satisfaction with the Ratifications received thus far from most Member Countries for the Constitutive Treaty and encourage those that have not yet done so, to expedite their internal processes toward achieving its full application;
10.    Underscore the approval of the Statute of the Council of Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Innovation (COSECCTI), as well as the Action Plan in the area of Education and the Road Maps in the fields of education, culture and science and technology;
11.    Acknowledge the work carried out by the South American Council on Health, particularly the adoption of its Five-year Plan and the success enjoyed at the Donor Table, which was held during the III Ordinary Meeting of the Council. They urge Member States to finalise the negotiation of the legal and budget aspects of the Basic Agreement of the ISAGS, as well as the 2011-2012 Schedule of the Institute, in such a manner so as to strengthen the governance of health systems in South American countries. They underscore the importance of implementing the UNASUR Health Scholarship Programme in 2011 and stress the need to continue expanding the access of South American candidates to vacancies in renowned regional teaching centres.” South American Ministers of Health are urged to examine the possibilities of convergence among the various regional health organizations;
12.    Highlight the approval of the 2009-2011 Biennial Action Plan by the South American Council for Social Development and call on it to continue efforts to promote the ratification of the Ibero-American Social Security Convention in UNASUR Member Countries;
13.    Recognise the advancements made by the South American Council on the World Drug Problem, by approving its Statutes and Action Plan. They underscore the importance of making strides in effective regional co-operation, in the framework of common and shared responsibility, in the fight against the world drug problem and its related crimes. They urge the Council to establish in 2011, a mechanism for regular consultation for judicial, police, financial and customs authorities, as well as bodies involved in the fight against drugs in South American countries;
14.    Express their satisfaction over the approval of the Statutes and Regulations of the South American Council for Infrastructure and Planning (COSIPLAN) and envisage the prompt implementation of its Action Plan, which is especially significant for the future of regional integration. They stress the importance of selecting a series of works that would impact powerfully on integration and regional socio-economic development;
15.    Congratulate one another on the advancements made by the South American Energy Council in approving the Guidelines for the South American Energy Strategy and Action Plan, as well as the Structure of the Energy Treaty for Regional Energy Integration. They make an appeal for compliance with the mandate established in the ‘Declaration of Los Cardales’, dated May 4, 2010, to move forward with negotiations to formulate the South American Energy Treaty;
16.    Express their satisfaction with the efforts undertaken by the South American Defence Council in approving the ‘Procedures for the Application of Confidence and Security Building Measures’;
17.    Applaud the approval of the Statute of the Centre for Strategic Defence Studies of the South American Defence Council (CEED-CDS), through the ‘Declaration of Guayaquil’, dated May 7, 2010, and also recognise the observance of and progress made in the four Axes outlined in the Action Plans of the SDC;
18.    Reiterate their commitment expressed in the ‘Declaration of Bariloche’ of August 28, 2009, to strengthen South America as a zone of peace, upholding the decision to refrain from resorting to the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of another UNASUR State;
19.    Recognise the advancements recorded by the Working Group of the South American Defence Council, charged with the responsibility of formulating a ‘Protocol on Peace, Security and Co-operation in UNASUR’, reiterating their support for said efforts and encouraging their continuation at its future meetings. Along that same vein, they observed the creation of and progress made by the Working Group on Defence Expenditure Assessment.
20.    Applaud the creation of the Council on Economy and Finance and issue an appeal for the prompt adoption of its statute;
21.    Urge Member States to fulfill the mandates outlined at the meetings of the Council of Heads of State and Government on August 10, 2009 and May 4, 2010, regarding the creation of an investment-related dispute settlement mechanism. In that respect, they call on the Pro Tempore Presidency to convene, within the next 30 days, the Working Group on Dispute Settlement that shall comprise high-level experts appointed by the Heads of State and Government, to consider the proposal put forward by the Republic of Ecuador regarding the following issues: Dispute Settlement Centre; Centre for Legal Advice on Investment-related Issues and Code of Conduct for the Members of the Arbitration Tribunals. The Group shall present its recommendations to the Council of Delegates that shall be convened for that purpose, 90 days after it has been constituted;
22.    Congratulate one another on the establishment of the UNASUR-Haiti Technical Secretariat in Port-au-Prince, and call on said Secretariat to implement the Action Plan for the reconstruction of Haiti. They also support and applaud the Technical Secretary on the Report delivered, which gives an account of the positive management efforts carried out by UNASUR in the sister Republic of Haiti;
23.    Invite those Member States that have not yet done so, to make the payments pledged under the Decision on UNASUR Solidarity with Haiti, dated February 9, 2010, which created the ‘UNASUR Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti’ in the amount of 100 million dollars. In that respect, they urge Member States to identify mechanisms that would make viable a line of credit, amounting to 200 million dollars, which would complement the UNASUR contribution;
24.    Member States call on the international community to concretise the aid offered to Haiti, as soon as possible, in light of the grave situation being experienced by the people of that country;
25.    Pledge to participate actively in international and regional multilateral forums, in order to fortify UNASUR’s presence, seeking out solutions to global problems of common interest;
26.    Acknowledge the advancements made by the Unified Forum of the Latin America and the Caribbean Summit (CALC) and the Rio Group created by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CALC in Caracas on July 3, 2010, entrusted with the task of proceeding with the drafting of the document on the procedures of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) with a view to its consolidation and activation at the Summit in Caracas, scheduled for July 5, 2011 in Venezuela;
27.    Cognisant of the importance of the new challenges that climate change poses for South America and the responsibility that must be assumed by the Member States that are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, based on their common yet differential responsibilities and their respective capabilities, they urge the international community, developed countries in particular, to meet at the 16th Conference of the Parties – COP-16- and the 6th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol -CMP6-, which will be convened in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29 through December 10, 2010, to achieve effective reductions in greenhouse gases for the second period of commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, which would allow for firm political commitments, as well as actions and proposals;
28.    Noted with interest, the Ecuadorian initiative pertaining to the concept of net avoided emissions as a non-commercial mechanism and agree to continue examining voluntary mitigation and financing mechanisms within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The concept of net avoided emissions involves avoiding CO2 emissions brought about by economic production activities which, while they can be carried out, are not undertaken consciously and voluntarily by developing countries and are subject to compensation mechanisms based on the principles of shared responsibility;
29.    Declare their commitment to promote the sustainable development of their natural resources, including forests, through national and regional initiatives. They instruct the Council of Delegates, under the Chairmanship of Guyana, to invite a representative of the Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation to examine possible areas of co-operation between both organizations;
30.    Recognise and endorse the climate change mitigation initiatives developed voluntarily in the region. They applaud the Yasuní-ITT Initiative of the Republic of Ecuador, which seeks to prevent CO2 emissions through the non-drilling of oil in the Yasuní National Park, so as to protect biodiversity and the indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation and promote a sustainable development model;
31.    Acknowledge and congratulate the Presidents and Representatives of the Legislative and Judicial Authorities on the significant advancements achieved during their meetings held in Quito on June 14, 2010 and in Cuenca on June 23-25, 2010, respectively. They urge the Legislative Authorities to reach consensus on the final draft of the Additional Protocol that will establish the South American Parliament, with a view to moving toward convergence on this matter. Similarly, they welcome the recommendation outlined in the Declaration of the 5th Summit of Judicial Authorities, to consider the creation of the Consultative Council on Justice;
32.    Taking into account the claim of the values of peoples, they acknowledged that the chewing of coca leaves is an ancestral cultural expression of the people of Bolivia that should be respected by the international community; and
33.    Support the initiative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia for the United Nations General Assembly to declare 2013 as the ‘International Year of Quinoa’, recognising its high nutritional content, and the significant contribution that it will make to the nutrition of the global population as the grain of the future.