Source:http://www.zei.de/download/zei_obs/ZEI_RIO_vol4no1.pdf
Author: Dr. Roberto Herrera Cáceres
Original Blog / Document‘s Date [DD.MM.YYYY]:15.04.2010
Contributor:honadmin
1. Security to achieve a lasting peace.
In the last decades of the 20th century, peace in Central America was seriously disrupted by armed uprisings in several countries of the region, activated by the ideological confrontation between East and West but had a deeper cause in structural problems, which had to and still have to be solved by peaceful democratic change.
The highest representatives in the Central American states realized that apart from the ideological aspects, this situation was the result of different perceptions of life and the structure of power in their democracies.
They concluded that peace in Central America could only be a product of an authentic, pluralist and participative democratic process that implies the promotion of social justice, the respect for human rights, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all nations to determine their economic, political and social model freely and without any foreign interference. This decision then had to be regarded as the will of the people. At the same time, the heads of states indicated that it was necessary to initiate a process of regional integration (Declaration of Esquipulas I, Guatemala, 25 March 1986) in order to solve the existing crisis and to contribute to the development of Central American countries. The following presidential summits of the so-called “Process of Esquipulas” led to a compromise to create a new model of regional security in 1990 (Declaration of Puntarenas, Costa Rica, 17 December 1990).
However, negotiations on the project of a “Central American Treaty on Security,” with a traditional military content and scope but including articles on cooperation and confidence building, continued simultaneously.
It was Honduras that took the initiative to promote the change that ended the ambiguity concerning the nature of security in Central America. New threats to regional security were identified on the basis of dangers defined by different presidential summits. Moreover, Honduras added to those threats other aspects such as fight against corruption and the link between security and development, democracy, peace and freedom. For this systematization we also looked at the new approaches discussed by the “Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe” laid down in the Final Act of Helsinki in 1975 and the Charter of Paris for a new Europe in 1990.
On 12 October 1991, Honduras presented to the Central American governments the draft treaty called: “Charter of the Community of the Central American Isthmus”. This document suggested establishing a new organization to strengthen regional integration and transform Central America into a region of peace, liberty, democracy and development. Therefore, it included, among others, the will to build up a new model of regional security with a special focus on democracy and sustained human development. The model was conceived beyond the traditional concept of national security.
Thus, it should contribute to overcome extreme poverty, protect the environment and eradicate violence, corruption, terrorism and drug-trafficking. These efforts for regional security should be seen as an answer to the need to secure sustainable peace and liberty through the creation of conditions appropriate for human development and a dignified life for all inhabitants, which should be facilitated by pluralist and participative democratic institutions.
The new model for regional security was formally pointed out on 13 December 1991, when the “Protocol of Tegucigalpa,” to the “Charter of the Organization of Central American States” (ODECA), was signed. This protocol founded the Central American Integration System (SICA) as a successor to the ODECA. In this Protocol, the rational balance of forces and the arms trade were added as additional components to the aspects already mentioned in the Charter presented by Honduras. The implementation of this new model was to be the object of a special treaty.
2. Security linked to the human dimension.
The “Framework Treaty on Democratic Security” was signed on 15 December 1995.
In order to be qualified as “democratic”, security had to follow the objectives of peace, development, democracy and liberty, as well as promote the principle of human dignity in Central America. Thereby the old doctrine focusing on the national security of states was rejected.
Against this background, the framework treaty stands for the philosophy of democratic humanism laid down in the “Protocol of Tegucigalpa” and specified by the regional strategy for sustained development (Alliance for Sustained Development of Central America, Nicaragua, 12 October 1994). The organs for the application of the framework treaty are: The summit of Presidents, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Commission for Security and the Consultative Committee. The participation of civil society on a regional level in the Consultative Committee refers only to the security of persons
and their goods and does not concern security issues between the states. This limitation is contrary to the nature of the new model of democratic security.
The principal threats to the security of inhabitants and to the stability of democratic societies in Central America, according to the treaty are: the lack of subordination of the military to the civil power; the absence of ideological pluralism, economic freedom and sustainable development; the lack of consumer protection, the protection of environment and the cultural heritage; poverty, violence, corruption, impunity, terrorism, drugs, the arms trade and the regional imbalance of forces.
In facing these threats it was agreed that the principal object of protection should be the human being (human security) as well as the defensive security of territory and national sovereignty. Because of that the Central American model of security is closely linked to the human dimension, whose essential requirements are the respect for human dignity, the improvement of the quality of living and the full development of the potential of Central American inhabitants.
As a consequence, the framework treaty links the solution of the problems of human security in the Central American region to a comprehensive vision, interrelating all aspects of sustainable human development, be it in the political, economic, social, cultural or ecologic realm. Therefore, the national and regional application of the security model has to lead the existing resources to focus more and more on social investment. Member States are obliged to adjust their national budgets, taking into account the different realities in every country, to the benefit of the social sector including health, education and other sectors which contribute the improvement of the quality of living of every citizen, especially the weakest members of society.
For the implementation of the obligations summarized under the headline “security of persons and their goods” agreements on certain crimes like terrorism, drug-trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal arms trade, car theft and on the prevention and mitigation of disasters and aspects of touristical security were prioritized (Regional Strategy and Mechanism on the Coordination of Disasters). In order to enhance the fight against corruption, the “Declaration of Guatemala for a Region free from Corruption” was signed in November 2006.
With regard to the new security concept for Central America, the treaty implementation has privileged military and police measures. What has hampered the equilibrium and the orientation towards the elements that have an explicit importance to valorize the model of “democratic security” in its particularity such as the formulation of the regional strategy on sustainable human development, the self-determination of Central America and the establishment of the preventive early warning mechanism for all categories of threats for regional security. These elements are needed to fulfill the purpose of the framework treaty, in particular human dignity, which fundamentally inspired its formulation and led to create a “Central American Mechanism of Information and Communication” where it highlights the implementation of an “Index of Central American Security”. This index shall include all possible kinds of threats for the regional human security and provide a systematic monitoring element to verify the effectiveness of the new model. When a certain threat occurs, it shall give early warning signs and contribute to the solution of the problem.
This information component shall be complemented by a permanent mechanism of communication to prevent incidents. The new concept of regional security foreseen in the “Protocol of Tegucigalpa” is juridically binding for the seven states of Central America. However, up to now the application of principles and mechanisms presented by the “Framework Treaty of Democratic Security in Central America“ has only come into force in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. On the international level, the “Special Conference on Security” and the “Organization of American States” formulated declarations on the model of “democratic security” in June 2004, confirming its progress and underlining its innovative vision and multidimensional perception of security and high-lighting the substantive contributions of the SICA to this hemispheric security scheme.
3. Efficiency of the new model.
The model of democratic security in Central America is the first conventional scheme of integral human security in the world. It has been the object of international recognition due to of its innovative humanistic character, which is in accordance with the universal principles of democracy. The model has institutionalized a new vision of human security and regional defense which goes beyond a defensive meaning of national security and develops a conviction of human security as preventive and cooperative, rooted in the rule of law. The model is valid and applicable on a national as well as on a regional level. Even today, its implementation, through a series of agreements referring to the security of persons and their goods and to regional security, has revealed a tendency towards military aspects and aspects of control and sanction.
Even though these aspects are important as well they cannot be the only answer to the essential core of the new model which task is to prevent negative effects of certain threats to the populations, eradicate structural causes of insecurity and provide democratic governability in Central America.
Even 13 years after entering into force, the framework treaty on democratic security in Central America still has not been ratified by Costa Rica and Panama. There is now an evaluation planned to determine possible modifications. Nevertheless, what is needed even more than modifications is the implementation of the framework treaty. This is essential due to its significance as one of the successive treaties of the Central American integration process, taking into account its objective and goal that must be respected by the countries even if they did not ratify the treaty. The Vienna Convention on Treaty Law established this principle. Thus, efficiency of the model of democratic
security can only be achieved and the model can only be implemented if the following
two requirements are fulfilled:
1. Its interaction with the whole regional judicial order of Central America, particularly the Protocol of Tegucigalpa, which institutionalized SICA and the acts derived from or complementary to this protocol such as the Alliance for Sustainable Development for Central America (ALIDES), the Treaty of Central American Social Integration, the Protocol of Guatemala to the General Treaty of Central American Economic Integration, the Statute of the Central American Court of Justice and others.
2. Its interpretation according to its objectives including the respect for human rights of all Central American citizens, the continuing improvement of living standards, the active participation of civil society and the consolidation of the rule of law to finally create a region in peace, freedom, democracy
and development.
The functioning of the model of democratic security in Central America depends on the coordination, harmonization and convergence of the member states’ policies as well as on the concrete political, social, economic, cultural and environmental actions of the institutions of SICA. In other words, the new model of democratic security on the regional and the national level is a public good, a basic presupposition to transform Central America into a region of sustainable human development in peace, democracy and freedom.
* Roberto Herrera Cáceres is University Professor and was the first Secretary-General of the Central American Integration System (SICA).
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