[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[July 7, 1992]
[Pages 1086-1088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Munich Economic Summit Political Declaration: Shaping the New 
Partnership

July 7, 1992
    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 cooperation.
    2. This new partnership will take many forms. The former adversaries 
of East and West will cooperate extensively on economic, political and 
security issues. We look for the worldwide development of similar 
patterns of cooperation 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 cooperation. 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 cooperation.
    5. Since we last met, the creation of the North Atlantic Cooperation 
Council has enhanced the cooperative 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 cooperation 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

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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 cooperation 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 
Cooperation, 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 cooperation 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 coop-

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eration 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 cooperative 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 cooperate 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 coordinator. 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 cooperation 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.

                    Note: This declaration was made available by the 
                        Office of the Press Secretary but was not issued 
                        as a White House press release.