[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 17 (Monday, May 3, 1999)]
[Pages 713-714]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The Washington Declaration

April 23, 1999

    1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of 
the North Atlantic Alliance, declare for a new century our mutual 
commitment to defend our people, our territory and our liberty, founded 
on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The world has changed 
dramatically over the last half century, but our common values and 
security interests remain the same.
    2. At this anniversary summit, we affirm our determination to 
continue advancing these goals, building on the habits of trust and co-
operation we have developed over fifty years. Collective defence remains 
the core purpose of NATO. We affirm our commitment to promote peace, 
stability and freedom.
    3. We pay tribute to the men and women who have served our Alliance 
and who have advanced the cause of freedom. To honour them and to build 
a better future, we will contribute to building a stronger and broader 
Euro-Atlantic community of democracies--a community where human rights 
and fundamental freedoms are upheld; where borders are increasingly open 
to people, ideas and commerce; where war becomes unthinkable.
    4. We reaffirm our faith, as stated in the North Atlantic Treaty, in 
the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and 
reiterate our desire to live in peace with all nations, and to settle 
any international dispute by peaceful means.
    5. We must be as effective in the future in dealing with new 
challenges as we were in the past. We are charting NATO's course as we 
enter the 21st century: an Alliance committed to collective defence, 
capable of addressing current and future risks to our security, 
strengthened by and open to new members, and working together with other

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institutions, Partners and Mediterranean Dialogue countries in a 
mutually reinforcing way to enhance Euro-Atlantic security and 
stability.
    6. NATO embodies the vital partnership between Europe and North 
America. We welcome the further impetus that has been given to the 
strengthening of European defence capabilities to enable the European 
Allies to act more effectively together, thus reinforcing the 
transatlantic partnership.
    7. We remain determined to stand firm against those who violate 
human rights, wage war and conquer territory. We will maintain both the 
political solidarity and the military forces necessary to protect our 
nations and to meet the security challenges of the next century. We 
pledge to improve our defence capabilities to fulfill the full range of 
the Alliance's 21st century missions. We will continue to build 
confidence and security through arms control, disarmament and non-
proliferation measures. We reiterate our condemnation of terrorism and 
our determination to protect ourselves against this scourge.
    8. Our Alliance remains open to all European democracies, regardless 
of geography, willing and able to meet the responsibilities of 
membership, and whose inclusion would enhance overall security and 
stability in Europe. NATO is an essential pillar of a wider community of 
shared values and shared responsibility. Working together, Allies and 
Partners, including Russia and Ukraine, are developing their cooperation 
and erasing the divisions imposed by the Cold War to help to build a 
Europe whole and free, where security and prosperity are shared and 
indivisible.
    9. Fifty years after NATO's creation, the destinies of North America 
and Europe remain inseparable. When we act together, we safeguard our 
freedom and security and enhance stability more effectively than any of 
us could alone. Now, and for the century about to begin, we declare as 
the fundamental objectives of this Alliance enduring peace, security and 
liberty for all people of Europe and North America.

Note: The joint statement was signed and issued by the heads of state 
and government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic 
Council in Washington, DC, on April 23 and 24. It was made available by 
the Office of the Press Secretary but was not issued as a White House 
press release. An original was not available for verification of the 
content of this joint statement.