A/RES/57/13 Also recognizing the firm intent of the States of South America to adopt measures contributing to an effective and gradual limitation of defence expenditures in the region with the aim of having more resources available for the economic and social development of their peoples, in particular in order to devote the resources released from military budgets to combating poverty by moving forward with health and education programmes and other social benefits for inhabitants, taking into account each country’s security needs and current levels of expenditure, Recalling the principles and norms of international law enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States, especially those related to international peace and security, Also recalling the important contribution of the United Nations in the sphere of international peace and security and, in that regard, the valuable input of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean with headquarters in Lima, Convinced that the establishment of a zone of peace and cooperation in South America will help to strengthen international peace and security and promote the purposes and principles of the United Nations, 1. Welcomes the Declaration of the Presidents of South America, adopted at their second meeting, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 27 July 2002, in which they declared South America a zone of peace and cooperation; 5 2. Commends the decision of the States of South America to ban the use or threat of use of force among themselves, in keeping with the principles and relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States; 3. Also commends the decision of the States of South America to ban the siting, development, manufacture, possession, deployment, testing and use of any type of weapon of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, biological and toxic weapons, and their transport through the countries of the South American region, in accordance with the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) 6 and other international conventions on the matter; 4. Notes with satisfaction the commitment of the States of South America to establishing a gradual system that will lead, in the shortest time possible, to the complete eradication of anti-personnel mines in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction 7 and to implementing the recommendations of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects; 8 5. Welcomes the desire of the States of South America to promote transparency and a gradual limitation of arms purchases under the system established in the Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions, 4 the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and _______________ 5 See CD/1684. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 634, No. 9068. 7 See CD/1478. 8 See Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 9–20 July 2001 (A/CONF.192/15), para. 24. 6 2