CM/Res.824 (XXXVI) RESOLUTION ON THE INDIAN OCEAN AS A
ZONE OF PEACE
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Thirty-sixth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 23 February to 1 March, 1981.
Recalling the declaration making the Indian Ocean a Zone of peace contained in Resolution 2832 (XXVI) of 16 December, 1971 of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization,
Recalling resolution 790 (XXXV) of 28 June 1980 of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, entitled “Resolution on the Indian Ocean, Zone of Peace” and Resolution 99 (XVII) adopted in Freetown in July 1980 by the OAU Heads of State and Government,
Recalling the relevant paragraphs of the Political Declaration of the Mini sterial Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries during its Session in New Delhi from 9 to 13 February 1981 on the Indian Ocean,
Recalling the determination of African States of the Movement of Non -Aligned Countries to promote and strengthen peace and security in the Indian Ocean,
Convinced that the maintenance and intensification of foreign military presence in the Indian Ocean constitute an obstacle to achieving peace in this zone and a threat to the security of the coastal countries of the Indian Ocean of Africa as a whole:
REAFFIRMS its support of the declaration contained in Resolution 2832 (XXVI) of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization which makes the Indian Ocean a Zone of Peace;
REAFFIRMS that the application and respect of the declaration constitute a guarantee for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Coastal States of the Indian Ocean;
EXPRESSES its deep concern over the grave tension created by the interference of the foreign military presence in the Indian Ocean, and the expansion of foreign bases and military intervention in the region which threatens international peace and security;
REQUESTS all States to refrain from any action which could aggravate the tension prevailing in the Indian Ocean;
REAFFIRMS its support for the Conference on the Indian Ocean to be held in Sri Lanka in 1981 in order to attain the objective envisaged in the Declaration making the Indian Ocean a zone of peace;
WELCOMES the initiative of the President of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar to convene a Summit Conference on the Indian Ocean at Antananarivo in 1982;
URGES all OAU Member States to participate effectively at the conference.