Partnership for Peace: Framework Document

Brussels, Belgium - 10-11 January 1994

This document establishes the Partnership for Peace within the framework of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council/Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

1. Further to the invitation extended by the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance at their meeting on 10/11 January, 1994, the member states of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council and other states able and willing to contribute to this programme join with the member states of the North Atlantic Alliance in a Partnership for Peace. This Partnership is established as an expression of a joint conviction that stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area can be achieved only through cooperation and common action. Protection and promotion of fundamental freedoms and human rights, and safeguarding of freedom, justice, and peace through democracy are shared values fundamental to the Partnership.

   In joining the Partnership, the member States of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council and other States subscribing to this Document recall that they are committed to the preservation of democratic societies, their freedom from coercion and intimidation, and the maintenance of the principles of international law. They reaffirm their commitment to fulfil in good faith the obligations of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights; specifically, to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, to respect existing borders and to settle disputes by peaceful means. They also reaffirm their commitment to the Helsinki Final Act and all subsequent CSCE documents and to the fulfilment of the commitments and obligations they have undertaken in the field of disarmament and arms control.

2. The subscribing States will cooperate with the North Atlantic Alliance in pursuing the following objectives:

   a. facilitation of transparency in national defence planning and budgeting processes; b. ensuring democratic control of defence forces; c. maintenance of the capability and readiness to contribute, subject to constitutional considerations, to operations under the authority of the United Nations and/or the responsibility of the CSCE; d. the development of cooperative military relations with NATO, for the purpose of joint planning, training, and exercises in order to strengthen their ability to undertake missions in the fields of peacekeeping, search and rescue, humanitarian operations, and others as may subsequently be agreed; e. the development, over the longer term, of forces that are better able to operate with those of the members of the North Atlantic Alliance.

3. The subscribing States will develop up to date and practical cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance. To this end, each subscribing State will develop an Individual Partnership Programme with NATO, identifying the scope and level of its participation in activities with the Alliance. These programmes will be agreed between the subscribing State and NATO. In developing its Individual Partnership Programme, each subscribing State will be able to choose the extent and intensity of its cooperation with the Alliance from a broad range of available activities.

4. The subscribing States will, as appropriate, establish their own liaison office with NATO Headquarters in Brussels. This will facilitate their participation in NACC/Partnership meetings and activities, as well as certain NATO activities. They will also be invited to send permanent liaison officers to a separate Partnership Coordination Cell at Mons (Belgium) that would, under the authority of the North Atlantic Council, carry out the military planning necessary to implement the Partnership programmes.

5. In a spirit of equal partnership, the subscribing States will be invited to participate in political and military bodies at NATO Headquarters with respect to Partnership activities. Partnership participation in NATO meetings will be subject to the following general rule: all participants will be seated in alphabetical order. The Partnership will be developed in a flexible manner, allowing for its evolution over time.

6. NATO will consult with any active participant in the Partnership if that Partner perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence, or security. At a pace and scope determined by the capacity and desire of the individual subscribers, the Alliance will work with them to develop their military capabilities for multinational training, exercises, and operations. The Alliance will work with Partners to develop and enhance their interoperability with the Alliance. The Alliance will, in due course, consider with its Partners the development of a concept for the collective defence of the Euro-Atlantic area.