The Barcelona Conference marked the beginning of a new phase in the relations
amongst countries in the Mediterranean basin. This series of ministerial
meetings to discuss the principal political, economic, and social issues facing
Euro-Mediterranean countries was inaugurated on 28th November 1995 in the city
of Barcelona, at the request of the Spanish Government. The participating
Foreign Ministers expressed their determination to consider the region’s peace,
stability, and security to be a common asset for the countries on the
Mediterranean’s shores.
The Barcelona Conference produced a Declaration of Principles, which highlighted
the following measures:
- Act in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
- Develop the rule of law and democracy
- Respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and guarantee the
effective legitimate exercise of such rights and freedoms
- Respect sovereign equality and all rights inherent in sovereignty
- Respect the equal rights of peoples and their right to
self-determination
- Co-operate on the prevention and fight against terrorism, against the
expansion and diversification of organised crime, and combat the drugs problem
in all its aspects
- Promote regional security in favour of nuclear, chemical, and biological
non-proliferation
- Pursue a Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons, and their delivery systems
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