UN General Assembly
1996

strive to make our contribution and to prove our commitment to overcoming environmental problems. The strategic importance of issues associated with biodiversity is such that my Government hopes that new and additional funds will be made available to promote activities in this field. We have the same hope in connection with climate change, the ozone layer, desertification and the conservation of forests. In the area of international peace and security, we reconfirm our agreement with those Governments that advocate a total ban on the production, use, trafficking in and transfer of anti-personnel land-mines. With respect to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which has been signed by Panama, we continue to hold the same view as in previous years. In this respect, we welcome Brazil’s initiative to make the southern hemisphere a zone free of nuclear weapons. This estimable initiative adds to the efforts of Latin America and the Caribbean to foster a world free of nuclear weapons, efforts that were launched with the signing and ratification of the Tlatelolco Treaty. Upon learning of the response of the International