A/RES/56/224 upon the international community, the United Nations system and other international organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, to extend effective cooperation with a view to improving the competence and efficiency of the Integration System in the fulfilment of its mandate; 14. Underlines the efforts carried out in the Central American region towards integration, such as the Trinational Declaration between Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, as well as the Customs Union between those countries, as means for promoting integration while respecting different stages of development, through a pragmatic mechanism open to the participation of the other countries of the region; underlines also the most recent progress in the form of the frontier post in Peñas Blancas, Nicaragua, common to four countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua), which became operational in October 2001; this customs unification, involving twelve frontier posts, entailed bilateral, trinational and quadrinational unifications; 15. Encourages the Central American Governments to continue to carry out their historic responsibilities by implementing fully the commitments they have assumed under national, regional or international agreements, especially the agreements for the promotion and safeguarding of human rights, and the commitments to implement the social programme to overcome poverty and unemployment, establish a more just and equitable society, improve public safety, strengthen the judiciary, consolidate a modern and transparent public administration and eliminate corruption, impunity, acts of terrorism and drug and arms trafficking, all of which are necessary and urgent measures for consolidating a firm and lasting peace in the region; 16. Reiterates its deep appreciation to the Secretary-General, his special representatives, the groups of countries for the peace processes in El Salvador (Colombia, Mexico, Spain, United States of America and Venezuela), and Guatemala (Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Spain, United States of America and Venezuela), to the Support Group for Nicaragua (Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden), to the European Union and to other countries that have contributed significantly and to the international community in general for its support and solidarity in the building of peace, democracy and development in Central America; 17. Reaffirms the importance of international cooperation, in particular cooperation with the bodies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and the donor community in the new stage of consolidating firm and lasting peace and democracy in Central America, and urges them to continue to support Central American efforts to achieve those goals; 18. Notes with satisfaction the firm determination of the Central American Governments to settle their disputes through peaceful means, thereby avoiding any setback in the efforts to consolidate firm and lasting peace in the region; 19. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to lend his full support to the initiatives and activities of the Central American Governments, particularly their efforts to consolidate peace and democracy through the promotion of integration and the implementation of the comprehensive sustainable development programme, emphasizing, inter alia, the potential repercussions of natural disasters, in particular the persisting effects of hurricane Mitch, for the peace processes and the vulnerable economies of the region, and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution; 5