TOPICS:

• Protocolary meetings
• Special meetings
• The Haitian Situation
• Democratic elections

The Permanent Council, one of the organs by means of which the Organization accomplishes its purposes (Article 52 of the Charter), is under the direct authority of the General Assembly. The Council comprises one representative for each member State, who is especially appointed by the respective government with the rank of ambassador. Chapter XII of the Charter stipulates the functions and responsibilities of the Permanent Council. It takes up any matter entrusted to it by the General Assembly or the Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. It also serves provisionally as the Organ of Consultation under the provisions of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. It sees to the maintenance of friendly relations among the member States and assists them in the peaceful settlement of their disputes. It acts as Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly unless the latter decides otherwise..

Each year, the Permanent Council presents a report covering its activities and decisions, some of which are summarized in this Report.

The following representatives chaired the Permanent Council during the period covered by this report: Ambassador Harriet C. Babbitt, Permanent Representative of the United States; Ambassador Denneth Modeste, Permanent Representative of Grenada; Ambassador César F. Alvarez Guadamuz, Permanent Representative of Guatemala; Ambassador M.A. Odeen Ishmael, Permanent Representative of Guyana, and Ambassador Jean Casimir, Permanent Representative of Haiti. The Vice Chairmen were Ambassadors Denneth Modeste, Grenada; Harriet C. Babbitt, the United States; José R. Andino Salazar, El Salvador; Blasco M. Peñaherrera, Ecuador, and Franklin A. Baron, Dominica.

In keeping with the provisions of Articles 59 and 90.c of the Charter, the Permanent Council served as Preparatory Committee of the twenty-fourth regular session and twenty-first special session of the General Assembly.

Protocolary Meetings

Protocolary meetings were held in honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Dr. Sergio Abreu Bonilla; of Haitian Prime Minister Smarck Michel; to bid farewell to Ambassador João Clemente Baena Soares, and to commemorate such events as the birth of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, the two hundreth anniversary of the birth of the Grand Marshal of Ayacucho, Antonio José de Sucre, Pan American Day and the discovery of America.

Special meetings

At a special meeting convened in response to the assassination of Mr. Luis Donaldo Colosio, candidate for president of Mexico, the Permanent Council expressed its abhorrence of the crime and its solidarity with the people and Government of Mexico.

The Foreign Minister of Argentina, His Excellency Guido di Tella, addressed the Council concerning the attack on the headquarters of the Argentine Israelite Community Center. The Council issued a statement energetically condemning the attack.

The Permanent Council also held special meetings to receive a report on the OAS Election Observation Mission in the Dominican Republic and the Report of the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters (CAAP) on Administrative Tribunal Judgment No. 124.

On September 15, a special meeting was held to swear in the new Secretary General of the Organization. In attendance were the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Rt. Honorable James F. Mitchell; the President of Colombia, the Honorable Ernesto Samper Pizano; the foreign ministers and deputy foreign ministers of 14 member States; former presidents of Colombia, Chile and Ecuador, Messrs. Belisario Betancourt, Alfonso López Michelsen, Patricio Aylwin and Rodrigo Borja; the permanent observers to the OAS and special guests.

On January 30, 1995, the Permanent Council held a special meeting in response to a note that the Permanent Representative of Ecuador sent to the Chairman of the Permanent Council wherein his Government requested that a Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs be convoked pursuant to Articles 60, part one, and 61 of the OAS Charter. At that meeting, the Representative of Ecuador made a statement describing the events transpiring in the region along the border between Ecuador and Peru. The Representative of Peru also addressed the meeting. The Council urged both governments to exhaust every effort to restore peace swiftly, through a peaceful and friendly solution to the situation between the two countries.

The Council approved resolution CP/RES. 642 (1015/95) wherein it recognized the overtures made by Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States as guarantors of the 1942 Protocol of Rio de Janeiro and expressed its confidence in the work that they were doing to help bring the conflict to an end; it recognized the timely steps that the Secretary General had taken in an effort to find a peaceful resolution of the differences between the two countries; it convoked a Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and authorized the Chairman of the Permanent Council to set the date for that meeting taking into account the steps already being taken and, in the event the Meeting is held, to determine its venue bearing in mind the Uruguayan Government's offer to host the meeting in Montevideo.

The Haitian Situation

In May, reacting to the unlawful appointment of Mr. Emile Jonassaint as Provisional President of Haiti, the Permanent Council issued a declaration categorically rejecting "this repetition of illegitimate actions which are contrary to the majority will of the Haitian people, as expressed in the election of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the sole constitutional leader."

That same month, the Council condemned the massive human rights violations in Haiti and asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to assign priority to investigating cases of mass executions of defenseless civilians and other crimes of equal magnitude in Haiti [CP/RES. 630 (987/94)].

In July, Haiti's de facto authorities declared members of the OAS/UN International Civilian Mission to be personae non grata and ordered them to leave the country within forty-eight hours. The Permanent Council approved a resolution rejecting and condemning this new unlawful act on the part of those in power and held the de facto authorities responsible for the safety of the members of the International Civilian Mission, for which it reasserted its unconditional support.

The Permanent Council took cognizance of the report given by the Acting Secretary General in late July concerning the temporary transfer of the members of the International Civilian Mission to the territory of the Dominican Republic.

When new efforts were made in September, efforts that would eventually succeed in restoring President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in Haiti, the Permanent Council adopted a declaration expressing "satisfaction with the progress being made in reaching a peaceful resolution of the Haitian crisis, which must lead to the restoration of constitutional order in Haiti and the prompt return of Constitutional President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in accordance with the relevant OAS and UN resolutions and the Agreement of Governors Island." In that declaration the Secretary General was asked to coordinate with the United Nations' Secretary-General and take the necessary measures for the return of the International Civilian Mission. He was also asked to make recommendations for the enhancement and, if applicable, modification of the Mission's mandate during the reconstruction period.

At a regular meeting held on October 26, the Permanent Council congratulated the Haitian Government for the peaceful resolution of that country's crisis and the restoration of democracy.

Democratic elections

The Permanent Council noted the elections held in the following member States and congratulated their respective governments: presidential elections in El Salvador, April 24; general elections in Panama, May 8; presidential elections in Colombia, June 19; legislative elections in Guatemala, August 14; presidential elections in Mexico, August 21; municipal elections in Guyana, August 8; parliamentary elections in Barbados, September 6; general elections in Brazil on October 3; and presidential elections in Uruguay, November 27.

The Council also congratulated the Government on South Africa for the presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections held between May 1 through 4 and congratulated President-elect Nelson Mandela.

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