I. GOVERNING BODIES
I. GOVERNING BODIES
The General Assembly, whose powers are established in Chapter IX of the Charter, is the supreme governing body of the Organization of American States. It convenes annually during the period determined by its Rules of Procedure. In special circumstances and with the approval of two thirds of the member states, the Permanent Council may convoke a special session of the General Assembly. All member states have the right to be represented at the General Assembly. Each state has the right to one vote.
Twenty-fifth regular session
The General Assembly held its twenty-fifth regular session in Montrouis, Haiti, June 5-9, 1995. The President of the Assembly was Ms. Claudette Werleigh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Haiti.
The certified texts of the declarations and resolutions adopted at that session were published in document OAS/Ser.P/XXV.O.2, August 28, 1995, Volume I.
Democracy
The General Assembly instructed the Permanent Council to continue its study to prepare a set of proposed incentives to preserve and strengthen democratic systems and noted with interest the ideas on strengthening democracy set forth in the document "A New Vision of the OAS," which it instructed the Permanent Council to study in conjunction with the Secretary General with a view to adopting the pertinent decisions (AG/RES. 1337 and AG/RES. 1361). It adopted a mechanism for executing and financing the special activities stemming from the relevant decisions of the ad hoc meetings of ministers of foreign affairs and special sessions of the General Assembly, in compliance with resolution AG/RES. 1080 (XXI-O/91), which could not be funded by the Regular Fund (AG/RES. 1352). Resolution AG/RES. 1342 extended the CIAV/OAS presence and activities in Nicaragua for one year, in a process of gradual transfer of the CIAV/OAS mandate to Nicaragua's governmental and nongovernmental institutions.
Legal Development
The General Assembly adopted decisions on a number of important issues with regard to legal development and cooperation among member states in that area. It instructed the Working Group on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas to organize, in conjunction with the General Secretariat and the Inter-American Juridical Committee, regional seminars, which would facilitate a better understanding of the administration of justice in the various countries, the aim being to achieve greater legal cooperation in the region; and to take the necessary steps to increase awareness and disseminate information in the member states concerning the international rules of law emanating from the inter-American system. It also instructed the Permanent Council and the General Secretariat to consider any requests made by the member states for assistance in enhancing the administration of justice (AG/RES. 1325 and AG/RES. 1326).
With respect to probity and public ethics, it requested that the Permanent Council continue to study the subject, prepare the agenda and set the date of a seminar on probity and public ethics in Uruguay, and prepare a draft for an Inter-American Convention against Corruption. It determined how the convention draft should be prepared, considered, and, if appropriate, adopted, with the process culminating in a Specialized Conference to be held in Venezuela (AG/RES. 1346).
It recommended that the Permanent Council identify the legal areas that might be addressed by concrete studies and analyses, to be carried out in cooperation with the regional and subregional integration bodies or with other institutions of the Hemisphere that share this inter-American objective (AG/RES. 1324).
It asked the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue to study various priority issues for the Organization and expressed its satisfaction with the Committee's activities to address OAS priorities (AG/RES. 1328). It entrusted the General Secretariat with the preparation of draft guidelines covering the process of preparation of inter-American legal instruments, which would be reviewed by the Inter-American Juridical Committee and then submitted to the Permanent Council, which in turn would present a report to the General Assembly (AG/RES. 1329).
With respect to telecommunications, the General Assembly approved the Inter-American Agreement on an International Amateur Radio Permit (AG/RES. 1316).
Human Rights
Human rights advocacy and protection in the Hemisphere was given great attention in the deliberations and resolutions of the General Assembly. The Assembly underscored the progress made in respecting human rights, but expressed concern over the persistence of serious human rights violations. It gave the Inter-American Court of Human Rights its support to continue performing the functions assigned to it by the American Convention on Human Rights and urged the member states to consider ratifying or acceding to that convention and to accept the contentious jurisdiction of the Court (AG/RES. 1330). It urged member states to guarantee and exercise special vigilance with regard to the human rights of women, indigenous populations, children, refugees, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and their families, disenfranchised groups, minority groups, and victims of racial discrimination. It urged them to continue to cooperate with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and to provide it with the resources it needed to properly perform its tasks (AG/RES. 1331). It renewed the request to the member states to forward to the Secretary General their comments and observations concerning the proposed amendment to Article 34 of the American Convention on Human Rights. It requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights propose amendments to its Statutes regarding conflicts of interest applicable to its members. It instructed the Commission and the Court to meet to harmonize their rules on external advisers to the Commission in cases in which it appeared before the Court (AG/RES. 1332 and AG/RES. 1333). The Assembly called attention to the mission that the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights has been performing and supported it in continuing its education and training activities at the regional and hemispheric levels (AG/RES. 1334). It urged member states, within the framework of the International Year of Tolerance, to adopt measures to eradicate xenophobic attitudes. It urged those who deemed it appropriate to incorporate into their legislation the principles of the 1994 San José Declaration on Refugees and Displaced Persons. It called upon those states that had not yet done so to consider the possibility of acceding to the international instruments on the status of refugees (AG/RES. 1336). It urged the member states to cooperate in taking action to improve the health of disabled persons and to assimilate them into society with full exercise of their rights and duties and instructed the Permanent Council to continue to study the matter of the draft Inter-American Convention for Elimination of Disability-Based Discrimination (AG/RES. 1356).
In resolution AG/RES. 1335, it urged the member states to consider the possibility of becoming parties to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.
Hemispheric Security
In resolutions AG/RES. 1343, 1353, and 1355, the General Assembly referred to the strengthening of hemispheric security, one of the essential purposes of the Organization enshrined in its Charter. The Assembly recognized the timeliness and need for greater dialogue on cooperation in security matters among nations of the Hemisphere, given current international conditions, and instructed the Permanent Council to set up a committee on hemispheric security. It welcomed the measures taken by a number of countries for consolidation of the regime of military denuclearization established by the Treaty of Tlatelolco. It reaffirmed the commitment to continue promoting the search for a universal, genuine, and nondiscriminatory regime of nonproliferation. It asked the General Secretariat to continue supporting and coordinating the mine-clearing programs in countries that so request. Consistent with the decisions adopted at the Summit of the Americas on issues relating to hemispheric peace and security, the Assembly convened an Inter-American Specialized Conference on Terrorism (AG/RES. 1330) and invited the General Secretariat and the Permanent Council to foster the White Helmets initiative in the regional sphere (AG/RES. 1351).
Sustainable Development
The General Assembly acceded to the request of the Government of Bolivia that the Organization assist in preparing and holding the Summit Conference on Sustainable Development, instructed the General Secretariat to provide advisory services and support to the Government in preparing for the Conference and to the Permanent Council in participating in formulating the agenda for the Conference and proposals it would consider (AG/RES. 1359). It affirmed that it is incumbent on the Permanent Council to propose OAS policy in the area of environment and sustainable development in the Hemisphere. It instructed the Permanent Council to convene a special meeting of the Committee on the Environment to define the work that the OAS should do in those areas; it instructed the Permanent Council to hold a seminar on public participation in decision-making for sustainable development; and it agreed to hold a Meeting of Experts in the Area of Environmentally Sound Technologies in Ottawa, Canada (AG/RES. 1347, AG/RES. 1357, and AG/RES. 1358).
Cooperation for Development
Reflecting the interest of the member states in the prospects that the forthcoming entry into force of the Protocol of Managua and the practice of partnership for development defined in Mexico by the General Assembly opened for development cooperation in the OAS, eight of the General Assembly resolutions referred to that subject (AG/RES. 1310, 1311, 1313, 1314, 1315, 1338, 1339, and 1354). The General Assembly instructed CIES and CIECC to cooperate so that, beginning January 1, 1996, they would be able to make the necessary efforts to develop their programs within the context of a general strategy for the partnership for development system; it concentrated all the partnership for development mandates and activities geared towards the establishment of CIDI in the Joint CEPCIES-CEPCIECC Working Group and requested that it prepare a draft strategic plan; it supported the efforts of the Secretary General to modernize the Organization's structure and mechanisms in the area of cooperation for development. The Assembly supported the meeting of ministers responsible for science and technology scheduled for March 1996 in Colombia. It instructed the General Secretariat to support the prompt establishment of a database on development cooperation, to be set up by CIES and CIECC, and to facilitate member states' access to such information by electronic means.
Illicit Trafficking and Abuse of Drugs
By means of resolution AG/RES. 1309, the General Assembly endorsed the "Declaration of Santiago: The Illicit Drug Situation in the Americas." It reaffirmed its determination to strengthen and broaden the bases and mechanisms for cooperation among all member states in combating the production of and illicit traffic in drugs, related offenses, and drug abuse. It considered CICAD to be the technical agency responsible, in conjunction with other international organizations and donor countries, for participating in the preparation and holding of the International Meeting on Alternative Development envisaged in the Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas.
Inter-American Summits Management
Resolution AG/RES. 1349 set up a Special Committee of the Permanent Council on Inter-American Summits Management to ensure follow-up of the activities assigned to the Organization by the Summit of the Americas and to coordinate, if so decided, OAS preparation, participation, and follow-up with regard to future summits involving all member states in whose implementation and follow-up the OAS was called upon to participate.
Matters Related to Administration of the General Secretariat
The following General Assembly resolutions refer to administrative matters: AG/RES. 1317, 1318, 1319, 1320, 1321, 1322, 1323, 1327, and 1340. The approved budget amounted to a total appropriation of US$ 100,564,500, with the exception of programs relating to personnel and other contractual obligations to which reference is made in the general provisions of resolution AG/RES. 1317.
The General Assembly reaffirmed its role as the final authority to determine the scope and meaning of its own resolutions as they are applied and recalled that, like all other organs of the Organization, the Administrative Tribunal was subordinate to the General Assembly. It amended the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal and instructed the Permanent Council to study the merits of including within that Statute some additional provisions listed in resolution AG/RES. 1318.
The Assembly amended and clarified resolutions AG/RES. 1275 (XXIV-O/94) and CP/RES. 631 (989/94) on Modification of the General Secretariat's Staff Compensation System. It approved standards for the operation of the Office of the Inspector General with a view to strengthening and amending Chapter VII of the General Standards, on advisory services, evaluation, auditing, and financial supervision. The Assembly also amended Article 72 of the General Standards, on appropriations and obligations. It decided to provide an alternative source of financing from resources available in the Inter-American Priority Assistance Fund to Haiti to pay Haiti's outstanding debt to the Regular Fund for 1992, 1993, and 1994. It adopted the revised Statute of the Inter-American Emergency Aid Fund. It requested that the Secretary General present to the Permanent Council a study containing specific proposals on the future of the Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States and that the Council submit a report on the matter to the General Assembly.
Cooperation with Other Organizations
In light of the interest member states had expressed in broadening and deepening the professional ties the OAS has with other organizations, the General Assembly approved provisions to strengthen collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (AG/RES. 1312), the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (AG/RES. 1341), the Caribbean Community (AG/RES. 1344), and the United Nations system (AG/RES. 1345 and 1360).
Elections
Ambassador Christopher R. Thomas was re-elected to the position of Assistant Secretary General. The following persons were elected to other positions in the Organization: Eduardo Vío Grossi (Chile) and Keith Highet (United States), members of the Inter-American Juridical Committee; Carlos Manuel Ayala Corao (Venezuela), Jean Joseph Exume (Haiti), Robert K. Goldman (United States), and Alvaro Tirado Mejía (Colombia), members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; José Tomás Espinoza (Chile), member of the Board of External Auditors; and José Ajuricaba da Costa é Silva (Brazil), member of the Administrative Tribunal.
Future Venues of the General Assembly
The General Assembly thanked Panama and Peru and accepted their offer to host the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh regular sessions, respectively.
Twenty-second special session
This session was held at OAS headquarters on January 29, 1996. The Assembly adopted decisions on the reappropriation of technical cooperation resources not obligated as of December 31, 1995, and on the request for the reappropriation of funds corresponding to the 1992-93 biennium for the Committee on the Environment; authorized the Permanent Council to approve and implement the recommendations on budgetary procedures referred to it by the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs; and postponed, on an exceptional basis, the date for presentation of the 1997 proposed program-budget until March 15, 1996.
The Permanent Council, one of the bodies through which the Organization accomplishes its purposes (Art. 52 of the Charter), reports directly to the General Assembly. The Council is composed of one representative for each member state, specially appointed by the respective government, with the rank of ambassador and has the functions and powers defined in Chapter XII of the Charter. The Permanent Council takes up any matter referred to it by the General Assembly or the Ad Hoc Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. It serves provisionally as the Organ of Consultation under 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 the Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly, unless the Assembly decides otherwise.
Some of the activities and decisions of the Permanent Council are summarized below. A more detailed and extensive description can be found in the Council's report to the General Assembly.
The Council was chaired by Ambassador Jean Casimir, Permanent Representative of Haiti; Ambassador Marlene Villela de Talbott, Permanent Representative of Honduras; Ambassador Richard Bernal, Permanent Representative of Jamaica; Ambassador Carmen Moreno de Del Cueto, Permanent Representative of Mexico; and Ambassador José Antonio Tijerino, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua. The vice chairs were Ambassador Franklin A. Baron, Permanent Representative of Dominica; Ambassador Danilo Jiménez V., Permanent Representative of Costa Rica; Ambassador Fabio Villegas Ramírez, Permanent Representative of Colombia; Ambassador Edmundo Vargas Carreño, Permanent Representative of Chile; and Ambassador Brian Dickson, Permanent Representative of Canada.
The Council acted as the Preparatory Committee for the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth regular sessions and the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly.
There was continuous interaction between the General Secretariat and the Permanent Council. The Secretariat submitted to the Council a number of working documents on considerations, proposals, and initiatives to chart the Organization's future course, and presented information and explanations on the progress of various activities. On a number of occasions documents were discussed in informal meetings, from which suggestions and recommendations emerged to strengthen and enhance the original proposals. The working documents presented by the Secretariat dealt with a new vision of the OAS and matters such as the modernization of cooperation, cooperation in the Americas and the structure of CIDI, the law in the new inter-American order, and various matters related to the environment and sustainable development.
At the special meeting on December 13, 1995, the Secretary General addressed the Permanent Council to report on the objectives achieved and his views on the future of the OAS.
Protocolary Meetings
Official visits to headquarters by a number of heads of state and government of the Hemisphere encouraged the OAS in its undertakings. The Permanent Council held protocolary meetings to welcome the presidents of Brazil, Mexico, and Panama, the prime ministers of Dominica and of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the Vice President of Argentina. The Council also held a protocolary meeting to commemorate Pan American Day, the birth of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, and the anniversary of the discovery of America: Encounter of two worlds.
Installation of the Assistant Secretary General
At one of the special meetings, the Council installed as Assistant Secretary General for a second five-year term Ambassador Christopher R. Thomas, who spoke on that occasion.
Resolutions and Declarations
Some of the issues on which the Permanent Council adopted resolutions or declarations include:
Hemispheric security. In accordance with the mandate of the General Assembly, the Permanent Council amended its Rules of Procedure to establish the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CP/RES. 653). By means of resolution CP/RES. 650, it requested the Inter-American Defense Board to submit to the Permanent Council a draft inventory of confidence-building measures of a military nature being applied in the Hemisphere. The document presented by the Board was submitted to the Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures, held in Santiago, Chile. The Council accepted the Peruvian Government's offer to host the Inter-American Conference on Terrorism. Through resolution CP/RES. 662, it set the date and venue of the Preparatory Meeting of the Inter-American Conference on Terrorism and instructed the meeting to prepare the draft agenda, rules of procedure, and other documents for the conference, scheduled for April 23-26, 1996.
Probity and public ethics. The Council set the date and approved the draft agenda and the resources for the Seminar on Probity and Public Ethics, which was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, in November (CP/RES. 654 and 656). Resolution CP/RES. 658 decided on arrangements for the special series of meetings of the Working Group on Probity and Public Ethics to study the preliminary draft for the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, which was held at OAS headquarters on November 30 and December 1. The Permanent Council convened the Group to resume its special series of meetings from January 30 through February 2, 1996. The Council asked the member states for their observations and comments on the preliminary draft for the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (CP/doc.2614/95).
Environment. Resolution CP/RES. 648 convened a meeting to coordinate the submission of case studies to be presented at the Meeting of Experts in the Area of Environmentally Sound Technologies, which was held in November in Ottawa, Canada, on the date set by the Permanent Council.
Drugs. A working group was formed to study the proposal, presented by the Government of Colombia, to prepare an inter-American convention to combat money laundering.
Summit of the Americas. The Permanent Council requested the Secretary General to formulate a plan to follow-up on the initiatives of the Summit of the Americas relating to the various organs, agencies, and entities of the OAS, and to submit it to the Council for consideration and referral to the General Assembly (CP/RES. 649).
Special Committee on Inter-American Summits Management. The Council agreed to transmit to the ministers of foreign affairs of the governments of the member states the Special Committee's report, which contained information on the follow-up to the decisions of the Summit of the Americas.
Natural disasters. The Council expressed its solidarity with the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis over the loss of lives and property caused by hurricane Luis and requested that the Inter-American Emergency Aid Committee coordinate the necessary aid, as resources allowed. Resolution CP/RES. 659 authorized the General Secretariat to provide FONDEM with US$25,000 in funds for the Government of Colombia and an equal amount for the Government of Dominica, as emergency assistance in the face of the natural disasters that had occurred in those countries. The Permanent Representative of Guyana informed the Council about a serious disaster that had affected the Essequibo and Omai rivers and requested technical assistance from friendly countries. The Permanent Representative of Nicaragua requested financial assistance for the damage caused by the Cerro Negro volcano. The request was forwarded to FONDEM.
Disability. The Permanent Mission of Panama submitted to the Permanent Council a draft for an inter-American convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Based on Disabilities.
Administrative matters. In order to implement the new compensation system approved by the General Assembly, the General Standards were amended by resolution CP/RES. 652 and the Council approved the formula for calculating pensionable salaries (CP/RES. 651). Taking note of the payment schedule presented by the Government of Haiti to the Secretary General, the Council authorized the resumption of technical cooperation activities in the economic and social area and referred to the General Assembly the request by the Government of Haiti concerning the payment of quotas to the Regular Fund in 1992, 1993, and 1994. The Permanent Council authorized the General Secretariat to make the necessary arrangements to sell the official residence of the Secretary General (CP/RES. 657). By resolution CP/RES. 664, the General Secretariat was instructed to rent the residence until it was sold, and to authorize a one-year extension of the lease on the Secretary General's temporary residence. The General Secretariat submitted to the Permanent Council the proposal for an early retirement program and a report on the formulation, approval, execution, and control of the program-budget.
Meeting. The Council agreed to convene a special session of the General Assembly (CP/RES. 663).
Anniversary of the OAS. A working group of the Permanent Council was established to prepare the celebration in 1998 of the fiftieth anniversary of the OAS.
Declaration on nuclear testing. Deploring the resumption of nuclear testing in the Mururoa Atoll, the Permanent Council drew attention to the risks that it entailed and the principles violated by such an action and reaffirmed the commitment of the member states to work for the speedy conclusion of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996 (CP/DEC. 22). At its meeting on November 22, 1995, the Council reaffirmed this Declaration. On February 2, 1996, the Chair of the Council expressed his satisfaction with the announcement by the President of France on the definitive suspension of nuclear testing.
Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations
The Permanent Council of the OAS addressed a note to the United Nations Secretary-General on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of that organization. It also set up and installed a committee to pay tribute to the United Nations.
Other Activities of the Permanent Council
At its special meeting on June 1, 1995, among other matters, the Council received the report of the Secretary General on the OAS observer mission in Peru and took note of it.
The Ambassador of Mexico brought to the Council's attention a statement dated October 19, 1995, issued by the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, reiterating the Mexican Government's concern about the United States Senate's passage of a bill known as the "Act for Freedom and Democratic Solidarity in Cuba." The Council had already been apprised of another statement from the Government of Mexico expressing similar concern when said bill was passed by the United States House of Representatives.
The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of El Salvador informed the Council about the message on compliance with the peace accords, submitted on October 31, 1995, by the President of El Salvador.
At its meeting on March 8, 1995, the Council took note of the information provided by the Permanent Representative of Peru on violations of the human rights of Peruvian citizens residing in Ecuador and of the statement on the same subject by the Permanent Representative of Ecuador.
The Permanent Representative of Brazil announced that the countries that were guarantors of the 1942 Protocol of Rio de Janeiro welcomed the statement by the Mission of Military Observers in Ecuador and Peru, dated July 26, 1995, on delineation of the demilitarized zone, which would enter into force on August 1, 1995.
After hearing the report of the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Guatemala, the Council congratulated the government and people of that country on the November 12 elections. It also heard the report of the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bolivia on the municipal elections of December 3, 1995.
The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Colombia thanked members for their expressions of solidarity in connection with the assassination of the political leader, Alvaro Gómez Hurtado.
The Permanent Council congratulated the Government of Suriname on that country's joining the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The Council took note of the declaration issued by the Chair, Ambassador Carmen Moreno de Del Cueto, regarding the peace accords signed in Dayton, Ohio, between Bosnia and Croatia.
The Permanent Council granted permanent observer status to seven new countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Dr. George A.O. Alleyne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization, addressed the Permanent Council on September 20, 1995.
The Permanent Council elected Mr. Oledo Sanjur of Panama to the vacancy on the Inter-American Juridical Committee resulting from the resignation of one of its members.
3. AD HOC MEETING OF MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Ad Hoc Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, established by the General Assembly under resolution AG/RES. 1080 (XXI-O/91), is convened by the Permanent Council should events occur in any member state that abruptly and abnormally disrupt the exercise of democracy. The purpose of these meetings is to collectively analyze these events and adopt such decisions as may be deemed appropriate, in accordance with the Charter and international law.
The Ad Hoc Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Haiti) met in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on June 5, 1995. Foreign Minister Antonio Araníbar of Bolivia chaired the Meeting. After hearing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and receiving the reports of the Chair of the Meeting, the Secretary General, and the Chair of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Meeting adopted a resolution on "Restoration of Democracy in Haiti" (MRE/RES. 7/95), which closed the ad hoc meeting.
Upon concluding their activities, the ministers of foreign affairs placed on record their satisfaction with the restoration of the democratic government of Haiti, led by President Aristide, and reaffirmed the will of the member states to continue working together within the OAS to consolidate the democratic system, promote economic and social development, and ensure respect for human rights in Haiti.
The Charter of the Organization of American States established that the Inter-American Economic and Social Council (CIES) and the Inter-American Council for Education, Science, and Culture (CIECC) are directly answerable to the General Assembly (Articles 52 and 69 of the Charter). Chapters XIII and XIV of the Charter defined their composition, powers, and functions. Each Council had a Permanent Executive Committee (CEPCIES and CEPCIECC), established by Articles 96 and 102 of the Charter.
The Protocol of Amendments to the Charter of the Organization of American States, the "Protocol of Managua," established the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), whose purpose is to further cooperation among the American countries in order to achieve their integral development and, more particularly, help to eradicate critical poverty. When the Protocol of Managua entered into force on January 29, 1996, upon receiving the required number of ratifications, CIDI replaced the existing councils, namely, CIES and CIECC. Similarly, with CIDI now in effect, the Secretary General, through Executive Order No. 96-1 of January 31, 1996, established the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development and abolished the Executive Secretariat for Economic and Social Affairs and the Executive Secretariat for Education, Science, and Culture.
As the former inter-American councils, their permanent committees and executive secretariats were active throughout most of the period covered by this report, the structure in effect until January 29, 1996, will be maintained in this text for the purpose of presenting information.
The XXIX Annual Meeting of CIES at the Ministerial Level was held in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, March 20-21, 1995. The results of its deliberations appear in the CIES report to the General Assembly.
CEPCIES was chaired by Ambassador Fabio Villegas Ramírez, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OAS, and later by the Vice Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Kingsley C.A. Layne, Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
In accordance with the decisions of the XXVI Regular Meeting of CIECC, referred to in the 1994-95 Annual Report, an ad hoc working group of the Council was formed which, with the support of the General Secretariat, began to formulate joint activities with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank and also proposed programming guidelines for the 1996-97 period, which were submitted to the General Assembly for consideration.
Under the chairmanship of Ambassador Brian Dickson, Permanent Representative of Canada, CEPCIECC moved forward with its work program.
In compliance with the mandate it was given by the General Assembly, the Joint CEPCIES-CEPCIECC Working Group dealt with various aspects of the period of transition to CIDI as well as the implementation of the partnership for development. In these areas there was ongoing cooperation between the General Secretariat and the Working Group.
The VIII Joint CIES/CIECC Meeting on Policy, Programming, and Coordination for the Caribbean Subregion was held in Belize City, Belize, March 3-5, 1995. At that meeting, the Caribbean member states issued a policy statement expressing their views on the role of the OAS in development cooperation. At the closing session, the Secretary General put forward some basic conclusions he had reached about OAS technical cooperation activities after an initial analysis of the issue.
