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The Organization of American States (OAS) and the government of Peru have signed an agreement under which the South American country will host a special session of the OAS General Assembly next month, for the member states to adopt an Inter-American Democratic Charter. The Charter is being developed by the OAS.

Signing the agreement in Washington Thursday, OAS Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Luigi Einaudi stated that "consolidating our commitment to democracy is absolutely vital." He praised the Peruvian government for taking the initiative in offering to host the OAS' 28^th Special General Assembly Session, a move he described as a source of "great optimism for all."

Peru's Alternate Representative to the OAS, Antonio García Revilla, stressed how important this step was for his government as a contribution towards the consolidation of democracy in the Americas. Mr. García Revilla said his government views the democracy charter as "giving substance to the evolution of inter-American relations."

The proposed Democratic Charter is aimed at reinforcing OAS mechanisms "for the active defense of representative democracy," by promoting and consolidating "representative democracy as the system of government of all American states."

The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the OAS, an alliance of Western Hemisphere nations that is also the world's oldest regional organization.

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