August 28, 2000 BELIZE AMBASSADOR PRESENTS CREDENTIALS AT OAS The new Ambassador of Belize to the Organization of American States (OAS), Lisa Shoman, presented credentials to Secretary General César Gaviria on August 24 and reiterated her country's interest in helping to bring about "an America of equal opportunity, sustained by interdependence, where peace, security and dignity would be the birthright of all our peoples." Explaining that Belize still held firmly to the vision it had when it joined the hemispheric Organization in January 1991, Ambassador Shoman told Mr. Gaviria that the role the OAS has taken on important issues has encouraged her country into active participation. She described the OAS as a dynamic organization reshaping and reorienting itself to face the new challenges of "a rapidly-changing hemispheric and global playing field." Ambassador Shoman also praised the OAS for taking the lead in protecting and consolidating democracy and peace in the Hemisphere, while also fighting poverty and drug and arms trafficking. Noting the increasing OAS involvement to resolve border disputes, the Ambassador thanked the OAS chief for acting "as witness of honor" to the ongoing talks with Guatemala, aimed at solving their territorial dispute. Secretary General Gaviria welcomed the new Ambassador, saying the Organization valued Belize's cooperation on "many issues that are critical for the development of the Americas." He lauded the Ambassador's professional and academic background, noting that these would be an asset to the work of the Organization. The fourth envoy to represent Belize at the OAS, Ambassador Shoman succeeds Dr. James S. Murphy whose tour of duty ended in early August.