The new Chairman of the Organization of American States Permanent Council, Chile's Ambassador Esteban Tomic, has set democracy, human rights, economic and political effects of globalization and peace-keeping as priorities for his current three-month term, which runs until the end of March.

Noting the growing commitment by the countries to establish democracy as the basis for the new international order, Ambassador Tomic announced a seminar scheduled for next February 20 and 21 where the OAS and other regional agencies will examine the role of each in promoting and defending democracy. "This promises to be a watershed event for the OAS in 2001," Tomic declared.

Turning to human rights, he proposed a celebration of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Santiago Commitment on Democracy and Human Rights as a tribute to those who have led the struggle to defend human rights around the hemisphere. Tomic expressed the view that the treaty, adopted in the Chilean capital in June 1991, "reaffirms our people's unswerving commitment to defending and promoting representative democracy and human rights in the region."

The Chilean diplomat suggested that the Permanent Council examine the economic and political impact of globalization, as negotiations continue towards a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). "Just like the invisible hand of the market and technology brought sweeping changes, these mass participation phenomena must now similarly translate into a moral and political thrust that society interprets for the vast majority."

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