January press release banner.GIF (30064 bytes)

(E-017/01)
January 29, 2001

 

OAS SUMMIT IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW MEETING OPENS TUESDAY

 

The XXI meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), will take place at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., from January 30 to February 1.

The meeting will focus on the negotiation of a plan of action to be signed by the heads of state and government at their Third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canada, this coming April. The working sessions are closed meetings.

At the top of the agenda is the strengthening of democracy and development of the human potential, as well as two Canadian government proposals which deal with the funding and execution of mandates that will arise from this Summit; and application of technology to t the regional agenda.

The Quebec City summit is expecting more than 15 new democratically-elected heads of state and government from the Hemisphere to attend. Among them are the newly-installed presidents of Mexico and the United States. The hemispheric summit process began with the December 1994 Miami Summit which came up with a new regional post-Cold War agenda.

When they met for the Miami Summit, the leaders assigned the OAS responsibilities in a variety of areas: drugs, corruption, terrorism, hemispheric security and sustainable development and environment. Over the years, these mandates have been consolidated in the form of conventions, collective strategies and action plans.

The OAS has also helped implement most of the initiatives agreed to at the Miami and Santiago (Chile) summits. The hemispheric Organization was also actively involved in preparations for the Second Summit and for the upcoming Third Summit, providing technical assistance and arranging preparatory meetings on education, democracy, human rights, justice, freedom of expression, women, science and technology and the war on drugs, among others.

Besides important mandates covering a variety of areas, the OAS serves as technical secretariat and institutional memory for the Summit Process, through the Office of Summit Follow-up it set up in July 1998.

 

**********