(E-094/01)
April 24, 2001
OAS SECRETARY GENERAL REPORTS ON SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
Speaking to a panel discussion on the topic "The Third Summit of the Americas: Results and Implications", the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, César Gaviria, said the recent Summit of hemispheric leaders approved a "democracy clause," mandating Foreign Ministers to work out the details of a democratic charter.
"I think that it is going to be very challenging work in the weeks and months ahead, to see probably a better definition of democracy," said Mr. Gaviria in his presentation, part of an ongoing conference series jointly presented by The George Washington University's Center for Latin American Issues and the OAS' Office of External Relations.
The OAS Secretary General stressed that a more open definition of democracy would underscore the fact that democracy today is a lot more than merely the absence of military coups. He suggested too that new tools would likely have to be found to defend democracy.
The Secretary General said the presidents and prime ministers put significant emphasis on the question of democracy during their Third Summit, partly because of serious concerns in many countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that democratic institutions are weak and incapable of meeting growing expectations on the part of citizenry. "People, when they don't see that those systems are working, think that democracy is not doing well--that democracy is failing."
On the opposition mounted against the process of globalization--and specifically against the Free Trade Area of the Americas proposal--Mr. Gaviria said there is need for recognition of the deep concerns over the process of hemispheric free trade.
The panel included as well Dr. Carlos Ferdinand, Secretary of the Inter-American Development Bank; Raúl Ricardes, Argentina's Ambassador to the OAS; and Jaime Aparicio, Director of the OAS Office of Summit Follow-up.
According to Dr. Ferdinand, the IDB believed the expectations of the Summit were met, especially as regards the issue of when the FTAA would come on stream; the adoption of the democracy clause; and the mandate to attack poverty, exclusion and environmental degradation.
In his analysis, the Argentine Ambassador hailed the Summits process as one of the most important achievements in the last ten years in the Hemisphere. "It is, effectively, probably the most dynamic project of integration in all its spheres--political, economic and social," he argued.
"This cooperation with the OAS has been a successful venture for both of us," Jim Ferrar, Director of the Center for Latin American Issues, declared in introducing the discussion.
Moderating the forum, Eduardo del Buey, Director of the OAS Office of External Relations, said the two institutions are "working very hard together to put the inter-American agenda on the map here in Washington, especially among the think-tanks, academics and students."
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