TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO ACCEDES TO OAS TREATY ON AMATEUR RADIO

Trinidad and Tobago today became the latest member state of the Organization of American States to accede to the Inter-American Convention on an International Amateur Radio Permit. The OAS treaty was adopted in June 1995 at the General Assembly in Montrouis, Haiti.

Alternate Representative Mackisack Logie presented the Trinidad and Tobago accession papers to OAS Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi, during a ceremony at OAS Headquarters. By acceding, the government moved directly to ratification, instead of signing and then ratifying.

Mr. Logie explained that with this move, his government was reaffirming its commitment to the aims and objectives of the OAS and all of its agencies. He said it would also be a boon to the government's policy to develop the information technology sector which, he added, was indispensable to development in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ambassador Einaudi praised the Trinidad and Tobago role in the work of the OAS and its Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), noting the importance with which the OAS views the Caribbean nation's accession to the treaty.

Trinidad and Tobago has now joined Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Peru, which have also ratified the hemispheric amateur radio treaty that entered into force in February 1996. In addition to those member states, El Salvador, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela have signed as well.

Among its provisions, the convention states that while reserving its sovereignty over the use of the radio spectrum within its jurisdiction, each state party agrees to permit temporary operation of amateur stations under its authority by persons holding an International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP) issued by another state party without further examination.

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