DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HAS NEW AMBASSADOR AT OAS

The new Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic presented credentials at the Organization of American States today, stressing that his government is "fully confident in the OAS' prospects to help bring development to our peoples, and offers its unconditional support to that end."

Ambassador Ramón Quiñones presented his letters of accreditation to Secretary General César Gaviria and restated the Dominican Republic government's commitment to continue helping to consolidate the hemispheric body through the defense and promotion of democracy and by fighting poverty and underdevelopment.

The new Ambassador said he hoped the Inter-American Democratic Charter—to be adopted at a special session of the OAS General Assembly in Lima, Peru, September 10—"would be the product of frank and open dialogue among the member states, and would take into consideration the input of civil society groups." He said the Charter should be "an instrument to make the inter-American system even stronger."

Ambassador Quiñones, who joined the Permanent Mission to the OAS in 1997 and has been Interim Representative for the past year, touched on "a pressing need for more resources for the inter-American human rights system and for partnership for development initiatives." He urged a revamping of the system of quotas to the Regular Fund, so the OAS can deliver on its commitments. He said too that his government was committed to "assisting the Organization's current efforts to support the sister Republic of Haiti, to whom we are bonded by a common past and shared challenges."

In his welcome, the Secretary General lauded Ambassador Quiñones' vast experience on OAS issues, and stated that the OAS is carving out a new role for itself in an ever-changing world. As regards the commitment by President Hipólito Mejía to usher in a more just and equitable society in the Dominican Republic, Gaviria said "it is something with which we in the Americas can all identify… We all want to succeed at it, and hope the Dominican Republic can be a model not only of growth and prosperity but of social justice as well."

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