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The Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council marked Pan American Day with a ceremony in Washignton today, as the Hemisphere's diplomats renewed their countries' commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and to confronting the major hemispheric challenges together.
"We are consolidating our historic enterprise called the Americas, united by the shared ideals of freedom, democracy and development, to combat poverty in our rich Hemisphere," declared Permanent Council Chair, El Salvador's Ambassador Margarita Escobar, in opening the protocolary session.
She said the common enemy cloaked in darkness and intolerance uses violence and extremism as its means of destroying. She stressed that the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter last September 11 "is the Hemisphere's official statement committing itself to democracy as the system of government and the system by which to live."
The Salvadorian diplomat also called for continued effort to advance the negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), to strengthen the inter-American human rights system and fight corruption, drug trafficking and organized crime. "Timely and effective efforts to aid countries affected by natural disasters are equally pressing matters," she declared.
In her remarks representing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Lisa Shoman of Belize stressed that this Organization has unprecedented opportunities to combat poverty, strengthen democracy, address security concerns of the states and eradicate the modern scourges of drugs and AIDS. Shoman referred to the crisis affecting the people of Haiti and as well urged the Council of Ambassadors not to forget that "there is one member of our family who is not sitting at the table with us today." She argued that "the day must come when we must find mechanisms to ensure that our family is complete."
Bolivia's Ambassador to the OAS, Marcelo Ostria Trigo, speaking on behalf of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) countries, observed that the Organization's new agenda "expresses our peoples' determination to resolutely move forward on concrete issues that, up to recently, seemed impossible to work out multilaterally." Among such issues he cited the preservation of democracy, respect for human rights, resolution of disputes between states, economic integration and combating narcotics and terrorism.
The Central American Group (GRUCA) perspective was presented by Nicaragua's Ambassador Lombardo Martínez, who spoke about the diversity of the Americas and the common pursuit of democracy with freedom, social justice and prosperity for all. "The integration we are now trying to forge in the Americas can only be achieved if everyone, without exception, embraces democratic values and practices," he stated, observing that all the issues on the OAS agenda "are areas that can only enhance cooperation among peoples, based on democratic legitimacy."
In his remarks, United States Ambassador Roger Noriega noted that, with only one exception, all the nations of the Hemisphere are committed to protecting democracy and the rule of law while defending themselves against terrorism. Recalling the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Lima, Peru, last September 11, Noriega said that in approving this document, "the nations of this Hemisphere reaffirmed that democracy is the birthright of every person in the Americas."
Continued efforts towards a Free Trade Area of the Americas, he added, "exemplify our unshakable commitment to building a framework that ensures self-sustaining and widely shared prosperity." He urged the Permanent Council to "work together as a community in solidarity to support and defend the people of the nations who are today denied their rights by governments that fail to respect the essential elements of democracy."
Meanwhile, OAS Secretary General César Gaviria stressed that “while the Hemisphere's nations now have numerous opportunities, their challenges and problems are just as numerous." He also touched on the move towards a Free Trade Area of the Americas, calling it "undoubtedly the most ambitious endeavor by the countries of the Americas to date," adding that the terrorist attacks of last September 11 "have spurred even greater solidarity and unity, reaffirming that the problems of any one nation are the problems of all the nations."
Reference: E-077/02