OEA/Ser.P AG/RES. 1825 (XXXI-O/01) 5 June 2001 Original: Spanish SUPPORT FOR THE MANDATES OF THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS ON STRENGTHENING MUNICIPAL AND REGIONAL ADMINISTRATIONS AND ON CIVIL SOCIETY (Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 5, 2001; subject to review by the Style Committee) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HAVING SEEN the Report of the Permanent Council on progress made in implementing resolution AG/RES. 1760 (XXX-O/00), "Support for the Mandates of the Summit of the Americas on Strengthening Municipal and Regional Administrations and on Civil Society"; RECALLING the commitments set forth in the Declarations and Plans of Action of the Summits of the Americas held in Miami (December 1994) and in Santiago (April 1998) to strengthen democracy, inter alia, through modernization of the state, strengthening of municipal and regional administrations, and the promotion of civil society participation in decision-making on public policy, as well as to share experiences and information on programs in these areas supported by multilateral and bilateral cooperation institutions, such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank; NOTING IN PARTICULAR the commitments adopted at the Quebec City Summit (April 2001) on empowering local governments and the support expressed for the OAS Program of Cooperation in Decentralization and Local Government, as well as for the convocation of a Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities Responsible for Decentralization, Local Governance, and Citizen Participation at the Municipal Level in Bolivia; RECALLING ALSO its resolutions related to these issues, namely AG/RES. 1668 (XXIX-O/99) and AG/RES. 1760 (XXX-O/00); REAFFIRMING: The role of the OAS in the promotion and consolidation of democracy in the Hemisphere and as the forum for inter-American dialogue among ministers and high-level authorities; and That the challenges posed by the processes of decentralization and strengthening local governance can be effectively addressed in the OAS context; RECOGNIZING that the Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities would be an ideal opportunity to exchange experience and information, and to initiate the development of a common framework of public policies to strengthen the decentralization process, the consolidation of local government, and citizen participation at the municipal and community levels; and TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas supports "the OAS Program of Cooperation and Decentralization in Local Government, including, with the support of the IDB, the development of programs and the effective inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes," RESOLVES: 1. To note with satisfaction and to endorse the convening, by the Permanent Council, of the Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities Responsible for Policies on Decentralization, Local Government, and Citizen Participation at the Municipal Level in the Hemisphere, in La Paz, Bolivia, from July 29 to 31, 2001. 2. To note with satisfaction also the progress made in preparing for this Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities. 3. To instruct the Permanent Council to receive and analyze the report of the Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities with a view to ensuring implementation of its recommendations, in keeping with resources available in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources. 4. To instruct the General Secretariat to implement, with the cooperation of the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, any decisions and recommendations arising from the Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities, to support it in doing so, and to urge other multilateral cooperation organizations to lend their support for this purpose. 5. To thank the Government of Bolivia for supporting this Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities by offering to host the meeting. 6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-second regular session on the implementation of this resolution.