|
OEA/Ser.G
CP/RES. 833 (1349/02) corr. 1
16 December 2002
Original: Spanish |
CP/RES. 833 (1349/02)
SUPPORT FOR THE
DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE IN VENEZUELA
AND THE FACILITATION EFFORTS OF THE OAS SECRETARY GENERAL
THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,
HAVING HEARD the presentation of the Permanent Representative of Venezuela to
the Organization of American States regarding incidents that could destabilize
the democratic constitutional order in Venezuela;
HAVING HEARD the oral report by the Secretary General on his role in the
facilitation efforts concerning the situation in Venezuela;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the serious political situation confronting the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, and deploring the acts of violence in that country;
CONSIDERING that the Charter of the Organization of American States recognizes
that representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability,
peace and development of the region;
CONSIDERING that Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter proclaims
that “The peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their
governments have an obligation to promote and defend it”; and taking into
account the provisions of Articles 2, 3, 4, and 7 of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter;
RECALLING resolution CP/RES. 811 (1315/02), “Situation in Venezuela,” of April
13, 2002; resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXIX-E/02), “Support for Democracy in
Venezuela,” of April 18, 2002; declaration AG/DEC. 28 (XXXII-O/02),
“Declaration on Democracy in Venezuela,” of June 4, 2002; resolution CP/RES.
821 (1329/02), “Support for the Process of Dialogue in Venezuela,” of August
14, 2002; and the press release of the Chair of the OAS Permanent Council of
December 9, 2002, which reiterate the willingness of the OAS to provide the
support and assistance that the Government of Venezuela requires to consolidate
its democratic process;
CONVINCED that the Forum for Negotiation and Agreement and the facilitation by
the Secretary General constitute urgent, important and constructive efforts in
the search for a constitutional, democratic, peaceful, and electoral solution,
with all due urgency as warranted by the situation; and
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Venezuelan Government’s initiative of promoting and
conducting a process of dialogue, without exclusion, and the facilitation
efforts of the Organization of American States, the United Nations Development
Programme, and the Carter Center to find a constitutional, democratic, peaceful
and electoral solution,
RESOLVES:
1. To fully support the democratic and constitutional
order of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, whose government is headed by
Hugo Chávez Frías, and to reject categorically any attempt at a coup d’état or
unconstitutional alteration of the Venezuelan constitutional regime that
seriously impairs the democratic order.
2. To lend resolute and unequivocal support to the
Secretary General of the Organization of American States in his efforts to
facilitate dialogue, which include cooperation with the Carter Center and the
UNDP, with a view to finding, as soon as possible, a peaceful solution to the
crisis, with respect for the constitutional order and in the framework of the
Inter-American Democratic Charter.
3. To urge the Government of Venezuela and the
Coordinadora Democrática to use good-faith negotiations to bring about a
constitutional, democratic, peaceful, and electoral solution in the framework
of the Forum for Negotiation and Agreement, with the facilitation of the OAS
Secretary General.
4. To support the right of the Venezuelan people to
elect their government officials in accordance with constitutional norms and to
express categorically that any situation that violates the rule of law and the
democratic institutional structure in Venezuela is incompatible with the
inter-American system and, especially, with the Inter-American Democratic
Charter.
5. To urge the Government of Venezuela to ensure respect
for, and to urge all sectors of society to preserve, the free exercise of the
essential elements of democracy to promote a constitutional, democratic,
peaceful, and electoral solution.
6. To call upon all sectors in Venezuela to respect the
principles enshrined in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, including, inter
alia, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and transparency and good
governance.
7. To urge the Government of Venezuela to ensure full
enjoyment of freedom of expression and of the press and to exhort all sectors
of Venezuelan society to contribute to promoting peace and tolerance among all
Venezuelans and all social actors to refrain from encouraging political
confrontation and violence.
8. To reiterate the determination of the member states
to continue applying, without distinction, and in strict accordance with the
letter and spirit of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the mechanisms
provided therein for the preservation and defense of representative democracy,
and the rejection of the use of violence to replace any democratic government
in the Hemisphere.
9. To request the OAS Secretary General to continue to
report to the Permanent Council on his facilitation efforts concerning the
situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and bearing in mind the
existence of other mechanisms in the inter-American system, such as the Meeting
of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
|