CP/RES. 870 (1446/04)

LECTURE SERIES OF THE AMERICAS

(Adopted at its session held on September 29, 2004)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

CONSIDERING:

That the Summits of the Americas process has established political priorities at the hemispheric level, focusing the inter-American agenda on issues related to Democracy and Governance, Social Development and the Fight against Poverty, Protection of Human Rights, and Security, which correspond to the principles and priorities of the Organization of American States (OAS);

That the Declaration of Quebec City points out that “[T]he Summits of the Americas exist to serve people. We must develop effective, practical and compassionate solutions for the problems that confront our societies;”

That, through its General Assemblies, the OAS has been pursuing those principles and purposes in order to provide the peoples of the Americas with the best options for solving the problems that beset them;

That Article 26 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter establishes that the OAS will continue to carry out programs and activities designed to promote democratic principles and practices and strengthen a democratic culture in the Hemisphere, and that the Americas need to promote their shared values as a means of unifying the Hemisphere;

That debate of the principal topics on the OAS agenda needs to be enriched in an environment of intellectual freedom and plurality by contributions from leading representatives of different schools of thought all over the world;

That it is essential that this process of reflection go beyond the confines of the Organization and that member states disseminate it adequately among the different sectors in national life as a way of bringing the OAS closer to our peoples;

That the beginning of a new Secretary General’s term at the OAS provides a fitting opportunity for conducting this exercise, which will enrich our discussions and enable us to take decisions conducive to the well-being of our peoples; and

That the OAS needs to conduct these kinds of activities in coordination with the other organs making up the inter-American system,

RESOLVES:

1. To establish the “Lecture Series of the Americas,” which will consist of monthly lectures, starting in October 2004, on issues related, above all, to the Strengthening of Democracy, the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Social Development and the Fight against Poverty, and Hemispheric Security, to which the OAS will invite leading intellectuals from the region and the rest of the world.

2. To instruct the Chair of the Permanent Council, the Chair of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, and the Secretary General to design, organize, and implement the “Lecture Series of the Americas.”

3. To instruct the Secretary General to make arrangements for obtaining any outside sources of financing that may prove necessary to ensure the implementation and continuity of the “Lecture Series of the Americas.”

4. To instruct the General Secretariat to provide all the administrative and technical support required for the implementation and continuity of the “Lecture Series of the Americas.”

5. To instruct the General Secretariat to use all available technical resources to promote and publicize the “Lecture Series of the Americas” as widely as possible via satellite; at the same time, to post a web page on it in the Portal of the Americas that can be accessed by the people of the Americas; and to use all other means that the OAS has at its disposal to achieve this goal.

6. To instruct the General Secretariat to promote and disseminate the “Lecture Series of the Americas” as broadly as possible through its offices in the member states and in coordination with the states.

7. To authorize the General Secretariat to sign inter-institutional agreements with such entities as it deems necessary to achieve maximum dissemination and promotion of the “Lecture Series of the Americas.”