Newsletter - July 2010

Editorial

Welcome to the third issue of the newsletter of the OAS Department of International Law. We wish to thank once again those who continue to send us words of encouragement on this effort. Our greatest reward is knowing that our newsletter is becoming an important tool for disseminating the work of our area with new developments in the inter-American legal agenda.

During the third quarter of 2010 our department continued to move ahead with implementation of its Program of Action to Strengthen the Participation of Indigenous Peoples in the Inter-American System, organizing more activities than in previous quarters. In this regard, we are pleased to note that the workshops for training indigenous leaders have been replicated over six times in the region, which is clear evidence of their multiplier effect. There was also great progress with the department’s projects on the subject of Afro-descendants and we expect a year filled with activities, not only because the General Assembly has adopted a resolution on the subject for the first time, but also because the United Nations has proclaimed 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent, and the department is already planning activities in that framework with various UN agencies. In addition, in April the department submitted the Model Inter-American Law on Access to Public Information and a Guide for its Implementation to the OAS Permanent Council’s Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs; the political organs will consider the documents at special meeting in the course of the year. The network for legal cooperation in family and child law administered by the department was further strengthened with the organization of a meeting of the pilot group of English-speaking countries, and before year’s end we will organize a technical meeting requested by REMJA VIII, which will bring together all countries of the hemisphere. The department continued working on such important topics as internally displaced persons, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and international humanitarian law, participating in several seminars and publicizing the progress on those subjects in the framework of the Organization. The department also took part in a seminar on treaty law in the Bahamas, in an effort to disseminate this area of law in the Caribbean and bring the department closer to this region, to which it plans to give priority in future activities.

Next month will also be a busy one for the Department of International Law, because from August 2 to 13 there will be another period of sessions of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, for which we are the technical secretariat, and we will hold the Course on International Law in Rio de Janeiro. This is an academic activity that is highly respected in the hemisphere and is about to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

It has been a productive year so far and we expect it to continue to be so. We hope you continue to find this newsletter and its information useful.

Dante M. Negro
Director
Department of International Law - OAS

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