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General Assembly
Updated on May 27, 2014
Press Manual
1. General Information
1.1. Official program
The forty‐fourth regular session of the General Assembly will be held from June 3 – 5, 2014, in Asunción, Paraguay. The sessions will take place in the CONMEBOL Convention Center, located at Avenida Sudamericana No. 595, Luque – Gran Asunción, Paraguay.
The Official Program of activities of the General Assembly is available on the OAS Web page: www.oas.org (click on "General Assembly") or directly at www.oas.org/en/44ga. Furthermore, the government of Paraguay has an official Web page at http://www.mre.gov.py/44agoea/.
1.2 Central Theme of the General Assembly
The theme proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Eladio Loizaga, to be the focus of debate by Foreign Ministers of the Americas, will be “Development with Social Inclusion.” Read a press release about it here: https://www.oas.org/en/centro_noticias/comunicado_prensa.asp?sCodigo=C-081/14.
1.3. Languages and work documents
The official languages for the work of the General Assembly are: Spanish, French, English and Portuguese.
The work sessions of the General Assembly will offer interpreting services in these languages. Furthermore, sound distribution of the inaugural and plenary sessions of the General Assembly will be made in the above‐mentioned languages.
Official documents in the four official languages of the General Assembly will be available on the OAS General Assembly Webpage, and hardcopies will be made available at the International Press Center upon request.
Journalists are advised to bring laptops and earphones should they wish to hear audio of General Assembly meetings in one of the other official languages of the OAS by accessing the live Webcast. Handheld translation audio devices will not be made available to the media.
1.4. Headquarters of the General Assembly
The 44th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) will take place from June 3 to 5, 2014, at the CONMEBOL Convention Center, located at Avenida Sudamericana No. 595, Luque – Gran Asunción, Paraguay.
1.5. Inauguration
TBA
1.6. OAS Member States
* On June 3, 2009, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Americas adopted resolution GA/RES. 2438 (XXXIX‐O/09), which resolves that the Resolution from 1962 through which the Government of Cuba was excluded from participating in the inter‐American system is without effect in the Organization of American States (OAS). The 2009 resolution declares that the participation of the Republic of Cuba in the OAS will be the result of a process of dialogue to begin at the request of the Government of the Republic of Cuba and in conformity with the practices, goals, and principles of the OAS.
1.7. Events parallel to the General Assembly
| Sunday, June 1 | |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 18:00 | TIC Americas 2014 –YABT Asunción, Central Bank of Paraguay |
| 08:00 - 18:00 | Second Inter-American Conference on “Human Rights and Best Practices in Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR)” - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Events Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Monday, June 2 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 - 18:00 | Private Sector Forum: “The Americas in a Changing Global Economic Scenario The Role of Public-Private Partnerships” Asunción, Carmelitas Center |
| 8:00 - 20:00 | TIC Americas 2014 –YABT - Awards Asunción, Central Bank of Paraguay |
| 10:00 - 12:45 | Dialogue of the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, and representatives of civil society organizations and other social actors Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 13:00 | Press Conference hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 14:30 - 17:30 | Round Table “Belém do Pará + 20” Sheraton Hotel |
| 14:30 - 17:00 | Presentation of the second edition of the report “Cyber-Security Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean” Asunción, Hotel Granados Park |
| 17:00 a 19:00 | Presentation of the OAS Inter-American Judicial Facilitators Program Asunción, Auditorium Room of the Hotel Bourbon |
| Tuesday, June 3 | |
|---|---|
| 9:00 - 12:00 | Dialogue of the Heads of Delegation, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General with representatives of civil society, labor unions, the private sector, and other social actors Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 13:00 | Luncheon dialogue of the heads of delegation, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General with the heads of delegation of the permanent observer countries Asunción, Hotel Bourbon, Copa Libertadores Room |
| 9:00 - 17:00 | Conference on “Good Governance and Environmental Justice: Toward an Inclusive Sustainable Development Agenda for the Americas” Asunción, Auditorium Room of the Hotel Boutique La Misión |
2. Press accreditation and information prior to the event
2.1. Accreditation
Requests for accreditation will be accepted from April 15 until May 23rd. To receive accreditation, the applicant must fill out a form found on the webpage of the OAS at http://www.cvent.com/d/h4q2wc. Once the required information is received and processed, the applicant will receive an email concerning acceptance and approval of accreditation.
2.2. Requirements
Requests for accreditation must be made individually, only online and must be made through the OAS General Secretariat.
Each request must include a digitalized note from the director of the media company requesting accreditation with a size no greater than 1 Mb, and it must indicate the name of the press official to be accredited.
Furthermore, the applicant must include a recent color photograph in JPEG format. Maximum size: approximately 250 Kb.
Resolution: 128 pixels length and 100 pixels width.
All media representatives are requested to provide all the information indicated on the form in order to obtain their credentials.
2.3. Picking up your credentials
OAS issued credentials may be picked up at the Hotel Bourbon, in the Salón Copa América 1 beginning May 30th, from 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 local time, by presenting the original letter from the requesting media organization and an official identification document (passport or identity card). The deadline for picking up credentials is June 5 at 12:00.
In order to pass through security controls and pick up credentials, you must present the email confirmation of your accreditation and your media identification.
For security reasons and to control access to meetings of the General Assembly, members of the press, in addition to presenting their OAS issued press credentials for the General Assembly, must present their own identification card issued by the media organization they represent. They must visibly display these two documents (media identification and OAS credentials) on their persons in order to obtain access to the meetings and events to which they have been invited.
2.4. Requirements for entering and leaving the country
Citizens of some countries of the hemisphere do not need visas to enter Paraguay. If you require a visa, the Government of Paraguay recommends applying in the nearest Paraguayan embassy, to avoid delays at the airport upon arrival in the country.
2.5. Bringing equipment into the country
There are no special requirements for bringing equipment into the country, aside from the declaration of such equipment upon arrival in Paraguay.
2.6. Security and technical inspection
For security reasons, press equipment will be inspected before coverage of the various meetings, which is why we request that you arrive at least one hour in advance.
Journalists must restrict their movement to press‐authorized areas, except when appropriate times are set up for photographs and video with the assistance of personnel from the OAS Press Department or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay.
2.7. Press conferences
- All press conferences held during the General Assembly will take place in a room designated for the purpose.
- To be confirmed Dates, times and location of Opening Press Conference
- To be confirmed date, time and location of press conference with OAS Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, and Foreign Minister of Paraguay
- Press conferences will have interpretation in Spanish and English.
- At the end of the press conference, video, audio, photographs and press releases will be made available.
2.8 Advisories and Press Communications
All official documents, advisories, press releases, photo galleries and announcements will be published on the official website of the General Assembly (www.oas.org/en/44ga) and sent to the media representatives to the email address given on the press credential application. If you would like to receive the communications at some other email address, please write to [email protected].
To receive updates on events, announcements, photographs and press releases from the General Assembly, follow @OASofficial on Twitter and/or #OEA_44AG and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OASofficial.
3. Areas and services for the media
3.1. International Media Center (IMC)
Media representatives with General Assembly credentials will have access to an International Media Center, equipped to provide them the resources needed to conduct their work. The Center, located at CONMEBOL headquarters, will be open beginning on Sunday the 1st until Thursday, June 5, from 07:00 to 23:00 (local time).
This center will offer the following services:
- Wireless connection for portable computers
- 144 work spaces
- 20 computers with Internet
- 1 interview room
- 1 area for press conferences
- Room for editing and copying video material, under responsibility of Paraguay TV. Contact Cristian Valdovinos, General Coordinator, Paraguay TV. [email protected] +595 994 341 570
- Closed circuit television to monitor the transmission. The inaugural meeting and the plenaries will be broadcast live in the IMC. Sound will be original language from the plenary hall. To hear interpretation you will need to connect via webcast (link to be confirmed).
- Access to satellite transmission via Intelsat 11. Data and coordinates to be confirmed.
- Electricity voltage in Paraguay: 220 volts AC, 50 Hz.
- The radio and television transmission center will be equipped with:
Equipment for amplification of signal and video distribution NTSC with 20 BNC outputs. Sound distribution equipment, divided in the following form: 20 XLR outs with original language audio; 10 XLR outs with Spanish interpretation; 10 XLR outs with English interpretation; 3 XLR outs with French interpretation; and 2 outs with Portuguese interpretation. - Media representatives will be offered light refreshments during the course of the work day.
3.2. Internet
The OAS, through its webpage (www.oas.org) and the official webpage of the General Assembly
(www.oas.org/en/44ga), will provide live webcast services of the meetings of the Foreign Ministers, the Opening Ceremony, the Plenary Sessions and the Press Conferences in the four official languages of the OAS. The videos will be available on the webpage http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/videos.asp
Plenary Sessions and Press Conferences
If you wish to link the webcast to your website, please send an email to: [email protected] and/or contact Ernesto Cossich ([email protected]). Radio and television stations that wish to air the webcast signal are authorized to do so.
The OAS, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oasoea/, will have galleries of high resolution photographs from the General Assembly that you may publish with due credit. Similarly, official documents, draft resolutions, reports, speeches, press releases and other documents will become immediately available on the Assembly’s Web page.
3.3. Photographers and cameramen/women
Photographers and cameramen/women will be allowed to take images of particular events to be announced in due time. Among them are the following:
- Inaugural press conference
- Inaugural ceremony
- First plenary session on each of the two days of the General Assembly
- Closing ceremony
- Closing ceremony press conference
3.4 Press “pools”
If necessary, press "pools" are groups of limited size of media representatives (photographers and cameramen) who will be granted access to those events in which space is limited in order to capture images. The makeup of these “pools” will be announced in due time.
3.5 Bilateral meetings
Image capturing sessions will be held for bilateral meetings between Member State delegations and/or Observer countries that are open to members of the press. Media representatives covering these meetings will be requested to meet at the International Media Center, where personnel from the OAS Press and Communications Department or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay will accompany them to the meeting room. A schedule of bilateral meetings open to the media will be published daily.
3.6 Official photograph
The official photograph will be taken at the foyer of the Conmebol Convention Center, headquarters of the Assembly.
3.7 Official radio and TV signal
Paraguay TV will operate as the host channel for the Assembly, distributing the signal to all other channels.
CONTACTS for the official signal Cristian Valdovinos, General Coordinator, TV Paraguay, [email protected] +595 994 341 570
Agenda to be confirmed.
Plenary sessions will be broadcast and may be heard through audio and video services provided at the International Broadcast Center in the official languages of the General Assembly. Members of the media are responsible for bringing along the necessary equipment.
Also, audio and video of participating member state Foreign Ministers and heads of delegation will be made available in the four languages of the OAS.
TV Paraguay:
Cristian Valdovinos, coordinador general
+595 994 341 570
3.8. Satellite signal
| Technical Data | Values |
|---|---|
| Satellite: | INTELSAT 11 |
| Download Frequency: | 4064 |
| Polarity: | VERTICAL |
| FEC: | 3/4 |
| Symbol Rate: | 4444 |
| Modulation: | QPSK - MPEG 4 |
| Encoding: | Free |
| ASPECT RATIO: | 16:9 |
| Video: | SD 625/50 PAL |
| Audio Channel 1 | Análogo |
| Audio Channel 2 | Análogo |
| Audio Channel 3 |
... |
| Audio Channel 4 | ... |
Satellite Services:
- Rental Editing Suite: There will be an editing table available in the International Media Center, managed by Paraguay TV (includes a cost).
- Television Set: The set for interviews will have audio and video and a table with two chairs.
4. Transportation
The government of Paraguay will offer transportation for journalists accredited to cover the General Assembly between the center of Asunción and the CONMEBOL Convention Center. The pick up point will be in front of the Headquarters of the National Police (Corner of el Paraguayo Independiente and Chile Streets). These buses will leave every three hours, beginning at 07:00 until 22:00, on June 4 and 5.
On the day of the inauguration of the Assembly at the Central Bank, the buses will leave from the center of Asunción and from the CONMEBOL Convention Center at 17:30.
5. Hotels
5.1. Hotels recommended to members of the press
All hotels recommended by the host country have rooms set aside for those attending the General Assembly and reservations should be made through the webpage of the host country (http://www.mre.gov.py/44agoea/). Please note that reservations should be made by May 24 in order to receive special rates for the Assembly.
| Name | Telephone (+595 21) |
Address | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabe Center Hotel | 450-093 | 25 de Mayo esq. México | http://www.sabecenterhotel.com.py/ |
| Hotel Cecilia | 210 365 | EEUU 341 esq. Mcal. Estigarribia | http://www.hotelcecilia.com.py/ |
| Hotel Las Margaritas | 448765 | 15 De Agosto, Asunción, Paraguay | http://www.lasmargaritas.com.py/ |
| Hotel Bristol | 494254 | 15 de Agosto 472 c/ Oliva | http://www.hotelbristol.com.py/index.php |
| Hotel Excelsior | 495 632 | Chile 980, Asunción, Paraguay | http://www.excelsior.com.py/ |
| Internacional Asunción | 494 114 | Ayolas 520, Asunción, Paraguay | http://www.hotelinternacional.com.py/ |
| Hotel Le Moustier | 283 740 | Tte. Insaurralde 347 c/ Brasilia | http://www.lemoustier.org/?es=1 |
| Hotel Le Pelican | 661 436 | Avda. Santa Teresa 2489 | http://www.hotellepelican.com/ |
Infodesk
In each official hotel there will be an information stand where the participants can find additional details about transportation routes and schedules, the General Assembly headquarters, schedules for the registration process and late accreditation as well as general information about the city of Asunción.
6. Other information
6.1. Vaccination
No vaccinations are necessary to enter the country.
6.2. Maps
7. Preliminary agenda
| Sunday, June 1 | |
|---|---|
| 08:00 - 18:00 | TIC Americas 2014 –YABT Asunción, Central Bank of Paraguay |
| 08:00 - 18:00 | Second Inter-American Conference on “Human Rights and Best Practices in Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR)” - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Events Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Monday, June 2 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 - 18:00 | Private Sector Forum: “The Americas in a Changing Global Economic Scenario The Role of Public-Private Partnerships” Asunción, Carmelitas Center |
| 8:00 - 20:00 | TIC Americas 2014 –YABT - Awards Asunción, Central Bank of Paraguay |
| 10:00 - 12:45 | Dialogue of the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, and representatives of civil society organizations and other social actors Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 13:00 | Press Conference hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 14:30 - 17:30 | Round Table “Belém do Pará + 20” Sheraton Hotel |
| 14:30 - 17:00 | Presentation of the second edition of the report “Cyber-Security Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean” Asunción, Hotel Granados Park |
| 17:00 a 19:00 | Presentation of the OAS Inter-American Judicial Facilitators Program Asunción, Auditorium Room of the Hotel Bourbon |
| Tuesday, June 3 | |
|---|---|
| 9:00 - 12:00 | Dialogue of the Heads of Delegation, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General with representatives of civil society, labor unions, the private sector, and other social actors Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 13:00 | Luncheon dialogue of the heads of delegation, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General with the heads of delegation of the permanent observer countries Asunción, Hotel Bourbon, Copa Libertadores Room |
| 9:00 - 17:00 | Conference on “Good Governance and Environmental Justice: Toward an Inclusive Sustainable Development Agenda for the Americas” Asunción, Auditorium Room of the Hotel Boutique La Misión |
START OF THE FORTY-FOURTH REGULAR SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
|
| 19:00 | INAUGURAL SESSION Asunción, Central Bank of Paraguay, Auditorium Room |
| 20:00 | Reception hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay for all delegations (by invitation) Asunción, Central Bank of Paraguay, Central Bank Terrace |
| Wednesday, June 4 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 | First PLENARY SESSION Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 9:30 | Second PLENARY SESSION Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 9:30 | First meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 12:15 | Official photograph of the Heads of Delegation Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Private Luncheon of the Heads of Delegation with the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Asunción, Hotel Bourbon, FIFA Room |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Luncheon of the Deputy Heads of Delegation Asunción, Hotel Bourbon, CONMEBOL Room |
| 14:00 - 16:00 | Private Dialogue of Heads of Delegation accompanied by one delegate, with the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Asunción, Hotel Bourbon, FIFA Room |
| 14:30 | Second meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 19:30 | Reception hosted by the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Hotel Bourbon (By invitation) |
| Thursday, June 5 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 - 9:30 | Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) [AG/RES. 1848 (XXXII-O/02), operative paragraph 2] Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 9:00 | Third meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center. |
| 9:30 | Third PLENARY SESSION Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 13:00 | Luncheon (open) |
| 15:00 | Fourth PLENARY SESSION Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| 20:00 | CLOSING SESSION Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
| CLOSING PRESS CONFERENCE Asunción, CONMEBOL Convention Center |
|