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General Assembly
Updated on June 10, 2016
Press Manual
1. General Information
1.1. Official program
The forty‐sixth regular session of the General Assembly will be held from June 13 to 15, 2016, at the Conference Center of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo.
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/46ga.
1.2 Central Theme of the General Assembly
The theme proposed by the Mission of the Dominican Republic to the OAS, and to be discussed by the Foreign Ministers of the Americas will be: "Institutional Strengthening for Sustainable Development in the Americas."
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 in the International Media 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.
1.4. Headquarters of the General Assembly
The 46th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) will take place from June 13 to 15, 2016, at the headquarters of the Conference Center of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo, at Ave. Independencia Nº 752, Estancia San Gerónimo.
1.5. 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.
2. Press accreditation and information prior to the event
2.1. Accreditation
Requests for accreditation will be accepted from May 3 until June 1. To receive accreditation; the applicant must fill out a form found on the OAS webpage at http://www.cvent.com/d/3fqs2l/?lang=en. 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 no larger than 1Mb from the director of the media company requesting accreditation that must indicate the name of the press official to be accredited.
Furthermore, the applicant must include a recent passport-sized color photograph in JPEG format.
All media representatives are requested to provide all the information indicated on the form in order to obtain their credentials. At the time of registration the applicant must enter a personal e-mail.
2.3. Picking up your credentials
OAS press credentials may be picked up from June 10 to 15 at the Sheraton Hotel - Jares Salon, located at 365 Avenida George Washington, Santo Domingo, 10205, as indicated below:
- Friday, June 10 to Sunday June 12 from 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 (local time)
- Monday June 13 and Tuesday June 14 from 8:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 (local time)
- Wednesday, June 15, from 8:00 to 14:00 (local time)
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
Under Law No. 875-78 on Visas, dated July 21, 1978, foreign nationals traveling to the Dominican Republic must hold the appropriate visa in their travel document, except for nationals of countries with which the Dominican Republic has passed agreements on visa waiver.
As a courtesy to journalists covering the Forty-Sixth Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly that will be held in Santo Domingo from June 13-15, 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic will grant Courtesy Visas and Entry Facilities.
In order to initiate this process, please send a letter of request to the Department of State Ceremonial and Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic and attach the following documents:
- A copy of the passport’s page that includes your general information;
- Flight schedules with accurate data on arrival and departure from the country.
Please send this documentation ten (10) days prior to arrival in the Dominican Republic. It will be submitted to the competent national authorities in order to facilitate your entry into Dominican territory.
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 the Dominican Republic.
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.
2.7. Press conferences
- All press conferences held during the General Assembly will take place in a room designated for the purpose.
- 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/46ga 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 on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OASofficial.
3. Agenda
3.1 Activities prior to the start of the Forty-sixth Regular Session of the General Assembly
| Friday, June 10 | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | TIC Americas 2016 –YABT Venue: Hotel Barceló |
| Saturday, June 11 | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | TIC Americas 2016 –YABT Venue: Hotel Barceló |
| Sunday, June 12 | |
|---|---|
| 12:30 p.m. | Press Conference hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, the Secretary General, and the Assistant Secretary General Venue: Foyer of the Eduardo Latorre Auditorium |
| 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Conversation featuring the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, and representatives of civil society organizations and other social actors Venue: Gran Salón of the Hotel Catalonia |
| Monday, June 13 | |
|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | 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 Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 1:00 p.m. | 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 Venue: Moro Room, MIREX |
3.2 Agenda: Start of the General Assembly
| Monday, June 13 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 p.m. | INAUGURAL SESSION Venue: National Theater |
| Tuesday, June 14 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. | First PLENARY SESSION Venue: MIREX Convention Center
|
| 9:30 a.m. | Second PLENARY SESSION Venue: MIREX Convention Center
|
| 9:30 a.m. | First meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 12:15 p.m. | Official photograph of the Heads of Delegation Venue: MIREX Convention Center Courtyard |
| 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 pm | Private Luncheon of the Heads of Delegation with the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Venue: Moro Room, MIREX |
| 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 pm | Luncheon of the Deputy Heads of Delegation Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm | Private Dialogue of Heads of Delegation accompanied by one delegate, with the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 2:30 p.m. | Second meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Alianza TIC 2030 Americas (CITEL) Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 8:30 p.m. | Dominican Fiesta hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (by invitation only) Venue: Restaurante Jaleo |
| Wednesday, June 15 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. | Working breakfast of the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) Venue: Sheraton Hotel |
| 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. | Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), AG/RES. 1848 (XXXII-O/02), operative paragraph 2 Venue: Plenary, MIREX Convention Center |
| 9:00 a.m. | Third meeting of the GENERAL COMMITTEE Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
| 10:00 a.m. | Third PLENARY SESSION Venue: MIREX Convention Center
|
| 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Presentation of the Judicial Facilitators Program Venue: Plenary, Convention Center (MIREX) |
| 3:00 p.m. | Fourth PLENARY SESSION 1/ Venue: MIREX Convention Center
|
| 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. | Keynote Lecture: “Caring for Our Common Home from the Judiciary: Guaranteeing More Rights for More People in the Americas” Venue: Auditorium of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Dominican Republic |
| 8:00 p.m. | CLOSING SESSION Venue: MIREX Convention Center CLOSING PRESS CONFERENCE Venue: MIREX Convention Center |
1. Article 91.f of the OAS Charter: “The Permanent Council shall also … [c]onsider the reports of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, of the General Secretariat, of specialized agencies and conferences, and of other bodies and agencies, and present to the General Assembly any observations and recommendations it deems necessary.”
4. Areas and services for the media
4.1. International Media Center
Media representatives with General Assembly credentials will have access to the International Media Center. It will be located at the Convention Center of the Foreign Ministry of the Dominican Republic; will be open beginning on Monday, June 13 from 07:00 (local time) until the end of the day, on Tuesday, June 14 from 07:00 (local time), and on Wednesday, June 15 until the end of the day.
This center will offer the following services:
- Wireless Internet (Wi-Fi).
- Closed circuit television to monitor the transmission. The inaugural meeting and the plenaries will be broadcast live in the International Media Center. Sound will be original language from the plenary hall. To hear interpretation you will need to connect via webcast http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/webcast_schedule.asp
- Electricity voltage in the Dominican Republic is: 110 volts AC, 60 Hz.
- The radio and television transmission center will have a video signal on the screen and original audio. There will be an audio box with 20 outputs in the original language.
To request high-definition video, contact Mr. Ernesto Cossich at [email protected]
4.2. Internet
The OAS, through its webpage (www.oas.org) and the official webpage of the General Assembly
www.oas.org/en/46ga, 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.
4.3. 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.
4.4. 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 ceremony
- First plenary session on each of the two days of the General Assembly
- Closing ceremony
- Closing ceremony press conference
4.5. Press “pools”
If necessary, press "pools" are groups of limited size of media representatives (photographers and camera operators) 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.
4.6. Official photograph
The official photograph will be taken on Tuesday, June 14 at 12:15 (local time) in a location to be determined.
4.7 Official radio and TV signal
Sertelsa will operate as the host channel for the Assembly, distributing the signal to all other channels.
CONTACT for the official signal: Charles Sanchez. [email protected]
In the Press Room service is available for audio and video signal plenary sessions. Journalists are responsible for bringing the necessary equipment to make connections.
4.8 Satellite signal
| Technical Data | Values Inaugural Session only |
Values for all other Broadcasts |
|---|---|---|
| SATELITE | INTELSAT 21 |
INTELSAT 21 |
| Frecuencia | 4146.25 |
4173.25 |
| Banda | C |
C |
| Polaridad | horizontal |
horizontal |
| Symbol rate | 6.1113 |
6.1113 |
| FEC | 7/8 |
7/8 |
| MODULACION | QPSK |
QPSK |
| Compresión | MPEG 4 |
MPEG 4 |
| Video | NTSC 1280x720P DVB S |
NTSC 1280x720P DVB S |
5. Hotels and Interesting Tips
5.1. Recommended Hotels for the press
All recommended hotels have rooms that have been reserved at special rates until May 13, 2016. Reservations must be made directly with the hotel, either through the Web pages that were created especially for these groups using the reservation code granted by each hotel, or through electronic mail, or by telephone.
All rates are subject to 28% taxes (18% ITBIS and 10% legal tipping), excluding fees for the Mercure Comercial and Hostal Nicolás de Ovando hotels.
All accommodation requirements must be indicated by May 13, 2016, at the latest.
| Hotel | Rates USD | Contact information |
|---|---|---|
| Courtyard Santo Domingo | 121 USD Desayuno e Internet Incluidos |
Book your corporate rate for 46MO PERIODO ORDINARIO DE SESIONES DE LA ASAMBLEA GENERAL DE LA OEA Nelson Domínguez / Rocío Fernández +1-809-730-3030 y +1-809-730-3025 [email protected] |
| Holiday Inn | Standard 155 USD Deluxe 180 USD Desayuno e Internet Incluidos |
CUADRAGÉSIMO SEXTO PERÍODO ORDINARIO DE SESIONES DE LA ASAMBLEA GENERAL DE LA OEA Código de grupo: HN6 |
| Dominican Fiesta | Sencilla Deluxe 80 USD Piso Ejecutivo 100 USD Desayuno e Internet Incluidos |
Contacto: Zarina Montalvo +1-809-562-8222 Ext. 7013 [email protected] Código de grupo: 9CX1754683M |
| Radisson Santo Domingo | 129 USD Sencilla 134 USD Doble Desayuno 15 USD Internet Incluido |
www.radisson.com Contacto: Francis Vargas +1-809-541-6226 Código de grupo: mirex1 |
| BQ Santo Domingo | Standard SGL US$75.00 Standard DBL US$85.00 Superior SGL US$90.00 Superior DBL US$105.00 Suite Superior SGL US$115.00 Suite Superior DBL US$125.00 Desayuno e internet incluidos |
http://www.bqhoteles.com/es/Hoteles/Republica-Dominicana/BQ-Santo-Domingo-Hotel Contacto: Rebeca Guzmán +1-809-535-0800 Ext. 2719 [email protected] Código de grupo: MIREX |
| Barceló Santo Domingo | Superior SGL 115 USD Superior Ejecutiva SGL 135 USD, Superior Club Premium SGL 175 USD, Suplemento ocupación doble 15 USD Desayuno e internet incluidos |
www.barcelo.com Contacto: Ana Gómez +1-809-563-5000 [email protected] Código de grupo: GrupoOEA |
| Hostal Nicolás de Ovando | Contemporary SGL 125 USD / DBL 145 USD Colonial Room SGL140 USD / DBL 160 USD Deluxe Room SGL185 USD / DBL 205 USD Junior Suite SGL 285 USD / DBL 305 USD Suite Ejecutiva SGL 385 USD / DBL 405 USD Desayuno, internet e impuestos incluidos |
www.accorhotels.com Contacto: Carlos Frías +1-809-685-9955 [email protected] Código de grupo: OJET |
| Hodelpa Caribe Colonial | The White SGL US$55.00 DBL US$61.00 Superior SGL US$65.00 DBL US$71.00 Superior Deluxe SGL US$75.00 DBL US$81.00 Desayuno e internet incluidos |
Contacto: Yvette Reyes: +1-809-683-1000 [email protected] |
| Mercure Comercial | Habitación Standard SGL USD$ 80.64 Habitación Standard DBL USD$ 93.44 Desayuno, internet e impuestos incluidos | www.accorhotels.com Contacto: Carlos Frías [email protected] +1-809-685-9955 Código de grupo: OMVE |
6. Useful information
6.1. Vaccination
No vaccinations are necessary to enter the country.
6.2. Maps
