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OAS Secretary General Participates in Ceremony for Signing of Commitment to Dialogue by Political Parties of El Salvador

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today took part in a ceremony in San Salvador for the signing of a joint declaration of the political parties in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, in which they committed themselves to promote a process of National Political Dialogue to contribute to the creation of agreements to respond to the basic needs of the population and to address the main challenges facing the country. The ceremony was headed by the President of the country, Salvador Sánchez Céren.

The document was signed by the FMLN, ARENA, GANA, PCN, CD and PDC, in the presence of the Foreign Minister of El Salvador, Hugo Martínez, as witness of honor and of Secretary General Insulza, who was named by the political parties as the custodian of the commitment declaration. The multilateral institution will provide support and technical accompaniment to facilitate the process of dialogue and to contribute to the fulfillment of the agreement, which it will oversee together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The agreement was signed by Medardo González, Secretary General of the FMLN; Jorge Velado, Chair of the National Executive Council of ARENA; Andrés Rovira, Secretary General of GANA; Manuel Rodríguez, Secretary General of the PCN; Douglas Avilés, Secretary General of the CD; and Rodolfo Parker, Secretary General of the PDC, representing their respective parties.

During the signing ceremony, Secretary General Insulza said that his presence at the act and the support of the OAS for the Salvadoran national political dialogue are “evidence of the commitment of our Organization to the constructive initiatives and inclusive proposals of its member states.” He added that “from the OAS, we are calling for support for governments and key actors in a society to promote dialogue and the collaborative building of consensus, as well as the development and adoption of institutional and ad hoc mechanisms for the reaching of agreements, all with the ultimate objective of strengthening our democracies and guaranteeing the free exercise of the rights of all citizens.”

The leader of the multilateral Organization recalled that “the experiences of the OAS in Latin America, in particular those acquired by peace-building missions in Central America in the 1990´s,” revealed “some basic conditions for the implementation and maintenance of an effective process of dialogue.” Among these he highlighted the need for communication, political will, a legal framework and solid institutional processes.

Secretary General Insulza called on Salvadorans, “as protagonists and as those who are directly responsible for the success of this initiative, to take part in this process with the best will and the best intentions, knowing beforehand that we will face skepticism, pitfalls and difficult times.” He warned that “to withdraw from the table, suspicious of others, is an easy path; to sit and reconcile with others requires vision, commitment to the common good, and patience. That joint vision of the future for El Salvador is what should inspire and guide us throughout this process,” he concluded.

In the document signed, the parties expressed before the Salvadoran people and the international community their commitment to jointly undertake a process of political dialogue leading to the search for agreements on priority issues of national scope, as well as their pledge to remain open to dialogue in response to the call made by the President of the Republic, Salvador Sanchez Cerén, at the beginning of his mandate.

"We are convinced that the building and achievement of consensus involves the strong commitment of all participants to hold a fraternal, harmonious and productive exchange that encourages, based on a shared vision, the best way to overcome the current national challenges," they declared.

They added that for a process of this nature to achieve its intended results, it must be removed from the typical fluctuations in the political-electoral situation in the country.

The Secretary General will be received this afternoon by the Salvadoran President, Salvador Sanchez Cerén.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-003/15