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The OAS Voluntary Group for Follow-up to the Inter-American Democratic Charter Approves Its Work Plan Implementation Document

On February 26th, the fourth meeting of the Voluntary Group for Follow-up to the Inter-American Democratic Charter was held at the OAS headquarters in Washington D.C., with the participation of 16 OAS member states. The meeting was led by the Chair of the Voluntary Group, Francisco Mora, Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS, accompanied by the Vice-Chair of the Group, Gustavo Adrianzen, Permanent Representative of Peru to the OAS.

The Voluntary Group discussed the implementation of its Work Plan over the next 24 months, in order to prioritize, over a period of 6 to 8 months, the implementation of activities foreseen in the four thematic axes of the approved Work Plan—aligned with the chapters of the Inter-American Democratic Charter—in three phases, comprising a period of 6 to 8 months each.

The results of the meeting were: 1. The approval of the Implementation Document of the Work Plan of the Voluntary Group; 2. To transmit to the Permanent Council the adopted Work Plan, for its dissemination as an informative document; 3. To hold an informal meeting with civil society organizations, open to the participation of the member states; 4. That the Chair respond to a letter signed by several civil society organizations, sharing with them the Work Plan and expressing their interest in holding an informal discussion with the Chair and Vice Chair, open to the participation of other delegations; and 5. To report at a later date on the activities to be carried out as part of the Work Plan.

Following the discussion on the implementation of the Work Plan, the Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Kim Osborne, made a presentation on the programmatic efforts of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) in education for democracy and human rights. The Director General of the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), Julia Garcete, made a presentation on inter-American programs for the participation and protection of the human rights of children and adolescents and their future projection.

The Voluntary Group for Follow-up of the Inter-American Democratic Charter was created in response to the mandate of resolution AG/RES. 3004 (LIII-O/23) STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY, to foster dialogue, horizontal cooperation and the exchange of best practices among its members, and to identify opportunities within the principles of the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter to strengthen their democracies. The next formal meeting of the Group will take place at the end of March 2024.

Reference: E-013/24