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THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES AND THE AFRICAN UNION
JOIN EFFORTS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY

The Organization of American States (OAS), in coordination with the African Union (AU), will host a meeting next week that will bring together senior government officials, diplomats, academics and members of civil society from both Africa and the Americas, to focus on the role that key political organization of both continents play on issues related to the promotion of democracy.

The July 10-12 meeting entitled “Democracy Bridge: Multilateral Regional Efforts for the Promotion and Defense of Democracy in Africa and the Americas”, which brings the two hemispheric organizations together for the first time, will be opened by OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and AU Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konaré. The United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will also participate in the inauguration ceremony.

During the intercontinental meeting, participants will explore the current mechanisms available to the AU and the OAS, emphasizing in particular on the opportunities and challenges of applying the newly approved African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Secretary General Insulza noted that “stimulating the debate about the role that multilateralism plays in the promotion of democracy in both continents, is an exciting and enriching exercise which also opens great possibilities in the strengthening of afro American relations.” He said that the upcoming meeting “offers a valuable opportunity of generating an exchange of experiences about the democratic building processes that both regions have endured in the last decades.”

The three-day meeting is being held in the framework of the Community of Democracies, an association of democratic states committed to supporting and strengthening democracy worldwide. The format of the meeting will be based on a combination of plenary addresses and panels, and “breakout sessions” devoted to specific issues such as strengthening democratic institutions, protecting human rights, and election observation, among others.

A private dialogue session will be held on July 10, and at the end of that day, a Statement of Intent to Cooperate that outlines possible joint initiatives between the AU Commission and the OAS General Secretariat will be signed by the respective Organization heads, Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konaré and Secretary General José Miguel Insulza.

On the second day, the former President of Cape Verde, Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, and Vice President of Guatemala, Eduardo Stein, will also speak. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Paula Dobrianksy; AU Commissioner Julia Dolly Joiner; OAS Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs, Dante Caputo, CARICOM Assistant Secretary General Colin Granderson; and OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin are among others scheduled to speak at the forum.

The public sessions, July 11 and 12, will be held at OAS headquarters and webcast live (www.oas.org).


WHAT: “Democracy Bridge: Multilateral Regional Efforts for the Promotion and Defense of Democracy in Africa and the Americas”


WHEN: July 10-12, 2007


WHERE: OAS Headquarters
17th Street & Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC

Reference: E-165/07