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UNDER OAS-GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY COOPERATION,
POLITICAL DATABASE OF THE AMERICAS GETS A FURTHER BOOST

An agreement signed today between the Organization of American States(OAS) and Georgetown University has paved the way for further development of the Political Database of the Americas, a comprehensive electronic resource containing political information on the Americas.

This fourth cooperation agreement was signed at OAS headquarters by Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and the Director of Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies, Arturo Valenzuela. It provides for the implementation of the fourth phase of the database project, which seeks to respond to the new challenges facing the hemisphere.

An Internet-based resource that includes primary documents, reference materials, comparative studies and statistical data on the 35 countries of the hemisphere, the Political Database of the Americas was established in 1993 when the OAS and Georgetown University’s Center for Latin American Studies jointly established the Resource Unit on Democratic Governability in Latin America, with financial support from the Tinker Foundation.

Under the agreement, OAS contribution to the project is $158,500, donated by the United States government. The OAS and the Center for Latin American Studies in 1997 signed the agreement for phase 2 of the project, signing in 1999 for phase 3.

Hailing this new agreement, Secretary General Insulza attested to the usefulness and importance of the material in the database, which he described as very relevant to OAS activities such as the promotion of democracy and the increasingly important focus on public security. “We are working with some very important projects on the future development of democracy and for a better understanding of the political processes that take place in the Americas. It is very important to have data,” Insulza emphasized.

“We see in this a continuing partnership as we move forward on such an important issue as supporting and strengthening democratic institutions and democratic governance in Latin America,” said Valenzuela. He called the agreement “very constructive, enriching,” noting it has produced cooperation on a series of very important aspects of the development and strengthening of democratic institutions in Latin America.

Among those on hand for the brief signing ceremony were Dante Caputo, OAS Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs and other officials of the OAS General Secretariat as well as members of the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS.

Reference: E-339/07