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Mexico to Chair the Working Group to Discuss the Strategic Vision of the OAS

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today established the Working Group that will lead discussions on the Strategic Vision of the OAS and elected the Permanent Representative of Mexico, Emilio Rabasa Gamboa, as Chair and the Permanent Representative of Barbados, John Beale, as Vice Chair, during a regular meeting at the headquarters of the Organization in Washington, DC.

The Chair of the Council and Permanent Representative of Paraguay to the OAS, Martin Sannemann, said the group "will be responsible for developing the political dialogue about the proposal presented by the Secretary General", José Miguel Insulza, in April. The dialogue "will aim to determine the best ways to achieve the purposes for which the OAS was created" and "the definitive prioritization of the mandates of the Organization," said Ambassador Sannemann.

The Council also received a report on the recent activities of the Secretary General away from headquarters, which included his attendance at the inauguration of the new President of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes; a meeting of the United Nations Development Programme on the Human Development Report; a visit to Uruguay to present the Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas (Analytical Report and Scenarios Report) to President Jose Mujíca; his participation in a conference at Chatham House in London on the subject; his address to the High Level Advisory Committee convened by the President of the UN General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic, on sustainable development; his participation in a seminar in Rome on the 40th anniversary of the coup d’état in Chile, at the invitation of two European foundations- Italianaeuropei and Enrico Berlinguer-; and his meetings with the President of Italy, Giogio Napolitano, Foreign Minister Emma Bonino; and Pope Francis, who received him in his private office at the Vatican.

Council Members welcomed the new Permanent Representative of Argentina to the OAS, Nilda Garré, who presented her credentials to the Secretary General earlier this week. The former Minister of Public Security of Argentina said in her first address to the Council, "the Organization of American States has a favorable platform, an appropriate one, to renew in a sustained and permanent way the commitment of my country, Argentina, to the shared interests that made possible the creation of this Organization, interests that were built on the basis of a strong belief in the virtues of peace, security, democracy, human rights and integral development. That is, values ​​and interests that were built on very solid pillars, which remain today those that sustain this institution."

On another agenda item, Council members commemorated the International Day of Democracy, which took place on September 15. In their comments, the representatives praised various elements of the democratic system and highlighted the benefits democracy brings to society. They reflected on the concepts of free elections, respect for human and minority rights, transparency in public management, non-discrimination, freedom of expression and gender equality.

During the meeting, the representatives offered their condolences to Mexico over the devastation caused by Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel, and to the United States over the deaths at the headquarters of the Navy Yard in Washington this week, and due to the flooding in Boulder, Colorado. They also congratulated the representatives of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Belize on their national days.

Earlier, in a meeting of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), the Joint Working Group of CIDI and the Permanent Council to prepare the Plan of Action of the Social Charter of the Americas was installed, in fulfillment of a mandate from the General Assembly of Cochabamba. The Chair of CIDI and the Permanent Representative of Belize, Nestor Mendez, told representatives a consensus had been reached to have the Chair and Vice Chair of the current Working Group, Ambassadors Walter Alban of Peru and Hubert Charles of Dominica, respectively, continue in their positions.

During the meeting, the representatives of Peru, Mexico, Belize, Argentina, the United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Uruguay, Colombia, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Haiti, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ecuador took the floor. The Permanent Observers of Italy and Spain also spoke.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The video of the event will be available here.

The audio of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-353/13