Twenty Member States attended the gathering, inaugurated by the
President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández and by OAS Assistant
Secretary-General, Néstor Méndez.“We look at this meeting with great hope" said the Honduran
President during the inauguration, "because we need to learn from
each other. We need to support each other. In the end, our people
who need the most are the ones suffering the most" said the
President, in relation to the sustainable development and climate
change challenges that the region is facing. (Watch video below)
In turn, OAS Assistant Secretary General
Néstor Méndez, stressed
that “the main message that we are all sending from Honduras, as
well as from other countries of Central America and the continent is
that Sustainable Development is not an option, but rather an
imperative.”
During his remarks, Ambassador Mendez referred to the role of the
OAS in this area, highlighting that the differing capacities of
countries in the Hemisphere to promote and attain sustainable
development places a burden of responsibility on the Organization.
In this sense, he emphasized the importance of designing and
adopting a forward-looking agenda for the OAS to offer Member States
sustained support in designing structured policies, programs and
strategies that build their resilience and reduce their
vulnerability to internal and external shocks.
The Third Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities
on Sustainable Development adopted by acclamation a
strategic framework for updating the Inter-American Development
Program (PIDS)
with six strategic areas for action: disaster risk
management; sustainable management of ecosystems; integrated water
resources management; sustainable cities and communities;
sustainable energy management, prioritizing the promotion of clean,
renewable, environmentally sustainable energy efficiency; and
strengthening and capacity building for efficient, effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions for sustainable development.
All of these areas were addressed in panel discussions at the
meeting, with a plenary session on the challenges and opportunities
for the Program’s implementation. At this session, most
representatives called for the prioritization of the PIDS and
cautioned about avoiding duplication with other efforts.
The countries also recognized climate change as a cross cutting
theme in the PIDS. In this sense, countries highlighted the need to
continue working together to achieve a global climate agreement at
COP-21 –-the UN Conference on Climate Change to be held in December
in Paris, France.
In his
closing remarks, OAS Executive Secretary
for Integral Development, Ambassador Neil Parsan, recalled that the
sustainable development agenda was defined while keeping in mind
"our people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships, all part of
the essential purposes for which the OAS was created." Ambassador
Parsan added that in this regard, the role of the OAS "is critical
to the implementation and nationalization of the Sustainable
Development Goals and, in the words of our Secretary General, to
ensure 'more rights for more people.’"
During 2016, the OAS will work with Member States toward the
adoption of a new PIDS on the basis of the strategic framework
agreed-to in the Tela Declaration and under the presidency of
Honduras.