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    "The State of Democracy in the Americas: the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Review"
    July 15-16, 2013, OAS Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

    Workshop Summary: Inter-American experts and senior OAS staff lead participants on a facilitated discussion and hands on exploration into the Western Hemisphere’s commitment to democratic values and practices. Participants engage in group discussions to exchange and contrast their views on the progress of democracy in Latin America and the impact of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Moderate to advanced knowledge of inter-American affairs is a suggested prerequisite for the workshops.



    Press Release:

      New OAS Democracy Workshop Series - July 2013

      OAS Workshop: The State of Democracy in the Americas: the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Review

      The Workshop on the State of Democracy in the Americas and the inter-American Democratic Charter, organized by the OAS Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions (DSDSM) Secretariat for Political Affairs (SPA) and the Secretariat for External Relations, took place at the OAS General Secretariat Building - Padilha Vidal Conference Room on July 15-16, 2013.   This is the first in the new series of OAS Democracy Workshops, aimed at promoting a better understanding of the role of the OAS among young leaders.



      The event brought together 30 young public officials, national and international experts and representatives from the academia and civil society engaged with democracy in the Inter-American system. They examined the existing political framework in this field, using as reference the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, as well as the Social Charter of the Americas. 

      The program combined panel discussions and working sessions. The discussions consisted on review of the Inter-American Democratic Charter chapter by chapters and its application on national case studies, on the Inter-American system and on OAS work in the hemisphere. During the two days, participants engaged on a SWOT analysis (Democratic Institutions: Strengthens, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of the state of democratic institutions and culture in the Americas, and on the analysis of Democratic culture: Key elements for democratic dialogue, with a case study on 2009 dialogue process in Bolivia.

      The workshop was inaugurated by Ambassador Hugo de Zela Martinez, Chief of Staff of the Secretary General of the OAS and Pablo Zúñiga, senior specialist in the Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions of the OAS and workshop coordinator.  Speakers included senior OAS officials and international experts.  Mr. Zúñiga, along with a team of SPA political specialists, facilitated the workshop sessions.  Conclusions and final remarks were offered by Kevin Casas-Zamora, OAS Secretary for Political Affairs, who also delivered a certificate for the workshop participants.

      The Workshop presentations, the proceedings and conclusions are available on the following website.

      A gallery of photos of the event is available here.



    Elizabeth Abi-Mershed
    IACHR Assistant Executive Secretary -
    See Biography »

    Elizabeth Abi-Mershed is the Assistant Executive Secretary of the IACHR and, since July 1, 2012, the Interim Executive Secretary. A United States citizen, she is the Commission's Legal Director, in charge of coordinating and supervising the preparation of all reports on cases and thematic and country reports. She also coordinates the work of the Office of the Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, as well as the specialized group that litigates cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. She has worked at the IACHR since 1992 and has held the post of Assistant Executive Secretary since 2007. Elizabeth Abi-Mershed studied law at American University's Washington College of Law and did her postgraduate studies in international and comparative law at Georgetown University.

    William M. Berenson
    Former OAS Director, Legal Services -
    See Biography »

    William M. Berenson is currently an attorney in private practice in Arlington, Virginia.   He is also an adjunct professor at American University's Washington College of Law, where since 1984, he has taught a survey course in United States law for foreign lawyers in the LL.M. international legal studies program.  Mr. Berenson retired from the General Secretariat of the Organization of American states on December 31, 2012, after having served in various legal positions over a span of almost thirty-three years.   They included: General Counsel, Acting Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs, Director of the Department of Legal Services, Chief of Litigation, and Principal Attorney.  He has also served as the legal advisor to the Inter-American Institute for Agriculture (“IICA”) in Costa Rica since 1984, under a cooperative agreement between the Institute and the OAS, and has represented the Institute in complex legal matters in Colombia since 2009.   Mr. Berenson is the author of articles on privatization, telecommunications regulation, international banking, the inter-American system, and other legal and political subjects.  He has also lectured on issues related to his practice and teaching, including: the privileges and immunities of public international organizations; the relationship between the United Nations and OAS; development cooperation; the OAS and Democratic Charters; privatization; estate taxation and planning (particularly for non-resident aliens); pension taxation, and constitutional law.  Mr. Berenson received his J.D. from Boston University (1978). He received both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from Vanderbilt University (1972 and 1975) and an A.B from Dartmouth College (1969).  He also completed studies in statistics at the University of Michigan in 1970 and was a Research Fellow at the Center for International Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("MIT") during 1974.

    Kevin Casas-Zamora
    Secretary for Political Affairs, OAS -
    See Biography »

    Dr. Casas-Zamora is currently the Secretary for Political Affairs at the Organization of American States. Previously, he served as Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, in Washington DC. He has also served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy and Second Vice-President of Costa Rica. Dr. Casas-Zamora has also been Program Officer of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, and General Coordinator of the National Human Development Report, Costa Rica, United Nations Program for Development. He received his Law Degree from the University of Costa Rica and MA and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Universities of Essex and Oxford, respectively. He is the author of numerous studies on campaign finance, elections, democratic governance and human security in Latin America. His doctoral thesis, entitled "Paying for Democracy in Latin America: Political Finance and State Subsidies for Parties in Costa Rica and Uruguay", won the Jean Blondel 2004 Prize of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) for the best doctoral thesis Political Science in Europe and was published in 2005 by the ECPR. In 2007, Dr. Casas-Zamora was selected by the World Economic Forum as a member of Young Global Leaders network.

    Tyler Finn
    Specialist, Technical Cooperation Section, OAS -
    See Biography »

    Tyler Finn is a specialist in the Technical Cooperation Section at the OAS Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, where he coordinates cooperation projects with electoral authorities and manages consultant teams for Electoral Observation Missions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Finn specializes in a gender-focused analysis of political participation in the Americas, leading internal and external trainings in the incorporation of a Gender Perspective in Electoral Observation Missions and implementing the gender methodology in EOMs throughout the region. He has participated in a more than a dozen electoral observation missions throughout the Americas, as Deputy Chief of Mission and Gender Analyst. Mr. Finn holds a Masters in Comparative Politics from New York University and a BA in Politics and Hispanic Studies from Oberlin College.

    Amb. Hugo de Zela Martinez
    Chief of Staff of the Secretary General -
    See Biography »

    Ambassador Hugo de Zela Martinez, Peruvian Career Diplomat, Former Ambassador of Peru to Argentina, Brazil, and the Organization of American States, Peruvian Under Secretary for European Affairs, President of the Antarctic Institute of Peru, Peruvian National Coordinator for the Group of Rio, Chair of the Special working Group on the workings of the IACHR to strengthening the Inter-American Human Rights System, Representative of Peru and the OAS to meetings of ALADI, CEPAL, Presidents of the Americas, Ibero American Summit, among others. He currently holds for the second time the position of Chief of Staff of the Secretary General of the OAS.

    Sara Mia Noguera
    Chief, Electoral Studies and Projects Section, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Sara Mia Noguera is the Chief of the Electoral Studies and Projects Section at the OAS Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation. Ms. Noguera coordinates projects to strengthen the work of the OAS in election observation, and has participated in more than a dozen Electoral Observation Missions in Latin America and the Caribbean, as Deputy Chief of Mission and as Gender Analyst. She has led the project to mainstream a gender perspective into OAS Electoral Observation Missions (OAS/EOMs) and is the co-author of the “OAS Methodology for Incorporating a Gender Perspective into OAS/EOMs.”  In 2013, Ms. Noguera received the OAS General Secretariat Outstanding Performance Award in recognition for her contributions to the Organization. Prior to joining the OAS, Ms. Noguera worked on gender and human rights issues at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy and for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Venezuela. Ms. Noguera holds a MA in International Law and Human Rights from the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica and a BA in International Studies with an emphasis in Latin America from Georgia Southern University in the United States.

    Ruben M. Perina
    Former OAS Senior Political Affairs Specialist -
    See Biography »

    Dr. Ruben M. Perina currently teaches at the Latin American and Hemisphere Program of the Elliott School of International Affairs of the George Washington University and at the Center for Latin American Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He is also a political consultant and a columnist on current hemispheric issues related to democracy in Latin America. From 1994 to 2110, at the Organization of American States (OAS) he directed the section on Strategic Programs in the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (which became the Secretariat for Political Affairs in 2005), focusing on institution building and democratic values and practices; he also headed the OAS Demining Program in Central America (1994-2000). Additionally, he served as Chief of the OAS Electoral Observation Missions in the Dominican Republic (2006), Venezuela (2005 and 2000), Guatemala (1996), Colombia (1994), Paraguay (1991-1993), and was a Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the OAS between 1990 and 1994.  

    Dr. Perina has published on the role of the OAS in the promotion of democracy, the Inter American Democratic Charter, the role of legislatures in democratic and integration processes in the Mercosur countries; on leadership and “governability,” the separation of powers and “governability”, electoral systems, electoral observations, the role of political culture in the consolidation of democracy, and on the military and politics in Argentina. He holds a Ph. D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania; he is a native of Argentina and resides in Washington, D.C. since 1980. Has a wife and two daughters.

    Dan Restrepo
    Founder and Managing Director of Restrepo Strategies-
    See Biography»

    Dan Restrepo – Founder and Managing Director of Restrepo Strategies LLC, an international strategic consulting firm – has built a career as a problem solver at the intersection of policy, politics, communications, and law. In addition to his work advising clients on strategy, policy, and communications, Restrepo is a regular conference speaker and frequent analyst, primarily on Spanish-language media outlets, discussing a wide-range of domestic and international political and policy issues. Restrepo is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

    For nearly six years and through two presidential campaigns, Restrepo served as the principal advisor to President Obama on issues related to Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada, serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council from March 2009 to July 2012 and as an advisor to Obama for America in 2008 and 2012. He also served as a principal Spanish-language media surrogate for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns.  Previously, Restrepo created and directed The Americas Project – focused on Latin America and the role of Hispanics in the United States, their future and the implications for progressive policy – at the Center for Americas Progress.  Prior to the Center, Restrepo was an associate at the law firm of Williams & Connolly, LLP.  He also worked as an attorney for the Florida Democratic Party during the 2000 election recount and served as the Research Director for the Florida Democratic Coordinated Campaign during the 2000 general election.  Restrepo served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Anthony J. Scirica of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and the University of Virginia.  Restrepo also served as principal advisor on Latin America and the Caribbean for Rep. Lee H. Hamilton on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

    Mitchel A. Seligson
    Professor, Vanderbilt University -
    See Biography »

    Mitchell A. Seligson is the Centennial Professor of Political Science and Professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). He is an elected member of the General Assembly of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, a Fulbright Senior Faculty Fellow, a Danforth Foundation Kent Fellow, a Social Science Research Council Foreign Area Fellow, and was awarded a Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship, a Grace L. Doherty Latin American Fellowship by Princeton University and an International Fellowship from the Organization of American States. He was awarded the James A. Robertson Memorial Prize for the best paper in Latin American history, the Hoover Institution Annual Prize for the Best Scholarly Article on Latin America, and the Best Paper Award (Pi Sigma Alpha) at the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Political Science Association, is an appointed member of the Organization of American States (OAS) Advisory Board of Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices, and is a founding member of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of the AfroBarometer. He has served on the editorial board of the Latin American Research Review and is currently on the editorial boards of the European Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Democracy en Español, ROP: Revista Opinião Pública,  and Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe. His most recent books are The Legitimacy Puzzle in Latin America: Democracy and Political Support in Eight Nations (Cambridge University Press, 2009), and Development and Underdevelopment, the Political Economy of Global Inequality (forthcoming,).  He has chaired or co-chaired over 35 Ph.D. dissertations.

    Sherry Tross
    Executive Secretary, SEDI-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Sherry Tross was appointed by OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza and confirmed as Executive Secretary for Integral Development at the Organization of American States (OAS) in February 2013. She leads the hemispheric Organization’s efforts to support the development priorities of its member states and manages a portfolio of technical assistance projects, cooperation programs, policy dialogue and research, as well as the implementation of a comprehensive set of sustainable economic, human and social development programs. She also serves as Director General of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD).

    Previously, she served as Executive Secretary of the Summit of the Americas Secretariat (2010-2012), and was responsible for working with all the member states of the Western Hemisphere in the technical preparation and setting of the substantive agenda for the Sixth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Americas, held in Colombia in April 2012. She also guided the formulation of mechanisms for the follow-up and implementation of Summit mandates, and coordinated the input of key international institutions including the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, several regional banks and various UN agencies that provide technical and financial support to the Summit process.

    In 2005, she became senior political advisor and principal speechwriter for the OAS Assistant Secretary General. One year later, she was appointed Chief of Staff and, for the next four years, led the office’s policy and operational focus and coordinated the planning and organization of five regular sessions of the OAS General Assembly and four emergency meetings of Foreign Ministers to respond to situations of crisis. From 2003-2005, Ms. Tross was Director of Business Development at the World Trade Center Miami and worked closely with business partners in the Americas, Europe and Asia, as well as city and state agencies to create business opportunities and promote trade. She also served as Program Director at the University of Miami’s North-South research center, implementing programs and carrying out research on a number of trade, security and governance issues in the Americas. Ms. Tross has provided consulting services for government agencies and private companies and has been a speaker and commentator at public fora on a range of development and security topics.



    Workshop Facilitators



    Karen Bozicovic
    Coordinator of Political and Prospective Analysis, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Ms. Karen Bozicovich is Unit Coordinator of Political and Prospective Analysis in the Department of Democratic Sustainability and Special Missions. As Unit Coordinator she developed a methodology for political and prospective analysis and oversees its implementation across 13 countries of the region among a team of 5 country specialists. She continues to improve the methodology by assessing and incorporating new research, analytical and information tools. She writes and reviews political briefings and customized reports to ensure high-quality analysis for internal use. As part of her responsibilities, she also prepares country and regional-based presentations for Electoral Observation Missions and desk-to-desk exercises with other multilateral organizations. She also coordinated the publication for the 10th Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and drafted the report on the effectiveness of the implementation of the Democratic Charter as a result of a multilateral dialogue held by OAS’ Member States during 2011. 

    Katalina Montaña
    Mediation and Dialogue Unit Manager, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Katalina Montaña has more than fifteen years of international experience designing and implementing democratic and economic development programs across Latin America and the Caribbean. She is currently managing the Mediation and Dialogue Unit at the Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Mission (DSDSM) of the OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs.  The main objective of this Unit is to build the capacity of the OAS Member States to prevent and address conflicts by promoting dialogue, building consensus, and the peaceful resolution of social disputes. At the DSDSM she also collaborated in monitoring political developments relating to OAS Member States and contributed to the formulation of strategies to respond to these political events, serving as the desk officer for Peru and the Caribbean region. Previously, she was a Specialist of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation of the OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs, where she participated in more than 45 Electoral Observation Missions as Deputy Chief of Mission as well as Political and Technical Advisor and managed several electoral technical assistance programs in the region. Before joining the Secretariat for Political Affairs, Katalina worked as an Alternative Development Specialist at the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the OAS where she contributed in the decision making of economic policies for alternative development crops and participate in the establishment of policy and planning at the regional and country level of socio-economic initiatives to alleviate the drug problem in the Western Hemisphere. Katalina holds a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Marymount University.

    Emmanuelle Pelletier
    Mediation support officer, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Emmanuelle Pelletier is a mediation support officer in the Policy and Mediation Division of the UN Department for Political Affairs. She is currently based at the Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions in the Secretariat for Political Affairs of Organization of American States (OAS/DSDSM) where she works on joint OAS-UN initiatives in the area of mediation. Prior to joining the UN, Ms. Pelletier worked at OAS/DSDSM on institutional strengthening programs in dialogue and mediation (2010-13) and as Program Coordinator and Executive Secretary of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (now ParlAmericas) (2004-10). She also completed short-term assignments at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the OAS. Ms. Pelletier holds a M.A. in International Relations from Laval University, and a B.A. Honors in Psychology from McGill University, Canada.

    Yadira Soto
    Senior political advisor, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Ms. Soto has more than 18 years of experience in international affairs and multilateral diplomacy. She is currently a senior political advisor on Conflict, Security, and Governance for the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States. Since 1991, she has been instrumental in the development, design and implementation of strategic programs in conflict management and dialogue facilitation at the national and sub-regional levels in the member states of the OAS.   In 2002, she successfully lobbied OAS political bodies to approve the establishment of the first Unit for the Promotion of Dialogue and Conflict Resolution within the OAS.  Today this unit has been transformed into a Department within the regular budget of the organization.  She has worked with the United Nations and other international institutions, and European donor governments in the promotion of dialogue in countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Haiti. On the political level, she has provided policy advice in the area of conflict resolution to the offices of the Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General and the General Secretariat.  She has published several works on the need to develop hemispheric and regional policies to build conflict management capacity within state structures, as a form of strengthening democratic governance in the Americas. Ms. Soto led an OAS team in the production of a publication on best practices in dialogue facilitation, a collaborative effort between IDEA International (Stockholm), UNDP, OAS and CIDA (Canada). Other areas of expertise include electoral conflict management, political party strengthening, institution strengthening, security and development. Other areas of expertise include electoral violence prevention, political party strengthening, democratic governance, security and development.

    She holds a MA in Conflict Management in Public Policy (1995) and a BA in Latin American Political Studies (1988) at George Mason University, graduate diplomas in peace-building from American University and Eastern Mennonite University.  Since 1991, she has held positions in the (former) Department of Educational Affairs, the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, and the Office for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and most recently as political advisor to the ASG of the OAS. 

    Pablo Thaler
    Specialist, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Mr. Pablo Thaler is a specialist in the Department for Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions of the Organization of American States (OAS), with a focus on prospective scenario analysis and prevention of political-institutional crises in Central America and the Andean Region. Since joining the OAS on the eve of the coup d’Etat in Honduras in 2009, he participated in the institutional response and dialogue initiatives after the member States invoked the Inter-American Democratic Charter on July 5th of that year. Mr. Thaler is currently responsible for the Honduran as well as Ecuadorian desks at the Secretariat for Political Affairs, and as such, is the political analyst for Electoral Observation Missions in said countries. Before becoming part of the DSDME team, Mr. Thaler worked promoting European NGOs devoted to sustainable agricultural development and poverty alleviation programs in conflict areas in the African Punt land (2005-2006). Thaler received his M.A. in International Relations with a focus on Latin American Studies and Emerging Economies from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (2009) and a double B.A. in International Business, Management and Economics, and International Studies from Dickinson College (2007). In his hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mr. Thaler pursued studies in electronic engineering, obtaining a technical baccalaureate degree from ORT (2002). In his take to the study and analysis of innovative democratic practices Thaler combines his experience in political affairs with that in the technology sector.

    Pablo Zúñiga
    Senior Specialist, SAP-OAS -
    See Biography »

    Mr. Pablo Zúñiga is a senior specialist in the Department for Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions of the Organization of American States (OAS), with experience in democracy promotion and inter-American political affairs.  He has worked for the OAS for over 20 years, designing and coordinating training programs for young leaders and educators aimed at fostering a greater understanding and commitment to democracy.   He supported the creation of the OAS Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices.  Mr. Zúñiga has also served as advisor to the Secretary for Political Affairs, Deputy Director in the Department for Effective Public Management (2009-2012), Director in the Department for State Modernization and Governance (2008-2009), and Senior Specialist in the Office and Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (1995-2008).  He coordinated the Section for the Development of Public Administration, promoting democratic values and practices in governance.  Other previous assignments include: Coordinator at headquarters of the OAS International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) (1993-1997); Specialist in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management (1992-1995); and legal consultant in the Department of General Legal Services (1990-1991).   Mr. Zúñiga also teaches as an adjunct professor at George Washington University, Elliott School for International Affairs, and previously at Trinity University in Washington, D.C.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Maryland (1983) and Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore (1986). He is a lawyer and a US citizen.  His family is originally from Costa Rica.

  • A Basic Guide for Successfully Running for Public Office
  • 2 day knowledge and skills training session on democracy and political management offered by experts from the OAS and the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management
  • International Electoral Observation Missions: New Trends and Challenges
  • 2 day knowledge and skills training session based on the experience and practices of the OAS electoral observation missions.
  • Designing Democratic Dialogue: Transforming Cultures
  • 3 day knowledge and skills training session based on the OAS/IDEA/UNDP “Democratic Dialogue: A Handbook for Practitioners”.
  • Promoting Women in Politics
  • 3 day knowledge and skills training session based on the experiences and practices of the Inter-American Commission of Women and the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation.

    Pablo Zuñiga, Senior Specialist
    Department of Democratic Sustainability and Special Missions
    Organization of American States
    Email: [email protected]

    To register send an email to [email protected] with the following information.

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   July 15, 2013
   Date
Topic
Speaker
Objective
   8:30 am

Registration

 

 

   9:00-10:00 am  Inauguration and Workshop Overview

Hugo De Zela, OAS Chief of Staff of the Secretary General

Pablo Zúñiga, Workshop Coordinator
Welcoming remarks and statement: "The Organization of American States and its Quest for Democracy in the Americas"

Balance of Expectations, and Workshop overview

   10:00 am - 11:30 pm 

Conference and discussion: Democracy and the Inter-American System

William M. Berenson,

Former OAS Director, Legal Affairs, and Professor, American University


Review of Chapter I of the IADC, Discussion on the history of the juridical instruments of the Inter-American System related to Democracy
"The Structure of the Organization of American States: A Summary" icon

   11:30 - 1:00 pm

Conference and discussion: Strengthening and Preservation of Democratic Institutions

Rubén M. Perina,

Former OAS Senior Official, Professor, Georgetown University, and George Washington University


Review of Chapter IV of the IADC, Discussion on national case studies on the strengthening of democratic institutions in Latin America
"The Inter-American Democratic Charter: An Assessment and Ways to Strengthen It" icon

   1:00 - 2:00 pm

Lunch break
   2:00 - 3:30 pm

Conference and discussion: Democracy and Human Rights

Elizabeth Abi-Mershed,

Assistant Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights


Review of Chapter II of the IADC, Discussion on the Inter-American Human Rights System
"Inter-American Commission on Human Rights" icon
   3:30 - 5:30 pm

Group Workshop: Democratic Institutions: Strengthens, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis)



Facilitators: Pablo Zúñiga and Karen Bozicovich

Workshop participants engage in a facilitated analysis of the state of democratic institutions and culture in the countries of the region and the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

SWOT Workshop document icon

IADC worksheet icon

   July 16, 2013
   9:30 - 10:30 am

Conference and discussion: Democracy and Electoral Observation Missions Tyler Finn, Specialist, Electoral Studies and Projects Section, OAS Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation

Review of Chapter V of the IADC, Discussion on the OAS electoral observation missions.

See powerpoint presentation icon

   10:30 - 11:30 am

Conference and discussion: Democracy, Integral Development, and Combating Poverty Sherry Tross, OAS Secretary for Integral Development Review of Chapter III of the IADC and the Social Charter, Discussion on the inter-relationship between democracy and development.

See powerpoint presentation icon

   11:30 - 1:00 pm Conference and discussion: Promotion of Democratic Culture

Mitchell Seligson, Founder and Director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project and Centennial Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University



Review of the democratic values contained in the IADC and a survey of expressed commitment with democracy in the region.
See LAPOP powerpoint presentation" icon
   12:30 - 2:00 pm Lunch break
   2:00 - 3:30 pm VIP Keynote Address: "The State of Democracy in the Americas Today" Dan Restrepo, Former Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, US National Security Council Conference on "The State of Democracy in the Americas Today: the Inter-American Democratic Charter"
   3:30 - 5:00 pm Group Workshop: Democratic Culture: Strengthens, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)

Facilitators: Pablo Zúñiga and Yadira Soto, Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary General
Workshop participants engage in a facilitated analysis of the democratic and political culture of the countries of the region.
"A Practical Guide on Democratic Dialogue" icon
   5:00 - 6:30 pm Conclusions and Closing Ceremony Kevin Casas-Zamora,
OAS Secretary for Political Affairs
Closing remarks and Receipt of Certificates.