Conference on the Inter-American Democratic Charter

            On September 16, 2002, the Office of External Relations and the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy of the Organization of American States, in conjunction with the Center for Latin American Issues at the George Washington University, will host a half-day conference on “Reflections on the First Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter” at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

            Cesar Gaviria, OAS Secretary General, will inaugurate the conference, followed by a keynote speech by President Alejandro Toledo of Peru on the Promotion and Defense of Democracy in the Americas. The second part of the program will consist of an expert panel discussion on the significance, applicability, and potential of the Charter. This panel will include, Barbara McDougall, President of the Canadian Institute for International Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Heraldo Muñoz, Minister of Government of Chile, Eduardo Stein, President of the Foundation for the Americas and former Guatemalan Foreign Minister and Ambassador Colin Granderson, Assistant Secretary General, Foreign and Community Relations of the CARICOM Secretariat. Maria Elena Salinas, main anchor of Univision television network, will moderate the panel.

            For more information on this event, please contact Magdalena Talamas at mtalamas@oas.org

The “Reflections on the First Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter Conference” on September 16, 2002 will be webcast live and available on demand at www.oas.org