AG/RES. 1578 (XXVIII-O/98)

INTER-AMERICAN PROGRAM OF CULTURE

(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 2, 1998)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN resolution CIDI/RES. 35 (III-O/98) of the third regular meeting of the Inter-American Council for Integral (CIDI), which approved the Inter-American Program of Culture;

REAFFIRMING that the OAS has agreed to intensify its efforts to promote dialogue and cooperative action on priority issues of common interest in favor of integral and sustainable development; and that culture is a fundamental and integral component of the development of the Americas; and

CONSIDERING:

That the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 1997-2001, adopted by the General Assembly through resolution AG/RES. 1511 (XXVII-O/97), establishes cultural development as one of the eight priorities of CIDI;

That the Inter-American Program of Culture provides that the OAS is a forum for analyzing and preparing a regional convention to combat illicit trafficking in cultural goods, on the basis of existing legal instruments and experience; and

That illicit trafficking in cultural goods in the region endangers the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Americas,

RESOLVES:

1. To adopt the Inter-American Program of Culture, adopted by the Inter-American Council for Integral Development at its third regular meeting through resolution CIDI/RES. 35 (III-O/98), as an integral part of the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development 1997-2001.

2. To instruct the Permanent Council to establish a working group to prepare an inter-American convention to combat illicit trafficking in cultural goods, on the basis of existing legal instruments and experience, and to report on the progress of its work to the General Assembly at its next regular session.