The OAS and the Summit Process

The Summit of the Americas process has become the compass by which the inter-American system sets its bearings. For more than a decade, the presidents and prime ministers of the 34 democracies of the Americas have met periodically to examine political, economic and social development priorities and determine common goals. They are scheduled to hold the Fourth Summit of the Americas later this year – November 4-5 – in Mar del Plata, Argentina, where they will focus on “Creating Jobs to Confront Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance.”

The choice of job creation as a central theme shows that the Summit process is sensitive to the realities and problems of the Americas, Argentina’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and National Coordinator for the Summits Process, Jorge Taiana, said at a Summit preparatory meeting. He underscored the importance of  linking job creation to the fight against poverty and the promotion of democratic stability in the region.

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza underscored that connection during a meeting of Summit
coordinators in July. In many parts of the region, he noted, socioeconomic problems have contributed to a growing disenchantment with democracy, as citizens perceive that government has not delivered concrete benefits. Focusing on employment is essential "to place individuals at the center of our concerns and open up opportunities to improve their quality of life," Insulza said.

The modern Summit of the Americas process began in 1994 in Miami. The Second Summit of the Americas took place in Santiago, Chile (1998), and the Third Summit in Québec City, Canada (2001). 

The heads of state and government last met in January 2004 in Monterrey, Mexico, for the Special Summit of the Americas. The importance of bringing the region’s new leaders into the process – at the time, 14 presidents and prime ministers had taken office since Québec City – was one factor that led to the decision to hold an interim Summit before the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Argentina. 

In Monterrey, many of the heads of state agreed that the hemisphere's greatest challenge is combating poverty. As Chilean President Ricardo Lagos put it, "Citizens do not want only democracy; they want that democracy to bring them concrete answers to their dreams." 

The Special Summit looked at ways to stimulate equitable economic growth to reduce poverty, promote human and social development, and strengthen democratic governance. In the Declaration of Nuevo León, adopted in Monterrey, the presidents and prime ministers set a number of goals to promote sustained, equitable economic growth. These include reforming and simplifying procedures to establish new businesses; tripling, by 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank's available loans for micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses; and cutting in half the regional average cost of transferring remittances, an important source of capital in many countries, by 2008. The Declaration of Nuevo León also recognized "the important role that trade plays in promoting sustained growth and economic development."

The region's leaders also said they would seek to provide, by 2005, antiretroviral therapy to at least 600,000 people with HIV/AIDS needing treatment, and work toward affordable, universal access to information and communications technology. They also reiterated their commitment to the full application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and agreed to promote political pluralism, fight corruption, intensify cooperation against terrorism and increase citizen participation.

The OAS Role

The Third Summit of the Americas, held in April 2001 in Quebec City, Canada, underscored the "central role" of the OAS in the Summit of the Americas process. The hemisphere's leaders entrusted the OAS with a number of priority mandates, including the development of an Inter-American Democratic Charter to defend democracy against threats. That goal was accomplished later that same year, and the Democratic Charter is now central to the debate about how to promote democratic governance and political stability in the hemisphere.

In fact, many of the most important OAS achievements in recent years have come about as a result of Summit mandates. That was the case with the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), a tool created to measure progress against illegal drugs in the member states and the region as a whole. The MEM process established a new level of cooperation on what had been a divisive issue. The member states are undertaking a similar cooperative approach to combating corruption. They gather data from countries that have ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, assess compliance with the treaty and recommend actions to improve anti-corruption efforts.

The Summits of the Americas have provided direction for the OAS on issues as diverse as human rights, hemispheric security, trade, poverty reduction, gender equity and greater civil society participation. The OAS is also responsible for convening regular meetings of government ministers in such areas as education, justice, labor, defense, culture and sustainable development. These meetings help strengthen cooperation on sector-specific issues and ensure that Summit policies reach the national level and that mandates are implemented.

Supporting the Summit Process

The responsibility for holding the Summits of the Americas and implementing the resulting mandates rests directly with the region's governments, through the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG). At the Third Summit, the heads of state and government assigned to the OAS the responsibility of serving as the institutional memory and technical secretariat to the Summit process.

Through the Summits of the Americas Secretariat, the OAS supports the countries in Summit follow-up and planning, and provides technical, logistical and administrative support for the SIRG and the Summit process. The OAS Summits of the Americas Secretariat coordinates the implementation of mandates assigned to the OAS and chairs the Joint Summit Working Group, which includes such the institutions of the inter-American system. The OAS is also charged with deepening the outreach to civil society to ensure that nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, the private sector and other groups can contribute ideas and help monitor and implement Summit initiatives.

The OAS also  manages the Summit of the Americas Information Network (www.summitsoftheamericas.org). This Web site contains comprehensive, up-to-date information about the status of implementation of the mandates and official documents of the Summits, the SIRG and the OAS Special Committee on Inter-American Summits Management, as well as other related information and research tools.