The Organization of American States (OAS) will hold a discussion forum to analyze and help strengthen its capacity in preventing, managing and resolving political and institutional crises, based on situations during the past year that affected democratic governance in several countries of the hemisphere.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza and the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández will open the forum, entitled “Democratic Stability in the Americas: The Institutional Role of the OAS.” The event will take place on Saturday, June 3, in the context of the OAS General Assembly in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The seminar will present the experiences of the OAS and its member states related to the preservation of democratic institutions and the prevention and resolution of conflicts. It will examine in depth the efforts that OAS special missions undertook in Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti and Nicaragua.

Horacio Serpa, who served as Special Representative of the OAS Secretary General for Bolivia, will discuss the observation of the electoral process there. José Antonio Viera-Gallo, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Ecuador, will report on the re-establishment of the Supreme Court of Justice in that country. For her part, Elizabeth Spehar, who was General Coordinator of the Technical Assistance Program in Haiti, will give an overview of the OAS role in that Caribbean nation. The facilitation of political dialogue in Nicaragua will be analyzed by Raúl Alconada, Political Advisor of that special mission.

OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin will speak at the closing of the forum. The event, which will also include participants from civil society and the media, is receiving support from the Canadian government and the Fundacion Global Democracia y Desarollo(FUNGLODE)/Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD).


WHAT: OAS Forum on “Democratic Stability in the Americas: The Institutional Role of the OAS.”

WHEN: Saturday, June 3, 2006
1:30 p.m.-5:45 p.m.

WHERE: GFDD Headquarters
Capitán Eugenio de Marcha #26, La Esperilla, Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic

CONTACT: Ana Katz Pérez: (809) 223-9539 (Dominican Republic)
(akatz@oas.org)

Reference: AVI-066/06