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GAVIRIA CALLS FOR A SWEEPING REFORM AGENDA IN THE HEMISPHERE

MONTERREY, Mexico. The countries of the region should strengthen democratic institutions and undertake an agenda of reform to address the problems of poverty and social and human development, said Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) César Gaviria at the closing session of the Special Summit of the Americas.

“It is only through a sweeping agenda like the one put forward by our leaders that we will be able to achieve success,” Gaviria pointed out, referring to the Declaration of Nuevo León, signed yesterday by the Hemisphere’s democratically elected heads of state and government.

During the two days Special Summit, leaders presented ideas and proposals on how to promote economic growth with equity, foster social and human development, and strengthen democratic governance. In the Declaration of Nuevo León, they affirmed their commitment to these goals and laid out strategies to achieve them.

In his statement, the OAS Secretary General reflected on some of the region’s problems, many of which are interrelated. For example, he said, poverty and inequality are related not only to the absence of funds but also to government shortcomings. “We will not be able deal effectively with poverty-related problems unless we can ensure that public education is more productive than it is at present,” he said.

Gaviria cautioned that the region’s political systems were under tremendous political pressure because of the widespread expectation that democracy could solve all problems. “That is why it is so important for the measures defined by our leaders at this Summit be carried out and successfully concluded”, he said. The adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in 2001, pursuant to a mandate from the Third Summit of the Americas, was an important step forward in strengthening good governance, he added.

According to Irene Klinger, Executive Secretary of the OAS Summits of the Americas Secretariat, “the agreements reached by the presidents and prime ministers include concrete efforts to achieve the goals established in Monterrey to reduce poverty.” Among them, she referred to the commitments to triple, by the year 2007, the funds available for loans to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and to reduce by at least half the cost of remittances between now and 2008, as well as to provide care for at least 600,000 AIDS patients, reduce corruption, and strengthen government institutions.

“The inter-American agenda reflects the priorities of the Americas and will allow us to enhance good governance in the Hemisphere as we approach the Fourth Summit of the Americas, in Argentina in 2005,” Klinger affirmed.

Reference: E-006/04