Media Center

Press Release

OAS PROMOTES CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN THE HEMISPHERIC AGENDA

The Organization of American States (OAS), through the Summits of the Americas Secretariat and with the support of the Open Society Institute, awarded financial support totaling US$100,000 to eight non-governmental organizations that were selected to implement projects related to themes of the inter-American agenda, including strengthening of democracy, protection of human rights, and promotion of citizen participation.

Through the 2007-2008 Inter-American Civil Society Partnership Initiative, the OAS seeks to promote and facilitate the participation of civil society in the Summits of the Americas Processby supporting them in their efforts to assist in the implementation and monitoring of the mandates emanating from the Summits of the Americas and the OAS General Assemblies.

Among the eight civil society organizations that were awarded funding, projects will develop strategies to encourage public participation by vulnerable groups to fight racial discrimination and encourage active citizen participation in the promotion of public sector transparency.

Some projects will fight violence against women by raising awareness regarding HIV/AIDS and disseminate the mandates of the Summits of the Americas in efforts to evaluate implementation and monitoring. Other projects will support afro-descendants to increase their participation in the inter-American system, as well as encourage citizen participation in electoral processes.

The Selection Committee, comprised of representatives of the OAS (the Summits of the Americas Secretariat, the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, the Universal Civil Identity Program in the Americas, and the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), the Open Society Institute and the organization Trust for the Americas , evaluated 123 projects presented by civil society organizations from twenty Member States. Each application was analyzed according to the following basic criteria: relevance of the proposed project to the implementation/ monitoring of Summit mandates, quality and viability of the project, background of the organization, and its compatibility with the OAS.

The organizations chosen by the Selection Committee to execute projects were: Federación Nacional de Organizaciones No Gubernamentales para el Desarrollo de las Comunidades Afrocolombianas (AFROAMERICA XXI), of Colombia; Asociación Ecológica Santo Tomas A.C., of Mexico; Association Femmes Soleil d’Haiti (AFASDA), of Haiti; Corporación Participa, of Chile; Global Rights, of the United States; Asociación Tierra Nueva, of Paraguay; Movimiento Manuela Ramos, of Peru; and Participación Ciudadana, of the Dominican Republic.



********

Reference: E-030/08