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BRAZILIAN VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION
A SIGNIFICANT BOOST TO OAS PROGRAMS

  March 25, 2004

Ambassador Valter Pecly Moreira, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the
Organization of American States
(OAS), today presented Secretary General César Gaviria with a $400,000 check—a voluntary contribution from the Brazilian government to support a variety of activities of the hemispheric body.

Thirteen OAS priority areas will benefit directly from this donation, among them: human rights; the fight against corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism; promotion of democracy; the Fund for Peace: Peaceful Settlement of Territorial Disputes; and the OAS Special Mission in Haiti.

“Human rights is a critical issue for the Brazilian government, and represents an important state policy in Brazil,” Ambassador Pecly Moreira stated during the brief ceremony. “The work of the OAS' Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights can directly benefit our country by helping to improve human rights conditions in Brazil.”

In accepting the check, Secretary General Gaviria said, “The OAS is very pleased that, for the third year running, Brazil has made this extra effort to give a significant boost to areas that are unquestionably the Organization’s main programs.”

Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi was among others on hand for the ceremony.

Reference: E-042/04