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New Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the OAS Presents Credentials

The new Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Joaquín Maza Martelli, today presented his credentials to the Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza.

During the ceremony, Ambassador Maza Martelli delivered to the Secretary General on behalf of his government "warm greetings, as a first sign of the commitment of my country to deepen its participation in generating consensus that foster and carry out the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the OAS in the face of new challenges and realities."

Ambassador Maza Martelli, who has previously represented his country at the organization, was pleased to return to the OAS "and take note of the progress made in its agenda of democracy, human rights, multidimensional security and development, which make possible a new strategic vision of the organization." He added that his country's foreign policy "is focused on strengthening multilateralism by working together with all the Member States and the organs of the General Secretariat."

Secretary General Insulza welcomed Ambassador Maza Martelli, noting that "we are in a very important period. In March we have to convene our extraordinary General Assembly on the human rights issue and I have said several times that it is essential that we emerge from it with a system that is effectively strengthened." He recalled that in late March the organization must present "the report of the Secretary General that was mandated by the Summit of the Americas on the great issue of drugs, offering effective alternatives to improve our countries' policies faced with this tragedy, and the crime that surrounds it."

Referring to El Salvador, the Secretary General added that the OAS "is also committed to important programs" in the country, particularly in the process of reducing the levels of crime and violence. The head of the hemispheric organization called on all member countries "to understand the magnitude of the process that is going on there."

Present at the ceremony, held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, were the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Albert Ramdin; the Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Nicaragua, Ambassador Denis Moncada; and representatives of the majority of the Member States of the OAS.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The video of the event is available here.

The audio of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-043/13