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PAN AMERICAN DAY IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT OAS

Pan American Day, April 14, took center stage at a special session of the Organization of American States’ Permanent Council this morning as the member state representatives celebrated the strong bonds of hemispheric friendship, partnership, commitment to democracy and common resolve to fight threats to security, poverty and other scourges.

The Permanent Council’s Chairman, Mexican Ambassador to the OAS Miguel Ruiz-Cabañas, surveyed key activities of the past year and declared that despite challenges the hemispheric body had advanced the agenda on major issues such as human rights promotion and protection, hemispheric security, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking and raising awareness on indigenous peoples’ rights and on gender equity.

Citing economic and social situations that challenge democratic governance in some countries, the Chairman observed that the free exercise of democracy by itself is not sufficient. “Significant economic and social disparities, inequality and the spread of extreme poverty exacerbate social upheaval,” he stressed.

“The weakness of many state institutions in several of our countries are a wake-up call for reform and strengthening,” said Ambassador Ruiz-Cabañas, noting the upcoming election of a new OAS Secretary General might provide “an opportunity to restructure the Organization so it can better address the needs of our times.” He suggested too that the OAS team up with such inter-American and regional institutions as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, Caribbean Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Andean Development Corporation and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLCAC) to tackle these disparities.

Secretary General César Gaviria meanwhile outlined the evolution of hemispheric cooperation on security, beginning with the Amphictyonic Congress of Panama convened by Simón Bolívar in 1826. He expressed concern that a major problem now accompanying globalization is that “crime, drug- and arms trafficking and criminal organizations very often have globalized much more rapidly than countries themselves.” He argued as well that “In the Americas, there is much greater need for multilateralism.”

Canada’s Ambassador, Paul Durand, emphasized the need to follow through on the concrete commitments designed to improve the lives of the hemisphere’s citizens—articulated by the region’s heads of state and government at the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico last January—“to ensure that we have measurable progress to report on at the next Summit of the Americas.”

Ambassador Dennis Antoine of Grenada spoke on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegations, noting that while the Pan American spirit is alive and well, there is need to “learn more about the new member states of CARICOM for example, the culture of each other, through sharing and respecting the value of each nation as contributors to the inter-American process.”

Presenting the Central American perspective, Honduran Ambassador Salvador Rodezno cited OAS efforts to create much-needed new political and juridical instruments to deal with major hemispheric issues. He noted “the resolve of our states at this historic moment—with representative democracy as the prevailing system in the Americas—in setting guidelines for our efforts in search of consensus and solutions.”

United States Ambassador John Maisto offered his own salute to the spirit of hemispheric cooperation for collective development, and read President George W. Bush’s Proclamation of April 14 as Pan American Day, and April 11 to 17 as Pan American Week. The President expressed confidence that “the nations of the Western Hemisphere will continue to draw upon the [Inter-American Democratic] Charter to strengthen the rule of law, protect human rights and freedoms, encourage economic growth and promote good governance.”

Reference: E-058/04