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OAS Adopts Declaration of Lima upon Closing its 40th General Assembly

The Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), upon closing the 40th OAS General Assembly, adopted the Declaration of Lima, thus strengthening their commitment with peace, security and cooperation as the sole mechanisms to confront traditional and new threats that affect the region.

The document, approved by acclamation, emphasizes the obligation of the Member States to avoid the use of force except in cases of legitimate self-defense; the strengthening of inter-American cooperation for integral development; the importance of continuing to promote in the Hemisphere an environment propitious to the control of weapons; the overcoming of situations of tension and the solving of crises; and other aspects related to the theme of the annual assembly, “Peace, Security and Cooperation,” held in the Peruvian capital from June 6 to 8.

The full text of the Declaration of Lima is available here here

“The Declaration of Lima is a document that reaffirms our commitment with peace, with security, that establishes in some way means and goals, objectives we must reach to consolidate the democratic and peaceful space that is America,” the Peruvian Minister, José Antonio García Belaúnde, said in the event’s closing ceremony. “It is the result of the exercise of good will and cooperation we have been developing since Peru offered to host the event and invited reflection on this subject.”

The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, for his part, thanked the Peruvian Minister for his “brilliant presidency of the General Assembly” and gave him in the name of the Organization a representation of all the flags of the Member States.

The heads of delegation also decided that the XLI OAS General Assembly in 2011 will be held in El Salvador. Bolivia offered to organize the 2012 event.

Last Plenary Session

In the Fourth and last Plenary Session of the General Assembly, subjects were discussed of high political and international significance, such as the long dispute over the Malvinas islands between Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain; the maritime problem of Bolivia; and others. The representatives of the Member States of the OAS also heard declarations by the Inter-American Juridical Committee; the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

On the first point, about the Malvinas islands, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Jorge Taiana, said that “the Organization of American States has considered this question to be a subject of permanent hemispheric interest,” adding that the OAS “has reaffirmed the need of the governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom to renew as soon as possible the negotiations on the dispute of sovereignty. Never has Argentina ceased to express the will to negotiate to find a peaceful solution.”

On the maritime access of the Republic of Bolivia, the country’s Foreign Minister, David Choquehuanca, said that “it is evident that today we face a new stage in bilateral relations. The government of Bolivia welcomes the words of the new government of Chile to continue our work in the framework of the current bilateral agenda.” “Latin America faces the challenge of finding a place for integration that encompasses a large number of activities based on solidarity, complementariness and balance.”

In response, the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfredo Moreno, said that “the link with Bolivia constitutes to our government a central point of our foreign policy. He added that he takes the opportunity of “this important tribune to reiterate the respect and affection the government of Chile feels for the government of President Evo Morales and the whole Bolivian people. That is why we will not leave the firm objective of channeling our efforts and actions to expand levels of trust and understanding between our countries.”

Lastly, the plenary elected as members of the Inter-American Juridical Committee the Mexican Jorge Palacios Treviño, the Brazilian João Clemente Baena Soares and the Jamaican Hyacinth Evadne Lindsay; as member of the Administrative Tribunal the Peruvian Magali Rojas Delgado; and as member of the Board of External Auditors the Canadian Joseph Freamo.

A photo gallery will be available here.

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

Reference: E-239/10