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Permanent Council Registered Sixteen New Civil Society Organizations with the OAS

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), in its regular meeting today, approved the registration of sixteen new civil society organizations from different countries of the Hemisphere, following the recommendation made by the Commission on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil Society Participation in OAS activities.

According to the report presented by Vice President of the Commission and Permanent Representative of Colombia, Andrés Gonzalez, civil society organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Saint Lucia, join the OAS registration representing diverse thematic areas such as defense of justice and equality, military defense, combating slavery, environmental protection and the preservation of indigenous cultures, as well as including topics such as reproductive or sex workers rights. The full list of organizations is available here.

Also at its meeting today, the Council approved the proposed distribution of the mandates given by Member States to the General Secretariat, including the assignment of monitoring and implementation of the resolutions adopted at the forty-sixth, forty-seventh and forty-eighth periods extraordinary session of the General Assembly held recently.

The Permanent Council also bid farewell to the US Permanent Representative, Ambassador Carmen Lomellin, who will assume new professional duties. The Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin highlighted on his own behalf and that of the General Secretariat staff, the work done by the Ambassador, praising a long history that began in the OAS Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), of which she was Executive Secretary.

Ambassador Ramdin highlighted the knowledge that the Representative has of the Organization and her contribution to the diplomatic debate. "Aside from that, her practical and analytical thinking are highly valued, I think there is no occasion where one meets with Ambassador Lomellín and leaves with doubts about the point of view of the United States, and I think it should be appreciated considering the current diplomacy," said the Assistant Secretary General.

For her part, Ambassador Carmen Lomellín expressed her appreciation for the recognition of her colleagues, and thanked her government for the opportunity to have represented her country at the political forum, recalling her history as a daughter of immigrants. “The OAS will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m proud of this Organization for what it has accomplished and have continuously championed the hard work and commitment of the Secretariat and the member states as an invaluable part of our the past, present and future of our Hemisphere,” she said.

The U.S. diplomat said that despite the political differences that have existed in the discussions of the Permanent Council, what she draws from them is that they have focused on what matters most to the peoples of the Hemisphere: democracy, supporting human rights, respect for the rule of law, access to education, the right to liberty and security, and working to create societies in which men and women can participate equally, with the same rights.

In today's meeting the representatives of El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, Canada, Peru, Chile, Jamaica, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Uruguay, Guatemala, Argentina, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana , Ecuador, Honduras, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Bolivia and the Permanent Observers of Spain and France took the floor.

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.

Para más información, visite la Web de la OEA en www.oas.org

Reference: E-492/14