PAN AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION (PADF) BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

March 9, 2023 - Bogotá, Colombia

Good morning.

Ms. Alexandra Aguirre, President
PADF Board Trustees
Ms. Katie Taylor, Executive Director
PADF Management and Staff

As Vice Chairman of the PADF Board of Trustees, and OAS Assistant Secretary General, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you to the Board Meeting of the Pan American Development Foundation.

It is a pleasure to meet with you in Colombia, a country of great importance to Latin America and the Caribbean and a strategic partner of the OAS.

As we celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday, on March 8, I want to acknowledge last year’s election of Colombia’s first Black woman Vice President, Francia Marquez. I also want to acknowledge PADF as a strong woman-led organization, with Katie Taylor as Executive Director and Ms. Alexandra Aguirre as Board President. On behalf of the OAS, I recognize and celebrate your leadership.

Unfortunately, gender equality remains a significant challenge in our region. The socioeconomic inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean has a disproportionate effect on women; our patriarchal societies contribute to a culture of privilege. Women still carry the responsibility of care; and there is a lack of equal distribution of power in the public sphere.

No obstante, hemos visto un progreso significativo en cuanto a los marcos institucionales, lo que ha resultado en la implementación de estrategias para integrar la perspectiva de género en diversos sectores. Aunque aún queda mucho trabajo por hacer, la OEA está comprometida a liderar los esfuerzos para promover los derechos de las mujeres y las niñas.

The security and humanitarian situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, and the OAS is actively taking steps to support the people of Haiti. On December 21, 2022, Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry signed a new political accord called “National Consensus for an Inclusive Transition and Transparent Elections” which envisions the establishment of two bodies: a High Transition Council (HCT) and an Organ of Control for Government Action (OCAG).

On February 10, 2023, the OAS adopted a resolution on Haiti with eight main points, including acknowledgement of the December 21 accord. The OAS resolution calls on the High-Level Transition Council regarding roles and responsibilities; encourages Member States to act urgently in providing support to the efforts of the Haitian authorities; and establishes a Haiti Working Group of the Permanent Council. In this context, I would like to express my gratitude to PADF for working with my office and Latter-day Saint (LDS) Charities to bring urgent humanitarian aid to Haiti. It is critical that we all work together to provide support and aid to the people of Haiti.

La última vez que hablé ante esta Junta, acababan de presentar su Plan Estratégico 2022-2024. Me llena de entusiasmo ver el progreso que han logrado en la implementación de sus nuevos objetivos estratégicos que se enfocan en atender las necesidades de las poblaciones más vulnerables, promover medios de vida sostenibles y avanzar en los derechos y la justicia. Estos objetivos están completamente alineados con la misión y los principios de la OEA.

El trabajo detallado que ha realizado PADF en indicadores colectivos sigue demostrando su claro compromiso con la medición del progreso y la obtención de resultados. Además, su enfoque en promover el aprendizaje dentro de la organización es una evidente señal de que valoran el esfuerzo por construir sobre las mejores prácticas y lecciones aprendidas.

Today, I want to discuss one pressing issue for our region, which is the need to build a democratic hemisphere and promote transparency and accountability. Consolidating democracy is a work in progress, and it is a process that requires long-term efforts, even though it may face obstacles along the way. I believe that we have the necessary tools, and that the OAS Members are well equipped to address these challenges as they arise.

PADF has been instrumental in promoting the role that civil society and the international donor community can play to strengthen the rule of law. We need to create more spaces for civil society to engage more directly with us, especially because they are important partners who have a crucial role to play.

In this context, The OAS and PADF have the tools to engage civil society and we have an established relationship with the donor community. We have to clarify our joint objectives and be very serious about how we complement each other's work.

En la OEA, creemos que la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas son factores extremadamente importantes para restaurar la confianza de la ciudadanía en las instituciones públicas y fomentar la buena gobernanza. Una de nuestras principales iniciativas es nuestro programa de gobierno abierto, que se está implementando en varios Estados Miembros.

Este programa reúne a funcionarios gubernamentales, representantes del sector privado y de la sociedad civil para dialogar y comprender los principios del gobierno abierto y cómo este puede ser administrado en sus países. A lo largo del camino, hemos aprendido que una forma clave de promover la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas es que los gobiernos ofrezcan acceso fácil a la información pública, para toda su población, a través de fuentes de datos abiertos.

Como vimos durante la pandemia, la tecnología ciertamente ha ampliado el alcance de las posibilidades en todas las áreas de la vida. Especialmente para compartir información y mantener informada a la ciudadanía, la tecnología debería ser utilizada como una plataforma para aumentar la transparencia y construir la confianza pública en el sistema. Para prevenir la corrupción, las instituciones públicas deben hacer que su información y procesos sean transparentes y estén sujetos a escrutinio público.

Another way to promote transparency and accountability is to incorporate a wide cross-section of citizens in the design, development, and implementation of public policies. All sectors, including public, private, and civil society have a role to play. It is only by working together that we will be able to emerge as a better society.

In this context, the PADF is well positioned to lead the effort to promote democratic values, elevate the voice of civil society, engage the public and private sectors, and promote transparency and accountability. The OAS also has a longstanding history of supporting this effort.

I thank the PADF team for everything that you have done and continue to do. PADF is an extremely valuable and cherished strategic partner of the OAS, and our collaboration has yielded visible and concrete results.

I want to close by reiterating how proud I am of the OAS-PADF partnership. I congratulate the PADF Trustees and Staff for your passion and commitment to helping the most vulnerable communities across our great hemisphere.

As PADF’s Vice Chairman, I remain committed to building a hemisphere of opportunity, for all.

Thank you.