El SECRETARIO GENERAL ADJUNTO: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Your excellent statement invites reflection on the way in which we have organized ourselves in the Hemisphere, as well as on the purposes of that organization. I would like, if you don’t mind, to take the Council’s time to briefly attempt to tie the past and the future into the present.

La visión retrospectiva nos enseña que el concepto de identidad hemisférica, los esfuerzos de forjar la unidad dentro de la pluralidad y la determinación común de los pueblos americanos de convertirse en una fuerza impulsora de paz, democracia y prosperidad, han sido constantes desde los albores del siglo XIX, y aún antes, porque las palabras del señor Presidente nos hicieron recordar la epopeya de la independencia de los Estados Unidos y la de Haití, que, en cierta forma, inspiraron a una serie de solidaridades democráticas y soberanas en este hemisferio.

Se ha tratado, en rigor, de una tarea continua, desde el enunciado de la doctrina Monroe y el ideario bolivariano hasta la proclamación de principios fundadores del derecho internacional americano, en los múltiples congresos y conferencias realizados durante el espacio de dos centurias .

La Organización de los Estados Americanos es la expresión de esa continuidad histórica en la cual reconocemos los distintos tramos de un pasado común que nos revela contrastes de luces y sombras.

Cuando conmemoramos el Día de las Américas, nuestra evocación nos permite efectuar una suerte de inventario, de balance entre el debe y el haber, para proseguir con la construcción del porvenir, adecuando estructuras y relaciones hemisféricas.

Desde luego, no pretendo que el balance pueda efectuarse en el término de esta sesión protocolar, lo que nos llevaría a realizar una tarea necesariamente incompleta. Sin embargo, la ocasión es propicia al menos para iniciarlo fragmentariamente. En ese contexto, es notable que, por encima de las restricciones que necesariamente imponen algunas circunstancias de orden administrativo y presupuestario, la Organización ha demostrado su firme compromiso con el estado de derecho, la defensa de los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentales.

En efecto, se han construido nuevas metodologías, mecanismos e instrumentos que apuntan a consolidar la doctrina americana, esencialmente americana, de solidaridad democrática. Entre ellos, la vigencia de la Carta Democrática Interamericana representa la construcción de un nuevo consenso que alberga los múltiples y delicados engranajes de la democracia constitucional. Y, vale la pena decirlo, de igual manera la región está avanzando en la seguridad y la cooperación económica.

I will now switch to English and talk about two days in the history of this organization: last Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12, because I think from a glance at those events, it will be possible to identify both how far we have to come and some of the practical difficulties we still must face.

Let me start with Venezuela. We heard in the last regular session of the Council a presentation by the Ambassador of Venezuela reminding us, if we still needed it, of the anniversary of the coup that ultimately failed in his country. Last Friday, a major agreement was announced in Caracas by the Chief of Staff of the Secretary General. It is an agreement that will require follow-up by all concerned in Venezuela, and determined but respectful support from the international community. The explosion at the Edificio Teleport on Saturday, which had been rented as the home of the Mesa de Diálogo that was being sponsored by the Organization of American States, underscores the vital importance of what Secretary General César Gaviria called el camino democrático, which is defined in the very interesting agreement, which is now on our website, as including disarmament of unauthorized groups, investigations to end impunity, and a referendum as established in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the whole in harmony with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, explicitly recognized by both sides.

Also on Friday, the visit of President Portillo of Guatemala made clear his administration’s receptivity to the OAS and the United Nations in the development of a commission of inquiry that will look into illegal and underground armed groups. This commission follows a model of cooperation that has recently worked extremely well on the matter of reparations in Haiti. At the same time, in the adjacency zone between Guatemala and Belize, workmen are putting the final touches on an office that will house an OAS—we’ve asked for an Argentine head—Representation between the two countries as a confidence-building measure.

Also on Friday, in culmination of months of quiet diplomacy, the foreign ministers of El Salvador and Honduras accepted that the OAS would name a geographer to help them resolve the remaining technical questions in the demarcation of their common land frontier. We will draw on an organization of the inter-American system to do this, the Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH). The two countries would like to be able to begin work May 5.

Finally, on Saturday, at the meeting agreed to in this Council to develop recommendations on Haiti policies, members of the High-level Delegation—including Mexico, Canada, the U.S., CARICOM, and France, among others—had a meeting, which the Honorable Julian Hunte, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia, chaired with my assistance, and reached a consensus to strengthen the Special Mission while also insisting on improved security performance by the Government of Haiti and renewed efforts by all parties to develop a democratic solution to Haiti’s political difficulties. The recommendations are being worked on to ensure a specific and effective consensus, and they will be presented to this Permanent Council in a special session at the end of the month.

Except for some salary support, none of these activities that I have just mentioned received or will receive support from the Regular Fund of the OAS. The work of the Secretary General in Venezuela is being financed by a special fund established with contributions from the largest donors. Work in the adjacency zone between Belize and Guatemala and the identification of a cartographer to help demarcation will be supported by the Fund for Peace. A special fund was created to support the work of the Special Mission in Haiti.

Nor is this in any way unusual. To give but a few examples: in the last few years, voluntary funding has been critical in support of efforts to reduce tension between Honduras and Nicaragua; most of our electoral observation missions, including the important work that led to the establishment of the Mesa de Diálogo in Peru; the Organization’s investigation into the diversion of arms from Nicaragua; and the facilitation effort between Belize and Guatemala.

It is certainly true and it is generally believed to be a good thing that the most important work of this kind attracts resources outside the Regular Fund. But after nearly three years as your Assistant Secretary General, I have realized a consequence to which I had previously not attached much weight. It is this: when the Secretary General and I are forced to tackle unforeseen political problems or other matters of import, even when we obtain external financing, we find significantly reduced the time available to us and to our staff to deal with the regular administrative and political tasks of this organization in fulfillment of the requirements of the General Assembly and this Permanent Council. Core activities, such as proper support to the political bodies, should not be allowed to suffer.

La próxima Asamblea General se apresta a considerar un tema de mayor relevancia, cual es el de gobernabilidad. Ello nos conducirá al análisis de las dimensiones políticas, económicas y sociales que presuponen su existencia, a las cuales se refirió efectivamente el Presidente del Consejo en su alocución, y a los factores de orden internacional e interamericano que la favorecen.

El Secretario General, el doctor César Gaviria, con frecuencia ha insistido en que nuestra responsabilidad consiste en procurar condiciones propicias para que la institución pueda responder a las expectativas de los Estados mediante programas de cooperación posibles y eficaces.

El objetivo final sigue siendo la comunidad de naciones a la que aspiraba el Libertador. Son los hombres y no los gobiernos, las naciones más que los Estados, los beneficiarios de la misión histórica de América de construir una tierra de libertad, propicia para la realización de justas aspiraciones.

Somos conscientes de que estamos ante una tarea compleja y de curso permanente, que solo puede enfrentarse reconociendo el peso de la realidad, comprendiendo las cosas y resistiendo la tentación de suplantarla por imágenes que terminan por crear falsas ilusiones.

Como decía Ortega y Gasset: el idealismo vive de la falta de imaginación. Pensar es preocuparse de las cosas, es interponer ideas entre el desear y el ejecutar.

Muchas gracias, señor Presidente.