OAS :: Secretariat for Political Affairs (SPA)

Edition 1 – 2014 January - February - March

DEPM organizes II International Seminar for Innovation in Public Management

The II International Seminar on "Innovative Experiences in Effective Public Management" was organized by the Department of Effective Public Management of the OAS (DEPM/SPA) and the National Authority for Government Innovation of Panama (AIG in Spanish) on March 13th and 14th in Panama City. The objective of the seminar was to disseminate innovative experiences in effective public management in order to strengthen multilateral and horizontal cooperation in the region on this topic. DEPM promotes these objectives with the goal of improving institutional transparency and efficiency and increasing mechanisms for citizen participation.

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OAS observed second-round presidential election in El Salvador	The 2007 – 2012 Electoral Cycle in the Americas: A Review of the OAS General Secretariat	MAPP-OAS attends group dialogue for victims in the municipality of Turbo

OAS/DECO deployed a mission composed by 75 observers for the elections held on Sunday March 9th. At the request of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the Mission met with high level party members of ARENA to convey the importance of their return to participate in the official count. EOM in El Salvador (Spanish)	This publication systematizes OAS electoral observation practices carried out between 2007 and 2012, analyzing the challenges and opportunities faced by the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO) over the six-year period. The volume also describes the specific steps taken by DECO to professionalize its observation practices in order to better respond to the needs of electoral management bodies. Read the publication...	The Regional Office of the Mission to Support the Peace Process in the Organization of American States (ORAP-MAPP/OAS) accompanied the Fifth Session of dialogue for victim organization in the municipality of Turbo. This support from the MAPP/OAS is part of a joint inter-agency strategy started last year in coordination with the Unit for Attention and Reparation of Victims (UARIV), the Government of Antioquia, and the International Organization for Migration. Read more... (Spanish)

OAS observed legislative elections in Colombia	Belize and Guatemala Agree on Plan of Action to Strengthen Relations with the Support of the OAS	DEPM participates in a consultation workshop for the implementation of the Open Government Plan in the Dominican Republic

OAS/DECO deployed a mission to observe elections held on Sunday march 9nd. Citizens voted for Senators, president and vice president and also elected 57 representatives to the Legislative Assembly. EOM in Colombia (Spanish)	The Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala, Wilfred Elrington and Fernando Carrera, and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, signed an agreement entitled "Road Map and Plan of Action", which has as its main objective the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the two countries during 2014 in order to make concrete the holding of popular consultations to enable the consideration of the territorial dispute before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Read more...	Organized by the Directorate of Ethics and Governmental Integrity of the Government of the Dominican Republic on February 18th, the workshop included the participation of Open Government Partnership Civil Society Coordinator Emiline Martinez and several civil society organizations. DEPM was represented by Senior Specialist on Access to Public Information and Open Government, Milagros Freyre. Read more...

OAS observed elections in Costa Rica	New technical cooperation project with the Electoral Court of Uruguay	Observing Political-Electoral Financial Systems: A Manual for OAS Electoral Observation Missions

OAS/DECO deployed a mission to observe elections held on Sunday February 2nd. Citizens voted for president and vice president and also elected 57 representatives to the Legislative Assembly. EOM in Costa Rica (Spanish)	The first working session between DECO and Electoral Court officials was held in order to improve the performance of relevant actors in the transmission of preliminary election results.	This manual provides an integrated set of procedures and tools for the rigorous, systematic, and reliable assessment, considering a gender perspective, of political-electoral financing systems in the countries observed by the OAS. Read the manual...

Secretary speaks on elections and pressing issues in Central America and Mexico at the Inter-American Dialogue, FIU, and Capitol Hill	Secretary addresses Ambassadors at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands	OAS and the IDRC agree to promote sustainable public procurement in the region

Secretary Casas-Zamora took part in roundtable discussions at the Inter-American Dialogue and at Florida International University (FIU), addressing the 2014 Central American elections and their implications both nationally and regionally. The Secretary also discussed pressing issues in Central America and Mexico at an Inter-American Dialogue conference held on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Participants included Senators and various members of the House of Representatives of the Government of the United States. Read more...	On Friday, January 17th in a seminar titled The Future of the OAS, Secretary Casas-Zamora delivered a keynote speech on various topics including democracy in the Americas, and the identity and future role of the Organization to twenty-five Dutch Ambassadors from throughout the Americas at their annual conference.	In order to support member states through the Intern-American Network on Government Procurement (RICG, for its Spanish acronym), the General Secretariat of the OAS and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) signed an agreement of “Sustainable Public Procurement for a Green Economy” and committed to promote sustainable public procurement as one of the key elements of strengthening democratic governance. Read more...

DSDSM / OAS and the Government of Suriname organized
Conference on International Experiences on National Dialogue

The Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions (DSDSM), in conjunction with the Government of Suriname and the National Assembly of Suriname, held a conference on international experiences on national dialogue in Paramaribo, Suriname, on March 5th and 6th. The purpose of the meeting was to share conceptual frameworks and international experiences, particularly from the Americas and Africa, on when and how national dialogue processes can be established and successfully conducted.

Speakers at the Conference included experts from the General Secretariat of the OAS (including Secretary Kevin Casas-Zamora), the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Department of Political Affairs, the African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Interpeace, and other international consultants.
Watch local news coverage of the event and the Secretary’s speech here...