COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE
May 2, 2005
CHILEAN INTERIOR MINISTER JOSE MIGUEL INSULZA ELECTED SECRETARY GENERAL
OF OAS
The Organization of American
States has a new Secretary General. The hemisphere’s Foreign Ministers today
elected Chile’s Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza to the top OAS post by
a majority vote of 31 with two abstentions and one blank vote. Insulza, who
will serve for the next five years, has pledged to strengthen the
organization’s “political relevance and its capacity for action.”
Panama’s First Vice President Samuel Lewis Navarro, who is also the Foreign
Affairs Minister, presided over the thirtieth special session of the OAS
General Assembly—called specifically to elect the Secretary General—and
conveyed to Insulza afterwards all the member states’ best wishes as he
leads the Organization to further unify the hemisphere.
Expressing appreciation to the member states for electing him, Insulza urged
all the nations of the Americas to “seize the opportunity to strengthen the
OAS and reinforce its role in fostering democratic values and as a guarantor
of the diverse hemispheric interests.”
“The guarantee of respect for the fundamental rights of citizens, the rule
of law, civil liberties, respect for minorities and for the institutions of
the democratic system is crucial,” the Secretary General-elect added, noting
as well that “it is imperative that the commitments adopted under the
Inter-American Democratic Charter be wholly adhered to.”
Mr. Insulza said he would strengthen the OAS as it pursues its mission of
hemispheric integration, and expressed his hope that “this guiding spirit
would lead the member states as well as the Secretariat to a pragmatic
response to the region’s current situation, its needs and the demands of its
citizens.”
Against the background of the complexities it faces, the new Secretary
General appealed for the active support of member states to help
reinvigorate the OAS. “This entails a realistic approach to the chronic
budget deficit that besets our Organization.”
Insulza thanked the member states for supporting his proposed program from
the very beginning. He also thanked those who “have generously allowed my
candidacy in order to achieve the consensus that the region and the OAS need.”
The incoming OAS chief specially acknowledged Ambassador Luigi Einaudi’s
contribution as Acting Secretary General over the past seven months, and
thanked the Secretariat staff as well.
Prior to the vote, Bolivian Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles and Peru’s
Permanent Representative to the OAS Ambassador Alberto Borea addressed the
General Assembly to outline historical reasons for which they could not join
the consensus on Mr. Insulza’s election. |
