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Speech by OAS Secretary General César Gaviria at the inaugaral session of
the thirty-third regular session of the OAS General Assembly
Santiago, Chile, June 8, 2003
Mr. President:
We have come to these climes from the farthest reaches of the Americas, guided
by the great admiration that the strength of the democratic institutions of this
nation commands; by the steadfastness and courage of this people that struggled
against authoritarianism and the systematic violation of human rights and public
freedoms. Here, the trade-off between democracy and development is no longer an
issue for discussion. You, the people of Chile, have said clearly that growth
cannot be used as a pretext for sacrificing rights.
I wish to thank the people of Chile for their traditional generous hospitality.
I also wish to thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Ms. Soledad
Alvear, for the sense of dedication she has displayed to ensure the success of
this Assembly session, for the renewed and dynamic Chilean foreign policy
pursued in support of unity and integration, and for her counsel, which is
always invaluable and to the point. May I also thank Ambassador Esteban Tomic
for his effectiveness and professionalism.
My special thanks to you, President Lagos, an indisputable leader of the
Hemisphere –a leader in whom we recognize integrity, vision, intelligence,
wisdom, and a vast knowledge of public affairs. You embody the democratic values
for which we, the people of the Americas, are struggling.
President Lagos, you have also managed to build an economy that has triggered
more dynamic growth, an economy that has led to a reduction in poverty, a rise
in per capita income, and higher rates of savings and investment. It has made
Chile a hotbed for innovative ideas in social policy. In fact, democratic
stability, freedom from civil strife, and respect for the rule of law are now
the basis for an environment that favors investment and strong democratic
governance.
It is no coincidence that democratic governance was also the topic of the recent
meeting in Cuzco. Undoubtedly, the beginnings of this millennium have been
turbulent. At our General Assembly session in Costa Rica, when the first version
of the Democratic Charter was discussed, it seemed that the ideas and mechanisms
it embodied would only meet with sporadic resistance. At times, it seemed a fine
and timely academic exercise to update the carefully crafted and pioneering
resolution 1080 and the Santiago Commitment to Democracy.
Already at the General Assembly session held in Barbados in 2002, we were able
to appreciate the relevance of the Democratic Charter. And since last year we
have held firmly to its precepts in the face of the many difficulties our
leaders confront in responding to the demands of the citizenry, addressing its
claims, dealing with protests and unrest that surface in opposition to
government decisions or policies, globalization, or regional integration, some
of which are well-founded, whereas others are hardly justified. The Charter has
therefore become a crucial and key living document; one might almost say that it
is absolutely essential. Enshrined therein are the many dimensions of what
democracy is today.
The great changes wrought in the Americas by globalization have increased
problems and challenges exponentially. And on other occasions, we have had the
opportunity to talk about capital volatility, the most undesirable feature of
globalization, one that is today the greatest obstacle to democratic governance
in the Americas.
When we talk about democratic governance, we must also mention the enormous
pressure on our political systems that globalization has created. This has
brought to the fore the flaws, weaknesses, and defects of these systems.
Globalization unveils and unmasks problems that have been present in our
societies for decades.
And in these times that hardly abound in material gains a global awareness has
emerged of social justice and democratic victories; free and fair elections;
separation of the branches of government; an independent justice system and the
fight against impunity; the unrelenting assault on corruption and the quest for
more transparency; accountability; and the harshest judgment of political
parties. Defense of freedom of the press and of expression has taken on new
momentum; our embattled institutions have been shaken to their foundations by
the growing presence of civil society, with its fierce criticism, cries, and
protest. As never before in our history, the fight against discrimination and
defense of the rights of the weakest, women, indigenous peoples, and children,
have surfaced with intensity.
In many of our countries, major shortcomings in the delivery of public services
prevent our people from leading dignified lives. All are offended that Latin
America is the most inequitable region of the world. Few are interested in
whether or not this is a consequence of the previous or current economic model.
And this all undermines democratic governance.
Faced with the magnitude of these challenges, we must equip the OAS and the
inter-American system in such a way that governments in difficulty are able to
make effective use of their institutions, face the problems, and, as you say,
President Lagos, govern over and above globalization.
The unfinished process that enabled Guatemala and Belize to devise proposals to
resolve their significant differences on their common border is known to all.
Honduras also offered its assistance. Using a mechanism of facilitators for both
parties, and with the Secretary General of the OAS as a witness of honor, we
have come a long way on a road which, we trust, will lead to a happy outcome in
a not too distant future. My thanks to so many member countries and observers
that assisted in financing this process.
I also wish to mention the effective efforts of Ambassador Luigi Einaudi and his
team to ensure compliance with the confidence-building measures between
Nicaragua and Honduras while the International Court of Justice rules on the
merits of the litigation. I also wish to make reference to the work being done
with the support of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History to help
Honduras and El Salvador carry out the judgment of the Court of The Hague
concerning the demarcation of the common border.
The OAS has also opened up an area for rapid and effective investigations. This
was the case with illegal arms trafficking, which involved operations and
transactions in three states: Colombia, Nicaragua, and Panama. The
investigation, conducted by Ambassador Morris Busby, will be useful to the
judicial, police, and military authorities and to governments, in their
commitment to control illegal arms trafficking within the framework of CIFTA.
In the case of the serious incidents that occurred in Bolivia on February 12 and
13, we have managed, with the assistance of experts from the United States,
Brazil, and Colombia, to come up with an initial description of the facts, help
the Executive establish the political accountability of their officials, and
make recommendations to prevent any recurrence of such events. Our report
suggests actions that the Prosecutor’s Office might take to complete the
investigations and determine which individuals were responsible.
I would now like to draw your attention to the programs of our Unit for the
Promotion of Democracy that help to enhance democratic governance: the
Inter-American Decentralization Network, the Inter-American Forum on Political
Parties, meetings on parliaments and electoral authorities, the Conference on
Political Party Financing that we cosponsor with the Carter Center, and the
ambitious research program we have embarked upon with the NGO IDEA.
Hemispheric security, for its part, has become a top priority at the OAS. Chile
played a part in initiating that process, when it held the first meeting on
confidence- and security-building measures. This year a second meeting was held,
in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on the security concerns of small island
states, which confirmed the multidimensional nature of hemispheric security
issues. At that meeting, the General Secretariat delivered the report on
security for nuclear waste transport through the Caribbean Sea. The meeting also
redrew attention to the critical part played by natural disasters in the island
states of the Caribbean.
The CICTE meeting in San Salvador served to renew hemispheric commitment to the
fight against terrorism. Both at the Meeting of Ministers here in Chile and at
the meeting of experts on confidence-building measures in Miami, participants
emphasized the importance of transparency and mutual trust for the security and
defense of the Hemisphere. We have managed to establish a significant joint
agenda of the Ministers of Defense and the Committee on Hemispheric Security.
In CICAD, we have made further progress in applying the Multilateral Evaluation
Mechanism (MEM). This year, for the first time, the Commission was able to
support priority programs identified by countries and chosen by the Commission,
including, for instance, a program to measure the impact of drugs on day-to-day
crime. I would also like to underscore the comprehensive proposal on
strengthening mutual legal assistance, mandated by the Ministers of Justice in
Ottawa, as well as the progress made with respect to cybercrime.
The Special Meeting on Security to be held in Mexico is a great opportunity to
establish a flexible structural framework, based on cooperation, that draws on
and coordinates experience with the different instruments, tools, and
initiatives developed at the OAS to address new nonmilitary threats.
As for demining, we are pleased to report that Nicaragua has cleared 65 percent
of its territory; operations in Costa Rica were completed in 2002; and in
Honduras they are expected to finish in September. In addition, over the past
two years, 500,000 mines stockpiled in Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru
were destroyed. I should like to thank all those who donated funds and
supervisors for their invaluable cooperation.
This whole process of adaptation is being achieved thanks to a vigorous
transformation of our agenda in connection with the Summits of the Americas
process. Tomorrow, in the framework of our General Assembly session, ministers
will have an opportunity to hold a meeting open to the media, special guests,
and civil society.
This year we have established an Executive Secretariat, headed today by a
distinguished Chilean lady, to help us meet these numerous responsibilities, to
constitute the institutional memory of this process, to assist the
implementation review group and the Governing and Executive Committees, and to
coordinate with other international organizations such as the IDB, the World
Bank, IICA, PAHO, CAF, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and
the Caribbean Bank.
Over the past year, the Secretariat has helped us support the ministerial
meetings, which constitute one of the principal components of the follow-up and
implementation mechanisms for the Summit mandates. The Ministers of Culture have
created an Inter-American Committee to carry out their collective programs. In
August, the Ministers of Education will move ahead in three main areas, which
include financing for the sector by international agencies. The Ministers of
Labor have continued addressing the effects of globalization and integration on
labor issues, as well as the modernization of human resource management. The
Inter-American Conference will be held in Brazil in October. The Ministers of
Transportation met in Ixtapa just a few days ago and adopted the Program of
Action, in which they undertook to implement a regional policy geared to
developing the infrastructure required for economic integration in the Americas.
This year I would like to draw attention to the effort made by member states to
incorporate into their domestic law the internal provisions of the
inter-American human rights system and to make that system universal by
ratifying the American Convention and accepting the jurisdiction of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This process is a key part of bolstering
the scope and effectiveness of the protection afforded by the system to the
inhabitants of the Hemisphere.
Here it is worth underscoring the role of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of
Expression. I would also like to point out how, year after year, we have
progressed in our efforts to endow the Court and the Commission with as much
institutional autonomy as possible. This year, special attention was paid to the
subject of racism and to the rights of migrant workers and their families. We
are also pleased at the progress made toward the declaration on the rights of
indigenous peoples.
On the subject of corruption, we would like to record the success of the
follow-up mechanism, which enabled us to produce a report on Argentina and which
will lead by July to reports on Colombia, Paraguay, and Nicaragua, all of which
volunteered to undergo this analysis.
Undoubtedly the best example of comprehensive application of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter has been in connection with Venezuela, where, with the
support of the Carter Center and the UNDP, we have acted as facilitators in a
Forum for Negotiation and Agreement.
Resolution 833 of our Permanent Council established our mandate. In pursuing it,
we strove to prevent political turbulence, social unrest, and huge
demonstrations in a highly polarized environment translating into violence and
disregard for the rule of law and the constitutional order. There were some
unfortunate incidents and some lives were lost, but, generally speaking, no
large-scale loss of life occurred, thanks, in part, to Venezuelans’ immense
respect for human life.
One of the major achievements of the Forum for Negotiation and Agreement was to
provide a means of communication, open to all, especially at critical moments,
as well as a reminder of the need for moderation and the containment of
political passions, however tense the circumstances.
The parties reached an agreement that they signed on May 29. The application of
Article 72 of the Venezuelan Constitution, if the National Electoral Council
certifies that the constitutional requirements regarding signatures have been
met, undoubtedly constitutes the peaceful, democratic, electoral, and
constitutional solution that we strove so hard to find in the Forum and that
Permanent Council resolution 833 refers to.
The agreement contemplates the willingness of the Government of President Chávez
to fulfill its obligation to provide the funds and security required for that
solution, by means of referenda convened by the CNE. All sides have undertaken
to abide by the Constitution and to respect the decisions of the new National
Electoral Council and the Supreme Court of Justice. The agreement was crafted in
such a way as to strengthen the democratic institutions of the country and the
constitutional powers of the authorities. Our thanks go to the Group of Friends
of the Secretary General, which comprises Brazil, the United States, Mexico,
Chile, Spain, and Portugal, for their support in these endeavors.
At this point, I should like to mention freedom of expression. As we stated in
Caracas, it is very important for citizens to be informed, objectively and
impartially, about political options. In processing the laws that the Assembly
will examine, it is essential that, following a dialogue with the media and
journalists, freedom of expression emerge unscathed so that Venezuela may get
through this tumultuous period of institutional change with full respect for
democratic values. The OAS attaches particular importance to the fact that, in
the agreement, both the Government and the opposition acknowledge the
Inter-American Democratic Charter and make express and detailed reference to all
the principles and standards enshrined therein.
In the Secretariat, as the agreement points out, we consider the Forum for
Negotiation and Agreement closed. The facilitator will remain at the disposal of
the parties in the event of any major hurdle during implementation. We trust
that the institutions, the Government, and the opposition will solve any impasse
within the terms of the agreement and using the liaison mechanism that both
parties have agreed to set up. We are prepared to keep monitoring developments,
as both parties have instructed us to do.
On behalf of our Organization, I wish to thank the Government of President
Chávez, the Vice President, the Foreign Minister, and all representatives in the
Forum of both the Government and Coordinadora Democrática, for their
extraordinary dedication and commitment; President Jimmy Carter for his constant
concern and support; UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his team; Ambassador
Valero; and my Chief of Staff, Fernando Jaramillo, for his hard work and skill
throughout these months.
Our work in Haiti also involved applying a mechanism contemplated in the
Democratic Charter. Since the last General Assembly session, the member states,
including CARICOM, and some observer countries, have supported our quest for a
solution to the crisis derived from the elections in 2000. Nevertheless, despite
some progress in international aspects, the situation has barely changed since
July 2002.
In September, the Permanent Council adopted resolution 822, which included
important provisions for normalization of economic cooperation between the
Government of Haiti and the international financial institutions; reaffirmation
of the mandates of the OAS Special Mission to Strengthen Democracy in Haiti; and
a call for the “formation of an autonomous, independent, credible and neutral
CEP” no later than November 4, 2002. The process of normalization with the
financial institutions is under way; thanks to significant support from several
countries, we have given continuity to the work of the Mission, but it has not
been possible to form the Electoral Council in accordance with the previously
agreed terms.
The Permanent Council sent a Mission to Port-au-Prince in March of 2003. It was
headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia and the Assistant
Secretary General and included representatives of multilateral financial
institutions. The Assistant Secretary General and I, as well as the Groups of
Friends and the Director of our Special Mission, believe that the Government of
Haiti must take the necessary steps to ensure that free, fair, and transparent
elections are held, under the terms established in the Council resolutions. Also,
if those conditions are met, it will be necessary for the opposition to
participate both in the Electoral Council and in the elections.
I believe that despite the difficulty in surmounting the political crisis, we
must persevere with CARICOM and with the observer countries that support us in
our efforts to strengthen democratic values in Haiti. We cannot allow our member
country most afflicted by social problems and underdevelopment to gradually lose
its democratic way, nor must we accept it. I trust that this is the mandate of
this Assembly and that we will work with renewed vigor. Certainly, both
President Aristide and his opponents will accompany us in this new negotiation
effort and in maintaining the major role of the Special Mission. We are
encouraged that, just the day before yesterday, President Aristide chose a head
of police who is eminently qualified professionally, which could lead us along
the democratic path that we have been seeking.
We wish to emphasize how Argentina is emerging from its crisis with its
democratic institutions unharmed. The Government of President Kirchner is
ushering in an era of hope, with an enormous economic, political, and social
task ahead. Of interest to all Americans are the success of his administration
as well as the fact that the multilateral system of financial institutions and,
especially, the IMF, are assuming decisively and realistically their share of
responsibility in ensuring that Argentina is fully reintegrated into the
international financial system. This is of vital importance for all Americans,
and not only for Argentina.
We wish to mention the significant success achieved by the new administration of
Brazilian President Lula in his economic policy. His leadership has restored a
good dose of trust not only in Brazil, but also in the entire region. His
actions have put an end to a wave of volatility that has had a severe effect on
our growth over the last two years. I should also like to make mention of the
economic stability that President Gutiérrez of Ecuador has managed to achieve.
In Colombia, thanks to growing support from the community of nations, President
Uribe has made significant strides in his policy of democratic security designed
to face up to the problems of narcoterrorism that have affected my country so
badly. It is a source of satisfaction to all that fully democratic elections
were held in Paraguay.
We all hope that the negotiations under way on the formation of the FTAA will
conclude by the established deadlines and yield equitable, balanced results that
take into account the interests of all the subregions. As we have already seen,
the conclusion of bilateral agreements and the further development of
subregional agreements are helpful to hemispheric integration. We celebrate the
signing of the Chile-United States treaty. It is part of a broad policy of
agreements with countries and groups within and beyond the region. As President
of Colombia, I had the opportunity to conclude an agreement with Chile nearly a
decade ago. We must not forget, however, the importance of attaining a general,
comprehensive agreement that increases market access among all countries of the
inter-American system and links their economies with common disciplines.
Fulfillment of the Doha Ministerial Declaration is important to all, especially
as regards multilateral trade system rules. In bringing the FTAA into being, the
negotiators face the challenge of remaining very realistic in this final phase.
Consensus is urgently needed on which aspects will be negotiated at the Doha
multilateral round and which will remain at the FTAA level. The adoption at the
Quito ministerial meeting of a program of hemispheric cooperation to strengthen
trade-negotiation capabilities has allowed us to support the negotiating process
even further, especially in connection with the smaller and more vulnerable
economies.
Thanks to the efforts of our main contributor, the United States, the
Organization’s liquidity improved substantially in 2002, which allowed it to
reduce payments arrears and ensure its long-term financial health. At the same
time, its budgetary decline continued, since the figures have been frozen in
nominal terms for the past eight years. Increasing Regular Fund constraints have
prompted the areas within the Organization to draw upon the specific funds.
These funds represented 15% of budgetary execution in 1997, and 46% in 2002. For
some areas, the use of specific funds is even more pronounced. In 2002, they
financed 81% of initiatives in the democracy area and 77% in the CICAD area.
In some ways this trend is positive, but the level of administrative and
technical resources devoted to administering specific funds is climbing, and our
resources for hemispheric summit and Assembly mandates are shrinking. When they
look to the future of the Organization, the member countries should revisit
these funding questions. We cannot indefinitely meet constantly growing demands
for activities and resources with a constantly shrinking Regular Fund. That is
not consistent with the role assigned to the OAS in hemispheric affairs.
I want to offer a few closing thoughts on ways to bring about enhanced
democratic governance.
It would be advisable to convene a Special Summit of Heads of State and
Government. Clearly, we live at a time when not only has our economic growth
been seriously hampered but also more and more questions are raised about how
our governments should act to overcome such obstacles. It has surely been a
mistake to somewhat underestimate the importance of political variables in the
1990s and to have believed that development is determined solely by economic
factors. Therefore, what was once a question of economic models has become an
eminently political issue.
We Latin Americans, in particular, need to let go of oversimplifications.
Whenever one of those single-focus models becomes obsolete, we move on to the
next one. Statism and protectionism, markets, free trade, liberalization,
globalization--these are formulas or recipes that never explain either our
transitory successes or our frequent failures.
We have also learned that some of the policies we applied in the 1990s to lead
us to prosperity were not an end-point but a starting point--merely a
precondition. What were touted as high aims in the 1990s became simple
prerequisites, without the gloss, the novelty, the appearance of infallibility.
We must strike a better balance between what the previous model yielded and what
the achievements and limitations of the new model have meant for us. Perhaps all
we know for certain is that neither model has proved successful in reducing
poverty or inequality.
Structural adjustment and economic modernization programs assigned social policy
a merely marginal, residual role, limited to mitigating the inevitable impact of
those measures. We should therefore not be surprised at our states’
ineffectiveness in fighting poverty.
We trust that the Special Summit will prompt our leaders, acting collectively
and far more categorically, to give social policy and social investment pride of
place in our countries, in the actions of our governments. As President Lagos
has said, there will be no winners without social justice.
And we urgently need, with the guidance of our leaders, to shape a new shared
agenda that transcends the paradigms of the past decade, paradigms which have
been superseded by recent events and which have seriously impaired democratic
governance. We need a plan to address globalization and strengthen our
competitive position. We urgently need to build educational systems that will
help us close the income gap between those who have most and those who have less.
I want to mention the potentially important role of the Education Portal of the
Americas, an initiative of our cooperation agency. We also need a set of
policies to strengthen social harmony, respect for the rule of law, and public
safety.
Shaping and developing this agenda at the beginning of the millennium will allow
us to realize our dreams of integration and social justice. Our leaders must
change course drastically to ensure that in coming years we reach our
destination. Only with more reforms, more democracy, and better state
institutions and policies will we successfully address the tasks of growth,
social equity, inclusion, and well-being for all people of the Americas. Many
thanks to the people of Chile, who have generously provided this stimulating
environment for our General Assembly session.
Thank you very much. |
