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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
The
Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today
approved in its regular session convening two meetings of high-level
officials and groups of experts on hemispheric security, which will take
place at the Organization's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The Council approved the holding of the Meeting of National Authorities on Transnational Organized Crime during
April 24 and 25.
The Vice Chair of the Committee on Hemispheric Security of the
Permanent Council and Alternate Representative of the Dominican
Republic, Flavio Medina, said the meeting will discuss "the
implementation of the Hemispheric Plan of Action against Transnational
Organized Crime, and efficient cooperation between member states."
Moreover, the Council approved
May 5, 2014
as the date for the holding of the Seventh Meeting of the OAS Group of
Experts to Prepare Model Legislation in the Areas to Which the
Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and
Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related
Materials (CIFTA) Refers; and
May 6, 2014
as the date for the Fifteenth Regular Meeting of the Consultative
Committee of the CIFTA. Both meetings will take place at the OAS
headquarters in Washington D.C.
Under another item of the agenda,
the Council welcomed the new Permanent Representative of Guatemala,
Jose María Argueta. The President of the Council and Permanent
Representative of the Dominican Republic, Pedro Vergés, highlighted the
vast experience of Ambassador Argueta in academia and government. "I am
confident that the Permanent Council will benefit greatly from your
knowledge and your vast international experience, which bodes well for
the success of the activities you are starting today with us," said
Ambassador Vergés.
In his first address to the Council, the
Permanent Representative of Guatemala stated that one of the main goals
of his government is "to achieve and consolidate all efforts to address
the global drug problem in the Americas." Ambassador Argueta also spoke
of the need to join efforts to reduce the problems of inequality that
prevail in the region, and he quoted British statesman Winston Churchill
when he said that "if the inequality is an invention of the human mind,
the human mind can also invent equity." At the same time, he celebrated
arriving to the OAS in times of "winds of change" in the Organization,
referring to the open debate on the OAS Strategic Vision that consists of revisiting the main objectives of the Organization.
The
Council also bid farewell to the Permanent Representative of Chile,
Darío Paya, who returns to his country. The Chairman emphasized the
"negotiating talent" of Ambassador Paya and recalled that, on behalf of
his country, he donated to the OAS Columbus Memorial Library over 18,000
microfilms on the literary legacy of Chilean poet and Literature Nobel
Prize winner Gabriela Mistral.
Hugo de Zela, Chief of Staff of
the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, expressed on behalf of
the Secretary General—who is away from headquarters—his appreciation for
Ambassador Paya’s work at the head of the Chilean Mission. "I wish to
express my admiration for the outstanding work of Darío as
Representative of Chile to the OAS. We have all witnessed of his
unflagging work, his intelligence, his capacity for dialogue, and his
human qualities, that made him in no time and up to now an irreplaceable
contributor to the work of the Council," said Ambassador de Zela on
behalf of Secretary General Insulza. Ambassador de Zela also conveyed
the appreciation of the OAS Assistant Secretary General and his own to
the Chilean diplomat for his work.
In his last address to the
Council, Ambassador Paya described himself as "a public servant" and
said that "if I have helped to heal any wound, then I feel that this has
not been in vain and that I have fulfilled my duty." The Chilean
representative stated that "in the world we live in today, it is
reasonable for this organization to reassess, study, pay attention and
revisit the way we conduct the negotiation on the international
commitments we make. I think that within the context of the Strategic
Vision and the future of this organization, it not would be good to lose
an opportunity to see how we can do it better."
Moreover, the
Chairman of the Council expressed, on behalf of the body he presides, to
the governments of Colombia, Costa Rica and El Salvador "the most
enthusiastic congratulations" on the occasion of recent elections in
their countries.
During the meeting, the representatives of
Guatemala, Argentina (on behalf of ALADI), Canada, Trinidad and Tobago
(on behalf of CARICOM), the United States, Nicaragua (on behalf of
SICA), the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Honduras, Belize, Peru, Mexico,
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Paraguay, Dominica
and Panama took the floor. The Permanent Observer of Spain, Jorge
Hevia—on behalf of France, Germany and his country—also took the floor.
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