General
Assembly 1995 Resolutions(Resolution adopted at the ninth plenary session,held on June 9, 1995)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN:
Resolution AG/RES. 232 (VI-O/76), whereby the General Assembly decided to convoke a special session to review all matters concerning cooperation for development and update the activities of the OAS in this area;
Resolution AG/RES. 1 (XVI-E/92), whereby the General Assembly proposed that the Charter be amended to add the elimination of extreme poverty as a basic objective of development (Protocol of Washington);
Resolution AG/RES. 1 (XIX-E/93), whereby the General Assembly established the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) to promote cooperation among the American states with a view to achieving their development and, in particular, to contributing to the eradication of extreme poverty (Protocol of Managua);
Resolution AG/RES. 1 (XX-E/94), whereby the General Assembly adopted the General Policy Framework and Priorities: Partnership for Development;
Declaration AG/DEC. 1 (XX/E/94), whereby the General Assembly adopted the Commitment on a Partnership for Development and Struggle to Overcome Extreme Poverty; and
The Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action adopted by the heads of state and government at the Summit of the Americas, held in Miami;
CONSIDERING:
That democracy, development, and human rights are interdependent, mutually-reinforcing concepts, and that development and the eradication of poverty are a priority in promoting the exercise of democracy and the protection of human rights;
That adjustment policies conducive to economic growth should be accompanied by a social policy that will enable the entire population to have access to the benefits of development;
That, although the domestic efforts of states, with full participation of the community including the public and private sectors, are an essential element in achieving integral and sustainable development and overcoming extreme poverty, these efforts go hand in hand with a propitious external environment and renewed international cooperation;
That there is a pressing need to strengthen programs designed to meet fundamental requirements in the areas of nutrition, health, education, housing, justice, the environment, and the civic and political participation of women and of minority groups such as indigenous populations;
That it is necessary to review the traditional concept of cooperation and specify the role of the OAS as a forum and instrument within the context of the efforts made by the many organizations and institutions involved in cooperation for development in the Hemisphere; and
That it is also necessary to specify priorities and mechanisms for inter-American cooperation and to establish guidelines making it possible to contribute in a timely and effective manner to the development of the member states; and
BEARING IN MIND:
That the heads of state and government, meeting at the Summit of the Americas held in Miami, committed themselves, inter alia, to the struggle to overcome extreme poverty, and that the Partnership for Development contributes to the attainment of this objective;
That the OAS has decided to intensify the joint struggle and cooperative actions to confront extreme poverty and thereby contribute to reducing economic and social inequalities within each nation and among the nations of the Hemisphere;
That it is necessary to strengthen the role of the OAS as a forum for inter-American dialogue so as to promote the development of the member states and, to this end, to deal with the external conditions that affect their development, including debt, negative transfers of resources, trade barriers, and technological gaps;
That more financial, technical, and human resources must be mobilized, both from the Organization itself and from other international bodies and institutions, in support of national and regional development priorities;
That cooperation for development should envisage diverse forms of collaboration between the member states and the institutions of the inter-American system, and that there is a need to encourage the creation of mechanisms for coordination with the global, regional, and subregional organizations involved in cooperation for development, so as to complement efforts and avoid unnecessary duplication;
That the OAS must strengthen its capacity to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and specialized information among its member states, and that it should continue to support the training and development of human resources in priority areas of development;
That the Organization must be prepared to support flexible regional projects, through plurinational efforts involving the public and private sectors and other sources of financing, and that projects of national scope should continue to receive support if they have a significant impact on the development of the country concerned or, in particular, if they enable it to play a more effective role in plurinational projects or promote the involvement of other international cooperation bodies, including relevant financial institutions;
That cooperation activities must be consistent with priority program areas, and that it is crucial to prevent the fragmentation and dilution of resources among numerous projects;
That Partnership for Development covers all the countries, regardless of their level of development, and implies overcoming the traditional concept of aid in order to develop joint programs that, without attempting to impose models, support the economic and social measures adopted by each member state;
That the objective of Partnership for Development is to support collectively the efforts of member states to achieve integral, sustainable development and, in particular, to contribute to the elimination of extreme poverty in the Hemisphere, thereby strengthening the process of promoting and consolidating the region's democracies and their institutions; and
That the Secretary General presented to the Permanent Council for consideration a working document entitled "A New Vision of the OAS" and a document entitled "Modernization of Cooperation and New Guidelines for the Functions of CIDI,"
RESOLVES:
a. A mechanism for coordination between CIDI and other agencies in the inter-American system that are responsible for cooperation activities;
b. A program of support that will enable the member states to identify and negotiate specific offers and requests and, if applicable, implement horizontal cooperation projects;
c. Regional programs promoting cooperation projects that are consistent with plurinational initiatives;
d. A program of support for human-resource training and development that includes, inter alia, a system of scholarships and encourages the participation of universities and research institutes. This program should take into account the cooperation priorities identified by the member states; and
e. A strategy for mobilizing additional financial resources for development which provides for the participation of member states and permanent observers and in turn encourages the participation of cooperation agencies and financial institutions, such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, including the possibility of conducting joint projects.