COOPERATIVES IN THE AMERICAS: DRIVING ECONOMIC GROWTH WITH EQUITY AND INCLUSION

March 20, 2014 - Washington, DC

Permanent Representatives of Member States to the OAS;
Ambassador Carmen Lomellin,
Mr. Charles Gould, President of the International Cooperative Alliance;
Mr. Ramon Imperial Zuñiga, President, Cooperatives of the Americas;
Sherry Tross, Executive Secretary for Integral Development,
Cooperative leaders from around the Hemisphere;
Colleagues from the OAS;
Ladies and gentlemen;

It is my privilege to welcome you all to the House of the Americas for this dialogue on the cooperative movement as a driver of economic growth with equity and inclusion.

I wish to express my appreciation for the organizers of this event: the United States National Cooperative Business Association; Co-operatives of the Americas; and the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS. My gratitude as well for our sponsors who have made this meeting possible.

We are very pleased to see a gathering of such distinguished leaders of the cooperative movement throughout the Americas prepared to discuss ways to deepen the already rich contribution of cooperatives to the economic development with social inclusion of our countries.

As many of you know, integral development is a key pillar of the OAS. In fact, the importance of this pillar has been recognized since the inception of this Organization. In its founding document, the OAS Charter, our Member States, “inspired by the principles of Inter--American solidarity and cooperation, pledge[d] themselves to a united effort to ensure international social justice in their relations and integral development for their peoples, as conditions essential to peace and security.” They even recognized the importance of the contribution that cooperatives, among other organizations, make to “the life of the society and to the development process.”

Development is in every aspect of what we do at the OAS. It’s part of what we do in strengthening and deepening democracy and its institutions, it’s part of what we consider when we are discussing human rights and the rule of law, and it’s part of what we have to take into account when we are working on multidimensional security.

The path towards sustainable and inclusive development requires a concerted effort of many actors. There is a need for strong stakeholder investment with governments, civil society and the private sector forging effective partnerships that make the most of each sector’s unique strengths. And the cooperative movement should be a privileged partner in this effort because it shares many of the values that form the foundation of our Inter-American system.

The breadth of the cooperative movement is very impressive. Worldwide more than 1 billion people are members of cooperatives. Cooperatives provide 100 million jobs globally. The economic activity of the largest 300 cooperatives in the world equals the 10th largest national economy. And when we bring this down to our own lives, most of us here at the OAS are part of the cooperative movement. We are proud, for instance, to have our own Credit Union, an excellent example of the cooperative principles in action.

The potential of the cooperative movement to contribute to socio-economic development was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly when it declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting the impact cooperatives can have on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.

I agree with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when he stated on that occasion that cooperatives "[t]hrough their distinctive focus on values, have proven themselves a resilient and viable business model that can prosper even during difficult times. By emphasizing core values, cooperatives help advance a vision that embraces social objectives into the business model.”

Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. Many of those are values that define the main charters that guide this organization: the OAS Charter, the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the Social Charter of the Americas.

The importance of cooperatives was also recognized by the Heads of State and Government of the Americas, on the occasion of the Sixth Summit of the Americas held in Cartagena, Colombia in 2012 when they decided “[to] promote economic growth with equity and social inclusion by strengthening cooperatives, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, including cultural industries, in addition to grassroots economic initiatives and other production units, innovation, and competitiveness in the countries of the Americas.”

OAS member states also highlighted the role cooperatives can play in development during the most recent General Assembly in June 2013 when they instructed us at the General Secretariat to “support efforts by member states aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as well as cooperatives and other production units, so as to contribute to economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation in the countries of the Hemisphere” by strengthening the institutional framework that supports them and transferring lessons learned and sharing best practices.

Cooperatives have sometimes been seen as outdated or a model of the past but, in fact, they have expanded their reach and the model has shown enormous resilience even during difficult economic times. Cooperatives are well placed to promote self-help, democratic processes, and for putting economic power in the hands of marginalized populations.

I invite you to also participate in the upcoming Private Sector Forum early June in Asuncion, Paraguay, which will take place in the margin of the Regular OAS General Assembly. The focus of the PSF will be on the role of private-public partnerships in development.

Today our focus should be to continue to look at this model as one that should keep delivering both economic and social benefits, with cooperatives participating as partners with governments and other sectors of society in promoting the sustainable and inclusive development that the people of the Americas aspire to.

Here at the OAS we stand ready to support those efforts. I thank you for your presence and attention and I wish you a most fruitful meeting.


FOR REFERENCE: THE VALUES OF COOPERATIVES
Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.
The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice.

1. Voluntary and Open Membership
Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.

2. Democratic Member Control
Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and co-operatives
at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner.

3. Member Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co-operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.

4. Autonomy and Independence
Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.

5. Education, Training and Information
Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and benefits of co-operation.

6. Co-operation among Co-operatives
Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

7. Concern for Community
Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.