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U.S. AMBASSADOR TO OAS HECTOR MORALES KEYNOTES CLOSING SESSION OF MODEL OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Ambassador Hector Morales, Permanent Representative of the United States to the Organization of American States (OAS) in delivering the keynote address to close the Washington Model OAS General Assembly for University Students (WMOAS), stressed the value of democracy and receiving feedback from stakeholders in the Americas.

The WMOAS, which ended on Saturday, April 12, drew more than 300 students and 40 professors from 19 universities in the United States, nine in Latin America and one in the Caribbean for a week of meetings at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. The students negotiated and lobbied for support for their country’s resolutions on hemispheric issues such as human rights, democracy, security and development.

A simulation of the regular General Assembly, the MOAS assigns students to represent each of the 34 OAS member states , whose policies and interests they must defend. The main purpose of the forum is to promote democratic values among the hemisphere’s youth by familiarizing students, faculty and academic institutions in the Americas with the OAS as the premier political body and with the issues affecting the Americas.

Ambassador Morales stated that while consensus is very hard to reach, it is absolutely worth striving for because of its long-lasting results. Education is critical and, as such, it is an investment in people, he argued, describing the model exercises as an effective educational tool that should be adopted by more international organizations. After his address, Morales participated in a question-and-answer session as occurs at an OAS plenary session, with students continuing their role-playing as Ministers of Foreign Affairs from their assigned countries while directing their questions to the ambassador.

In her remarks, Director of the OAS Department of International Affairs Irene Klinger praised the students’ commitment to promoting democracy by practicing consensus, compromise and parliamentary procedures to reach common goals. She acknowledged the efforts of Dr. Joan Andorfer, Dr. Douglas Friedman and Dr. Robert Trudeau—all from the Inter-American Institute for Diplomacy—in organizing the MOAS, which is sponsored by the OAS.

On May 21-23, Colombian university students will participate in a National MOAS in Medellin, just ahead of the OAS 38th regular General Assembly. Students from around the hemisphere will then gather in Santiago, Chile, for another MOAS, from July 14 to 17. The MOAS is a program of the Department of International Affairs of the OAS Secretariat for External Relations. For more information please visit the MOAS program web page at www.moas.oas.org; for specific information on this WMOAS please visit www.wmoas.org.

Reference: E-129/08