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OAS Member States begin negotiations towards the Sixth Summit of the Americas 2012

The Organization of American States (OAS) and Colombia, the host country of the Sixth Summit of the Americas, today started the formal negotiation process of the main themes of the event that will bring together the leaders of the continent in Cartagena in April of 2012.

At a meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), held at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, DC and chaired by the Coordinator and Chairman of the Group, Ambassador Jaime Girón, OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, said that "the process of negotiation and consensus in this political body starts now, in order to ensure that during the Sixth Summit we will make a hemispheric agenda that addresses the most pressing problems of our society."

The head of the OAS congratulated the host country for the progress made so far and "especially for the innovative and efficient approach given to the negotiating methodology of the VI Summit," and offered the "full support of the General Secretariat to have a final document that is agile, clear, concise and focused on results."

The Secretary General stressed the importance of the Inter-American agencies’ work in contributing to the negotiations as well as the role of civil society. The goal, he said, should be "to have an inclusive dialogue, in which our people have a role and become involved in the formulation of decisions to be discussed and adopted by the leaders of the hemisphere."

During the Second Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group, the representatives of the Member Countries of the OAS approved a proposed methodology of procedure for the negotiation of the final documents and established the schedule of meetings for the negotiation of each of the Summit Theme axes: Natural Disasters, Poverty and Equity, Technology, Security and Infrastructure Partnership. Similarly, drafts of the first documents to be negotiated by the heads of state were distributed at the meeting.

In their statements, representatives of the Member Countries offered their support to Colombia for the organization of the Summit, congratulating Coordinator Giron for progress made thus far and reiterating his concern that the statement resulting from the Summit is "pragmatic, brief and concise." Diplomats also stressed the need that civil society contributions be taken into account and are reflected in the final declaration.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the World Bank (WB), Andean Development Corporation (CAF), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Inter - American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). They all expressed their willingness to provide technical support to Colombia and the OAS at the time of negotiations.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-843/11