COOPERATION IN ACTION

OAS-SEDI: Forging New Partnerships for Development

Bilateral cooperation increases between labor administrations. So far in 2015, there have been six missions of bilateral cooperation on labor issues among 10 countries in the Americas, with 2 more planned for the remainder of the year. Through the OAS Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL), the Ministries of Labor exchange knowledge, practices and experiences in direct and personalized cooperation missions, which have proven to strengthen their capacity to deliver services to workers and employers. The issues addressed in recent missions include priority areas for labor administrations, such as gender equity at work, combating child labor, information systems on the labor market, mediation of conflicts, among others. Since its launch in 2005, the RIAL has facilitated 89 missions of bilateral cooperation between countries of the region, and is receiving a growing number of proposals.

New Joint Publication on Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education. As a result of the collaboration between the Council of Europe, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a new publication on “Curriculum Development and Review for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education” was launched in France on October 15. Its objective is to provide a clear guidance and tools for reviewing and reforming curriculums on citizenship education and human rights, and is directed to policy and decision makers, civil society leaders, researchers, among other interested stakeholders. The publication is currently being translated into Spanish.

The OAS strengthens its alliances to benefit the region’s port sector. Through its Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP), the OAS continues to channel support from entities in the public and private sectors to the port authorities of the Americas. Recent examples are the 25 scholarships awarded by Puertos del Estado of Spain, one of the main strategic partners of the CIP, to port officials from 14 countries in the region, who from October 13 to November 10, 2015 participated in the XX Ibero-American Course on Port Management in Spain. Also, new Associate Members have recently joined the CIP/OAS, including the Colombian logistics company COMPAS, E&M, a consulting company from the Dominican Republic, United States’ companies Hudson Analytix y American Salvage Association and the Mexican ports of Lazaro Cardenas (Michoacan) and Altamira (Tamaulipas) and the Dry Port from Guanaguato. The CIP/OAS currently has a total of 25 Associate Members and 18 Strategic Partners that contribute resources, experience and expertise to the Commission.