Media Center

Press Release

Civil Society Representatives Meet at the OAS to Debate the Subject, “Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Americas”

The Civil Society Hemispheric Forum was inaugurated today at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C. The event is an opportunity for civil society organizations to discuss the emerging challenges in the hemisphere related to the central subject of the OAS General Assembly, to be held the first week of June in Lima, Peru: “Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Americas.”

During the event’s inaugural session, the Director of the OAS Department of International Affairs, Irene Klinger, welcomed the participants on behalf of the Secretary General and said, that “the OAS is convinced of the importance of continuing to broaden the channels of cooperation between the Member States and civil society. We need creative and participatory work, open to new ideas, visionary and enthusiastic, that generates synergies among everyone and allow us to achieve the transformations that our development requires.”

For her part, the Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS and current Chair of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Carmen Lomellin, addressed the participants of the forum, saying that “civil society participation is a critical element of our shared commitment to support dialogue and mutual respect within the OAS.”

The subject of civil society participation in OAS activities has also been active in the framework of the Summits of the Americas Process in which the OAS acts as technical Secretariat. In this context, Ambassador Luis Alfonso Hoyos Aristizabal, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OAS, spoke on behalf of his government, which is to host the Sixth Summit in Cartagena in 2012. Ambassador Hoyos said his government wishes “to work hand in hand with civil society organizations” in the preparations for the Summit and praised the active participation of such groups in the elaboration and recommendation of policies at the hemispheric level.

More than 60 representatives of civil society organizations from 15 countries of the Americas are participating in the two-day Hemispheric Forum, where in parallel sessions they will discuss multidimensional security in the Americas, the promotion of human rights, and the strengthening of democracy—in particular the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts and crisis; and cooperation for development.

The recommendations generated by civil society representatives during the workshops will be presented to the Committee on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities (CISC) of the Permanent Council, where they will also have the opportunity to exchange ideas on the subjects of the inter-American agenda.

More information on the event is available here.

Reference: E-154/10