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OAS and National Confederation of Assemblies of Colombia Agree to Cooperate to Strengthen Municipal Public Management

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the National Confederation of Assemblies of Colombia (CONFADICOL) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in initiatives aimed at institutional strengthening, knowledge and experience sharing, education and training in legislative, legal, scientific and environmental areas, as well as planning, technology, modernization, transparency, public administration efficiency and effectiveness.

Through this agreement, both entities agreed to cooperate in the implementation of activities, such as virtual and live events that will offer training courses, workshops and seminars, the joint organization of forums and events of legislative exchange with other member states, as well as the provision of technical advice on legislative modernization projects and inter-parliamentary cooperation, among others.

During the signing of the agreement, the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, highlighted the importance of strengthening local governments, in particular when democracy has spread throughout our region in recent years. "We've never had so many democratically elected governments in the Americas and never have we had such an expansion of the democratic system to local and regional governments,” he said, while recalling that those achievements "pose new challenges to democracy itself with larger populations, broader territories, and with the obligation of carrying out efficient public management that is becoming increasingly complex."

The leader of the hemispheric organization added that among the current challenges to democracy is that society is no longer satisfied with the old social pact of protection in exchange for obedience. "Today, our countrymen demand citizenship, which means not only participation, but also access to public services." "That is why the work we do at the OAS is based on the concept of comprehensive democracy, which implies governing with greater transparency and efficiency, respect for human rights, the separation of powers, and with management skills," he said. In doing so, he concluded that this multilateral institution pays special attention to helping and supporting regional and local governments in developing their capacity to govern and legislate.

The President of CONFADICOL, Juan Carlos Coy Carrasco, said for his part that "the mere fact that the OAS allows us to sign this agreement will create a commitment to become better and to take into account that we must develop in line with the challenges of the new times, using training and cooperation as the basis for our work."

Likewise, the Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OAS, Ambassador Andrés González, thanked the hemispheric institution for its responsiveness in "offering to closely cooperate with the local governments of the Americas and Colombia." Moreover, the Colombian diplomat highlighted the significant role that local governments play in the strengthening of their citizens’ general wellbeing, because "there will be more democracy if local governments are stronger, more efficient, more transparent, and with more political control; there will be more equality if the fight against poverty occurs within our municipalities with managers and leaders who understand it; there will be more respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms if these issues are included in local governments’ public agendas, and there will be more development if it is balanced and inclusive, and if it responds to the needs of those in the most remote areas of our countries," he added.

Prior to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, Secretary General Insulza met in his office with the President of CONFADICOL who was accompanied by several Colombian parliamentarians, with whom he discussed possible areas of cooperation on issues such as the cadastre, decentralization, institutional and municipal management modernization, and the empowerment of women at the departmental level .

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-roll of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-347/13