Mr. Chairman, The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania,
Mr. Secretary General,
Members of the Security Council,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Dr. Jose Miguel Insulza, and on my own behalf, I wish to thank the Presidency of the Security Council for inviting us to participate in this meeting.
I also congratulate the President of the Security Council for organizing this important debate, which for the OAS is timely and appropriate given the high level of interest and discussion that have taken place on this very same topic within the GA of the UN, the World Summit and other fora within the international community during the last year.
We also take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the commitment and leadership of Secretary General Annan for this effort and reiterate our readiness to continue the collaboration between the OAS and the UN.
As the both Secretary General, Dr. Insulza and I stated during our participation in the Sixth High-level Meeting between United Nations and Regional Organizations last July, the OAS welcomes a much more structured approach to strengthening collaboration between UN and Regional Organizations in the areas of democracy, development and security, including conflict prevention and peace building.
We are pleased and ready to contribute in a substantial manner to newly proposed Standing Committee. We have also made important recommendations for setting the proposed idea into motion. I am pleased to note the Secretary General’s confirmation that the Standing Committee has been established. We believe this is a first critical step to establishing a division of labor (defining roles and responsibilities) for a shared agenda with the UN and other key actors in the region on issues of early conflict prevention, security and development.
The OAS views closer cooperation with other multilateral organizations as a critical component of its new action plan for strengthening regional governability in the Americas.
The OAS has been actively engaged in several conflict prevention, facilitation, and mediation efforts. Currently, the OAS is actively involved in the facilitation of a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the political challenges in Haiti, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and Columbia, through several mechanisms. OAS engagements limit themselves not only to immediate resolution, but also provide technical assistance and capacity building for the longer term. It is important to note that the OAS does not engage without an invitation or consent from the government of the country involved and of course, the General Assembly or the Permanent Council.
The OAS uses several options for engagement. These are:
- Office of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General
- Delegation of the Permanent Council
- Special Envoys
- Long-term special representatives and Special Missions
- Technical Support geared toward capacity building in different thematic areas.
Aside from what the OAS can offer through political mediation/shuttle diplomacy and technical cooperation actions, OAS comparative advantages lie in its convening power among its member states and its ability to work with the all levels of government in forging consensus on important policies both nationally and subregionally. This capacity of dialogue and decision making by consensus is the preventive capacity the OAS brings to UN-Regional cooperation.
We recognized the valuable work of the Security Council and the acknowledge the UN’s leadership role in the maintenance of peace and security. However, there is much more that can be done to strengthen our respective institutions through closer collaboration, analyses, joint implementation of technical cooperation, focused attention on structural prevention and improved, streamlining of funding for preventive multilateral actions.
Specifically and to respond to a few of the questions outlined in the Concept paper circulated by the Presidency of the Security Council, I would like to highlight a few discussion points:
What are the opportunities and challenges for the relationship between the Security Council and regional sub-regional organizations?
First and foremost it is important to state that the OAS strives to work subregionally, whenever possible. In this regard, we must acknowledge the role and existence of subregional organizations, like the CARICOM, MERCOSUR, SICA and others play in the Americas. These subregional organizations should strive to work in tandem with lead multilateral institutions, by searching for ways to complement the work of the OAS and the UN. Haiti is a good example of where the OAS and the UN have collaborated, and where there is interest for further collaboration from other subregional organizations to support Haiti in its endeavors, i.e. (ACS and CARICOM).
How to develop the Security Council’s role in conflict prevention through more effective relations with RO’s?
We must take into account the many political and institutional lessons learned in our respective areas of expertise and share them with other interested actors. Perhaps the Security Council would consider inviting Regional Organizations on an annual basis to present key findings from their respective peacebuilding or post-conflict missions. The Standing Committee could play a role in organizing this type of presentation. The Security Council would benefit from listening to the wide array of multilateral efforts and activities being undertaken in various parts of the world in the area of early conflict prevention, analysis and resolution. This would broadened the scope of information the Security Council would have regarding on the ground peacebuilding operations and help inform future decision-making on the part of the Security Council.
How can we pursue the most effective cooperation with ROs in the Peacebuilding Commission?
The UN Peacebuilding Commission could allow for representation from every region through a high-level official from a regional or sub-regional organization.
Regional Organizations could contribute to the Peacebuilding Commission by assisting in the definition of political objectives and priority areas of peacebuilding in a given country. This could include:
- analyzing "root causes" of the conflict (past or potential);
- the dispatch of joint delegations to conflict prone areas;
- joint preliminary assessment missions;
- assurance, to the extent possible, agreements include commitments by the parties to the conflict and are realistic in terms of their financial implications (consultation with IMF, World Bank and donor countries). (Colombia)
- play a lead role in mobilizing funding for post-conflict or crisis reconstruction. (Haiti)
How to stimulate regional cooperation and involvement of regional arrangements in the pacific settlement of local disputes.
We recognize that sometimes a regional organization may be better suited to take a lead in a particular pre-conflict or post-conflict situation. The political clout, experience in the country and established trust with political actors may facilitate a more optimal solution. (Bolivia/Ecuador)
Both UN and Regional Organizations should prioritize capacity-building after peacekeeping, peace building or a crisis support operation is withdrawn. Regional organizations and agencies that continue the democratic consolidation efforts through peace building activities should be identified early on and supported by the UN through mobilized funding, cooperation etc. (Haiti)
One last issue of the utmost importance that I would like to add to the discussion is the issue of funding. Many of these initiatives, including the strengthening of regional organizations in conflict prevention, will not materialize if
Donors do not recognize that LACK of funds for peacebuilding and reconstruction activities hinders the reconciliation process.
Therefore, we should strive for:
- Joint articulation of appeals for assistance for conflict-affected countries. Press for sustained funding for conflict prevention activities, preventive diplomacy and early warning tools.
- Encourage donors and Regional Organizations to give more thought to mechanisms that promote positive development, especially by strengthening capacity-building activities within the public sector and civil society organizations.
- Convene special Donor conferences bringing together UN, Regional Organizations, donor countries, Bretton Woods institutions and other relevant parts of the UN systems. Not only to mobilize funds, but also harmonize the views of external political actors and to ensure that the essential resource requirements of peacebuilding are met.
- Explore the possibility of a standing trust fund for peacebuilding.
- Stress to donors that assistance in peace-building should be guided by needs rather than geographic preferences.
- Emphasize the need to view peace building from an integral perspective and bring security-related reforms into their funding arrangements.
In closing, the challenge for the new OAS leadership is to transform the OAS institutionally and organizationally in such a way as to deal more effectively with the new intra-state challenges.
The OAS is working towards these challenges as I speak: working on developing a more pro-active role in conflict prevention, through quiet diplomacy, greater co-operation with other sub-regional organizations, information sharing of experiences, improved analyses, and reviewing normative and legal frameworks.
All of these strategies will enhance the capability of the OAS in early conflict prevention and will contribute to strengthening the multilateral work of Regional Organizations in the Americas.
We look forward continuing our collaboration with the United Nations and develop a more structured approach together with other regional organizations to strengthen our capacity to effectively contribute to peace building, conflict prevention and where necessary conflict resolution.