Mr. Chairman
Your Excellencies
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

On December 5 last, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the 34 countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a declaration to lay the groundwork for international cooperation to address the challenges of sustainable development, environmental protection, the management of resources and natural disasters.

This Declaration of Santa Cruz+10, adopted by consensus by the First Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development, provides a new tool for countries to work together to achieve shared goals. The document contains a detailed strategic plan for improving the sustainable management of water, reducing the risks of natural disasters, and turning the promise of sustainable farm, forest and tourism practices into concrete results.

Bolivia was the natural choice for this conference. The meeting marked the tenth anniversary of the Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development, held in the same city, and the Government and people of Bolivia have won international recognition for their efforts towards achieving sustained and equitable economic growth and a more sustainable model for development.

In this respect, permit me to single out the Agua Para Todos partnership among local communities, water providers and micro-credit providers in Cochabamba - Bolivia’s fourth largest city. This unique partnership among communities and the public and private sectors is providing potable water at an affordable price to hundreds of households not previously connected to the main water supply system. This is an important achievement and it is noteworthy that this partnership was one of five international winners in the Supporting Entrepreneurs in Environment and Development Initiative in 2006.

The central message from Bolivia, as in other countries and sub-regions in our Hemisphere, is that sustainable development is not an option but an imperative, one of shared responsibility among all in society!

In adopting the Declaration of Santa Cruz and the Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development, the representatives underscored the pivotal role that civil society and indigenous peoples play in shaping sustainable development efforts. The OAS will therefore continue to work with its member countries and partners in the Inter-American System and the international community, to tackle the global concerns related to the environment and to promoting sustainable development.

In considering the challenges of sustainable development in the Americas, we also have to consider the challenges of globalisation and trade liberalization, and the imperatives of guaranteeing security in all its dimensions, modernizing, and, in some cases, restructuring our economies, enhancing national competitiveness, reducing poverty and environmental degradation, and mitigating the threats arising from climate change and natural disasters. In this respect, I wish to share with you our thinking on the elaboration of a strategic response, built around a coalition of development actors and partners.

Development strategies need to include sustainability as an essential requirement for the balanced, interdependent and integral attainment of economic, social and environmental goals.

Essentially, the principle of sustainability speaks to the absolute importance of adopting policies and strategies that encourage changes in production and consumption patterns, in order to provide a better quality of life for people, as well as to preserve the natural assets on which all life forms depend. The fundamental question is: do we want to make these choices and do we commit ourselves to change?

This principle was of course paramount in the 1992 Earth Summit and reiterated in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. It was central to the Santa Cruz Meeting and continues to find resonance across the world.

In the Americas, over the past 10 years, nearly all our sub-regions and countries have taken encouraging steps towards sustainable development. There is a greater level of environmental awareness at all levels of society. A number of sustainable development policies and strategies have been approved and are being implemented. Through heightened international cooperation and global partnerships, more resources are being devoted to various sustainable development initiatives. Encouragingly, Governments are allocating more of their national budgets towards environmental restoration and preservation programmes.

But as I stated earlier today, we have not made enough progress. Poverty remains a key driver of environmental degradation in the Hemisphere. For example, in 2005, we had the unenviable record of the highest level of deforestation of any region on Earth. As forest canopies disappear to make way for expanding agricultural lands and urban areas, the vicious circle of poverty, social instability and environmental degradation tightens.

Land degradation issues continue to have a strong presence in the region, including significant portions of Mexico, the Brazilian north-east, Chaco, the dry Andean valleys, Monte and Patagonia in Argentina. In these areas and elsewhere, intense desertification processes are evident, including deforestation, erosion of basins and land degradation.

When climate variability and climate change are factored into the account, a net worsening of environmental degradation is anticipated. Even as more resources are being devoted to the problem, the report card indicates that the impact and sustainability of these efforts are a matter for concern.

There is growing scientific consensus that the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic season was not an anomaly but instead presaged an increased frequency and severity of natural disasters. Climate change is also linked strongly with the unprecedented melting of glaciers in the Andean region, as well as the dramatic transformation of the Arctic.

For the small and more vulnerable countries of the Caribbean and Central America, having to cope annually with devastating hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, is an unsustainable burden. Furthermore, the threats to the tourism industry, now the fastest growing and most important economic sector in most of the Caribbean and of increasing importance in Central America, are potentially catastrophic. In this respect, I should add that there is a strong recognition in the region of the need to ensure that the growth of the tourism sector is managed responsibly and in a sustainable manner.

I therefore support the call made by the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), many of whom are Caribbean country members of the OAS, for more resources, funding and expertise to implement strategies to lessen the effects of climate change. Indeed, all the small economies of the Americas are deserving of greater assistance from the developed world.

I should add that this year’s OAS General Assembly, in June, in Panama, will have as its central theme, Energy for Development. This is, in great part, a recognition that the effects of climate change underscore the need for the promotion, development and increased use of renewable forms of energy, and it is also in keeping with the principle of the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 2005, that renewable energy should be pursued as a strategy to promote sustainable development.

There are, in addition, the twin challenge of population growth and migration, which are now at the forefront of the policy debate in the Americas. As a result of significant reforms still underway in economic, development and trade policies, many communities and families that for generations relied on farming are being forced to move from the countryside to vastly overcrowded urban centres. In Mexico alone, an estimated 1,000 new people arrive from the countryside to Mexico City every single day, in search of jobs. Similar trends are underway in the mega-cities of the hemisphere, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and in urban centres. I am reliably informed that this challenge of migration from the rural to the urban is a familiar one to Soria and other important communities in Spain.

As urban areas swell and outward migration expands, many are calling into question the social stability upon which democracy is founded.

Now, the political landscape in the Americas is changing and presents new opportunities, as well as new challenges in relations within and among countries in the Hemisphere. We have seen a spate of elections in 2005 and 2006, during which period almost 55% of the peoples of the Americas have been involved in some sort of electoral process. The OAS has been invited in most of these cases either to provide technical assistance or to observe the elections.

Unfortunately, democracy has not yet brought the expected benefits to a majority of the people in many countries. The reality of 230 million (30%) of the population of the Americas still living in poverty cannot and should not be ignored. The sad truth is that democracy and democratic governance are threatened by the growing gap between rich and poor as well as structural and institutional inefficiencies in society that culminate in enormous and unacceptable levels of poverty, discrimination, inequality, social exclusion and marginalization.

There is therefore a need for socio-economic policies that promote equitable growth and inclusion. We need to increase partnerships to build equity within and among countries. For development without equity is unsustainable and will ultimately undermine democracy and governance. I am sure that you will agree with me that achieving sustained political, economic and social stability is in the strategic interest of all.

Now, stability and development can only be achieved through a process of democratic governance, which needs to be transparent, efficient, effective, inclusive, fair, accountable and credible. And to guarantee stability and development, priority must be given to ensuring security of citizens, creating jobs, generating steady income, providing education and opportunity to all to be part of the process of production and growth.

Sustainable development, then, demands a long-term and strategic perspective on creating growth and distributing wealth in an economy. Realizing sustainable development has to be the responsibility of all. Governments alone cannot be held accountable for balanced growth and progress. Of equal importance, as part of modern governance, is the responsible engagement of civil society, including the private sector, NGOs, trade unions, religious organizations and the media. In short, sustainable development is a collective responsibility. A strategy for sustainable development that does not create ownership at all levels in society, is doomed to fail and become counter-productive.

In the OAS, there is a clear understanding of the critical importance of sustainability. Moreover, it is evident to us all that sustainable development requires a holistic approach, an integral and integrated approach to development that combines governance, economic, cultural, social and environmental issues. Indeed, the interdependence of integral development, democracy and multidimensional security is clearly stated in the OAS Charter. Each is equally important and mutually reinforcing.

The time is therefore ripe for a new paradigm for sustainable development, to advance a hemispheric development agenda that is based on the interdependence of establishing viable democracies and comfortable levels of security, one that takes into account the diversity in size and levels of development in the Americas, one that is based on collective commitment and shared responsibility, one that ultimately is aimed at achieving peace, solidarity and justice.

Now, for those of you in the private sector who are primarily concerned with issues relating to the promotion of trade, investment and business, you will recognise that for your colleagues in the Americas, none of their efforts will bear fruit unless the social, legal and governance conditions exist to foment economic growth and to guarantee sustainability. I should like to remind you, moreover, that trade alone does not create wealth and jobs for all, that recent experience in Latin America and the Caribbean has shown that free market economics cannot work without appropriate social policies, and that a balance has to be struck between economic growth and the distribution of its benefits.

It is precisely for these reasons that the smaller economies of the region are intent on maintaining the importance of the development dimension in their respective trade negotiations, whether in the ambit of the World Trade Organization or the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union. And it will be interesting to see just how this principle is applied in negotiations for future trading arrangements, especially by those intent on achieving a neo-liberal economic model based on unfettered trade liberalisation, with a blinkered belief in the capacity of the market to create wealth, regardless of considerations of equity and far removed from the grinding levels of poverty in the real world.

Permit me, in passing, to pose again the not entirely rhetorical question I asked this morning, in slightly different form: How can we as a global civilisation make so much technological progress on the one hand, and have, on the other, what Nora Lustig, an inequality expert at the United Nations Development Programme, describes as a “brutal intolerance for poverty”?

I firmly believe in the principle “prevention is better than the cure”. Whether in avoiding social and economic problems through sound policies - promoting investment, building equity and so on - or in preventing political crises by early engagement through quiet diplomacy, in my view it pays to be proactive. The challenge for organizations like the OAS is to be able to determine when and where timely engagement is required to guarantee and enhance democratic governance, financial stability, economic prosperity and social cohesion.

I also urge increased financial and technical assistance from the richer countries in the OAS and in Europe to our poorer countries and sub-regions. To be successful in our integration efforts, these countries and sub-regions should be supported, not only by embedding them in trading arrangements that take account of their special and differential needs and their constraints, but also by strengthening their democratic institutions, education systems, institutional capacity, law enforcement agencies and the social environment.

The OAS is a unique political vehicle that brings together 34 member states. Even if the differences among them are at times deep and intense, in most instances, consultation and negotiations usually result in a consensus on collective action.

Already, the OAS is actively engaged in liaising with partners in the inter-American system to create the critical mass for consensus and action on a common policy for hemispheric development, especially in the context of the many mandates emerging from the Summit of the Americas process and the pursuit by countries of the Millennium Development Goals. An integral part of this is the strengthening of cooperation among the institutions of the inter-American system, the OAS, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), as well as promoting relations between the different sub-regions, which culturally, economically and linguistically are different from each other.

The OAS also has important linkages with the European Union, as a collective and with individual States, particularly Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, through social and historical ties. These are more and more important in an increasingly interlinked international community.

Another challenge the OAS membership and leadership will face in the coming period, especially in light of the changing political landscape, is to avoid strained bilateral relations between member states. One of the most important assets of the OAS, if not its most important one, as a multilateral organization, is its convening power in the Hemisphere, as it provides a platform to strengthen unity and collectivity among its member states.

In the OAS, we see an ongoing process of change as countries go through processes of political evolution and economic transformation. We are seeing change, as civil society in many countries feels more empowered to participate actively in public discourse. We are seeing change as long-marginalized groups, including indigenous communities, youth and women, assume more prominent roles, challenge traditional notions of leadership and bring attention to a range of new human development issues.

Clearly, the political agenda of the OAS cannot and should not be divorced from the reality of these changes in attending to the social and economic needs of the peoples of the Americas. Just as the OAS needs to reflect the changing dynamics of hemispheric relations, its political debate needs to reflect a sound understanding of the challenges of development.

There is an undeniable relationship between political stability and democratic governance on the one hand, and our ability on the other hand, to provide opportunities for prosperity, for concrete action to fight poverty, inequality, social exclusion, corruption, illegal drug trafficking, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the impact of natural disasters, and trans-national crime, just to mention some of the problems OAS member states face in their quest for social and economic progress. And if these myriad challenges are daunting enough for the bigger countries of the region, imagine what it must be like for the more vulnerable countries of the Caribbean and Central America.

The OAS, as the premier hemispheric multilateral vehicle to discuss political and economic challenges and opportunities and to reach consensus on collective action, is in an ideal position to institutionalize the development agenda in the political dialogue of its member states. The OAS can and should provide the political weight and momentum for concerted action to address the developmental challenges faced by the countries of our Hemisphere.

In this context, it is essential to have policies and strategies that will ensure that the benefits of sustainable development reach all peoples in all countries in our Hemisphere, especially those small developing states whose social, economic and environmental vulnerability is more pronounced owing to their small size, restricted markets, narrow economic base and/or geographic location.

So, it is in this spirit that I close my remarks by urging you all to join with us to contribute to the new paradigm for development in the Americas, one that is based on the interdependence of building viable economies and establishing comfortable levels of security, which, in my view, are necessary pre-conditions for sustainable development, one that takes into account the diversity in size and levels of development in our Hemisphere, one that is based on collective commitment and shared responsibility, one that ultimately is aimed at achieving peace, solidarity and justice in the Americas.

I believe therefore that the way forward – indeed the only way forward for us – is to work together with renewed purpose and vitality, with a clearer focus and a more deliberate strategy towards lasting stability, equitable growth and sustainable development.

In closing, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to express once again my heartfelt thanks to our gracious hosts, especially Don Amalio and the city of Soria, for their warm hospitality.

Thank you.