Ambassador Rodolfo Gil, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the OAS and Chair of the CISC

Distinguished Ambassadors and Alternate Representatives of the Member States of the OAS

Luis Alberto Rodríguez, Director of the Summits of the Americas Department of the OAS

Civil society representatives:

I would like to welcome you again to the Headquarters of the Organization of American States. I am pleased to see the growing number of civil society organizations in this event, which will add value to the XXXVI General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

The participation of civil society in the framework of the General Assemblies of the OAS is a recent phenomenon. Since the First Summit of the Americas held in 1994 and the positive impact of citizen participation in the Summit on Sustainable Development held in 1996, the Permanent Council decided to broaden civil society participation in hemispheric affairs.

It was clear for the Organization that civil society has much to offer in the creation of a new agenda for the development of the Hemisphere and for that reason they won an important space in the deliberations of our political organizations. We have to recognize that civil society organizations which promoted human rights have opened an avenue for dialogue in the General Assembly, bearing many fruits and positive results not only in the strengthening of the Inter-American Human Rights System but also in envisioning a new future for collaboration and cooperation among member States and NGOs.

Since 1999, with the adoption of the Guidelines for the Participation of Civil Society, the Permanent Council facilitated the presence of nongovernmental organizations in our political bodies, taking into account the spirit of the Summit of Québec, to receive the opinions and points of view of civil society. Today, their involvement is not only welcome, but, also necessary in building a better future for this hemisphere.

In the General Assembly of 2003, we formalized the Dialogue between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General, and representatives of civil society. Later in Quito and Fort Lauderdale, we witnessed the positive impact of citizen participation in our Assemblies. We have experienced an exponential growth in the number of civil society organizations involved in our activities and the number of resolutions adopted by Member States that take into account and specifically request civil society participation.

Examples of this participation are reflected in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the Conference on Hemispheric Security, and the Ministerial Meetings of Labor, Education, Science and Technology, and Culture as well as the Special Summit of the Americas and the preparatory activities of the Fourth Summit of the Americas but also very challenging subject matter, such as that of the recent meetings on human trafficking and public information.

I am encouraged, in the framework of the XXXVI General Assembly, that the Chair of this Committee and the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic, with the support of the Summits of the Americas Department, continues to promote the Roundtable and Special Session of the CISC. The proposal of the central theme of the General Assembly, put forward by the Dominican Republic, is timely because of the positive impact of information and communication technologies in the transparency, accountability, and efficiency of our democracies.

In this sense, I must also recognize Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Open Society Institute, FUNGLODE, the Permanent Mission of the United States, and USAID, for their generous support in carrying out these events.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Americas is a complex Hemisphere of contrasts and many challenges. On the one hand we have enormous wealth and on the other extreme poverty. We have all democratic institutions yet persistent vulnerability. We have an advanced inter-American legal system but numerous conflicts and social problems that threaten the efforts of integration in the region.

The consolidation of our democracy is threatened by the persistence of poverty, unacceptable corruption, organized crime, terrorism, impunity, violations of human rights, and weaknesses in our independent public powers.

The Hemisphere also continues to be affected by serious threats to its security. The trafficking of illicit drugs, the trafficking of arms, violence, crime, natural disasters mean that we have to be very imaginative to design policies that allow us to confront these challenges.

In order to stop moving stop moving from one crisis to another we need to strengthen our democratic institutions, promote the investment of social capital, adopt strategies to increase employment, and guarantee that fundamental rights are respected and promoted.

To achieve the goals of the XXXVI OAS General Assembly, we are going to need the support of the civil society and the private sector, in the process of design and formulation of the hemispheric agenda toward the central theme, Good Governance and Development in the knowledge-Based Society.

I am convinced that the Summits of the Americas Department, the office responsible for the coordination of the participation of civil society in the Organization, has responded to your recommendations and channeled them appropriately. I have the confidence that the Member States of the OAS and civil society will strengthen this mutual contribution. Also I feel strongly that we can make progress in the tasks that we have set forth and which that will guide the Americas on a prosperous path.

Thank you.