OAS
General Assembly
Canadian
Statement to the 29th Annual General Assembly
of the Organization of American States
Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary of State (Latin
America and Africa)
Guatemala, June 7, 1999
As we look
forward to the next century, it is fitting
to begin the last Assembly of this century
in the impressive setting of Antigua --
an example of the rich and diverse cultural
heritage of Central America, and indeed
of the entire hemisphere.
Both the legacy
and lessons of the past loom large in our
efforts to bring the hemisphere into the
future. Now as before, the measure of our
societies’ progress is the extent to
which we advance the welfare and security
of the people making up our societies. This
must be the objective at the heart of our
plans for the hemisphere.
Today, the
security of our people is more central than
ever to the stability of our societies and
to the prosperity of our hemisphere. Indeed,
over the last 12 months -- through natural
disasters, such as hurricanes Mitch and
Georges, which underlines the need for more
effective hemispheric disaster relief, or
through human-caused challenges, such as
the scourge of illicit drugs -- we have
seen that threats to individual well-being
are increasingly at the centre of our concerns
and are redefining the hemispheric security
agenda.
In a world
of increasingly open borders and instantaneous
communications, our lives are joined more
than ever in a common hemispheric destiny.
Moreover, the threats we face as individuals
are increasingly transnational, with the
result that effective responses can be achieved
only through multilateral co-operation rather
than isolation.
All of this,
I believe, necessitates a shift in the focus
of hemispheric relations to include the
human dimension. However, this does not
diminish the importance of state security,
which for so long has been the primary preoccupation
of the regional agenda. Indeed, stable,
democratic and peaceful states working together
are key to human security. National security
and human security are mutually reinforcing.
For this reason,
we strongly welcome this year’s agreement
between Peru and Ecuador resolving their
differences. The agreement can only serve
to improve the security of individual Peruvians
and Ecuadorians. Here in Guatemala, our
hosts have ably demonstrated the importance
of developing viable and representative
political institutions within states. With
continued commitment, their efforts will
contribute to prosperity and security for
all Guatemalans.
At the same
time, it is evident that, while national
stability is important, it is not sufficient
in itself to ensure human security. And
in a changing regional environment, human
security is the indispensable foundation
for national, regional and hemispheric stability.
A year ago
at the Second Summit of the Americas in
Santiago, Chile, our Leaders recognized
these new realities. Building on the foundations
of the 1994 Miami Summit, they developed
an ambitious hemispheric agenda, which aims
to improve the lives of individuals for
the benefit of all countries and all people
in the hemisphere. To implement the agenda,
an unprecedented process of economic and
social integration is under way.
It is in this
context that I strongly welcome the focus
of this year’s OAS Assembly on themes
that move forward the goals set out at Santiago.
These themes relate directly to advancing
the security of people. They include dealing
with the threats posed by illicit drugs,
renewing the inter-American system to fully
protect the interests and rights of the
region’s people, and exploring the
very pertinent topic raised by our host,
Foreign Minister Stein, in his paper on
the impact of international economic crises
on the hemispheric agenda.
Last year,
Minister Axworthy outlined how, in many
respects, human security was becoming the
leitmotif of hemispheric co-operation. This
year I am encouraged to note how the hemisphere
is providing a model for a human security
approach to foreign policy and global relations.
This is evident in the issues we are addressing,
including disarmament, illicit drugs; it
can be seen in the innovative methods and
partnerships we are developing with civil
society and between parliamentarians; and
it underlies the institutional framework
we are building, with a renewed OAS at its
centre.
Our hemisphere’s
continued and robust commitment to the elimination
of anti-personnel mines [APMs] signals a
willingness to pursue a new human-centred
approach to regional disarmament issues.
Thirty-three of our region’s countries
have signed the Ottawa Convention banning
APMs; 24 have now ratified it. I would encourage
all signatories to work toward ratifying
the Convention. This is one of Canada’s
goals for next year’s General Assembly.
In January,
Minister Axworthy had the privilege to co-host
a regional landmines conference in Mexico
with his colleague, Mexican Foreign Minister
Green, and with the assistance of the OAS.
This gathering and the conference this spring
in Nicaragua were aimed at maintaining the
momentum of demining efforts in the region.
The challenges
remain considerable. The demining provisions
of the peace agreement between Peru and
Ecuador now offer the prospect of eliminating
a serious and direct threat to the basic
security of people on both sides of the
border. But resources are needed. I am encouraged
by the creation of a voluntary fund under
the OAS’s Unit for the Promotion of
Democracy. Canada proposed the fund and
we have contributed to it.
In the meantime,
demining also continues in Central America,
despite the setback caused by Hurricane
Mitch. And here in Guatemala, we will renew
our commitment to regional efforts with
the adoption of a resolution on demining
in Central America, and another resolution
declaring the Western Hemisphere to be an
APM-free zone.
The hemisphere
continues to set the standard for disarmament
efforts in other areas, including illicit
arms trafficking and the abuse of small
arms and light military weapons. These problems
pose a devastating threat to the security
of civilians in the Americas.
Building on
the Inter-American Convention Against the
Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking
in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and
Other Related Material, the Inter-American
Convention on Transparency in Conventional
Arms Acquisitions opens for signature at
this General Assembly. This instrument will
enhance the provisions of the UN Conventional
Arms Register, ensuring that they are relevant
to the interests of the region. I am pleased
that Canada will be signing this Convention
here in Guatemala.
The OAS Committee
on Hemispheric Security is broadening the
scope of its activities to consider these
and other human security concerns, and it
should continue to play an active role in
advancing them.
The illicit
drug trade poses another major challenge
for the governments and peoples of the hemisphere.
In many ways it is a quintessential human
security problem: it is multi-faceted and
transnational, threatens all of us and affects
the most vulnerable in our societies the
most severely.
Much is already
being done. National drug strategies are
in place, including efforts to reduce demand
through educational and health programs,
to reduce supplies through eradication or
alternative development, and to control
trafficking through interdiction, law enforcement
or measures to counter money laundering.
The Hemispheric Anti-Drug Strategy, the
Santiago Plan of Action, and the UN General
Assembly Special Session on the World Drug
Problem provide a multilateral framework
for action.
At the OAS,
the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission
[CICAD] is the principal vehicle for anti-drug
activities in the hemisphere. A priority
is the Inter-Governmental Working Group’s
development and early implementation, through
CICAD, of the multilateral evaluation mechanism
to monitor the progress of our individual
and collective efforts in dealing with the
drug problem. We are encouraged by the progress
being achieved in turning this idea into
reality.
Still, the
illicit drug trade is inflicting deep, immeasurable
harm to human security in the hemisphere.
It threatens our wider objectives of hemispheric
integration, the consolidation of democracy
and the promotion of human rights.
It was in
recognition of these challenges that at
Santiago, Canada proposed to convene a Foreign
Ministers’ Dialogue on Drugs in the
Americas. The purpose was to examine the
drug problem from a human security perspective,
considering the wider implications for countries.
Building on existing mechanisms and agreements,
ministers can provide political support
or guidance where it is required.
I am encouraged
by the positive response from foreign ministers
to this initiative. The fact that we will
devote one session of this Assembly to the
issue attests to the importance we all attach
to confronting the problem. I look forward
to our discussion.
Where societies
work constructively to respect the rights
and meet the legitimate needs and interests
of all their citizens and to fully include
everyone in political, economic and social
life, human security is enhanced.
That is why
I welcome the recent completion of the Inter-American
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms
of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities.
My government will be meeting with provincial
officials to engage in in-depth discussions
on the Convention.
Promoting
gender equality is an essential element
in advancing social equity. Sustainable
and equitable development will be achieved
only if women are able to participate as
equal partners and decision makers in our
societies. For this reason, Canada strongly
supports efforts to co-ordinate the work
of a strengthened Inter-American Commission
of Women with that of other OAS entities,
favours the proposal to hold a meeting next
year of the hemisphere’s ministers
responsible for the status of women, and
endorses the hiring of women to staff high-level
executive positions at the OAS.
For Canadians,
advancing Indigenous concerns took on an
especially high and positive profile this
year. Two months ago, we celebrated the
creation of the vast northern territory
of Nunavut, which covers one fifth of Canada’s
territory. Nunavut’s residents -- over
85 percent of them being Inuit -- took
charge of their education, health and social
services, among other responsibilities.
The Territory’s government enables
the Inuit to guide their own lives while
assuming their rightful place within Canada.
There are
equally hopeful prospects for promoting
Indigenous issues in the inter-American
environment. There has been encouraging
progress in negotiating the American Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Populations.
This year’s resolution authorizing
the full and effective participation of
Indigenous peoples is a very important step
forward. Another welcome initiative is the
suggestion to explore a renewed role and
mandate for the Inter-American Indian Institute.
Greater engagement
and increased partnerships between the hemisphere’s
Indigenous peoples and regional and international
financial institutions is leading to more
effective and productive development projects.
Similarly, increased Indigenous-to-Indigenous
contacts, such as Canada’s Aboriginal
trade mission to Mexico last month, reflects
the value of Indigenous capacity building
and underlines the need and potential to
increase participation by Indigenous peoples
in mainstream economic activity. All of
these trends need to be encouraged.
Social equity
goes hand in hand with vibrant, representative
democracies and responsive institutions.
The activities of the OAS’s Unit for
the Promotion of Democracy have assisted
others in the region to strengthen and reform
democratic institutions. So have bilateral
efforts, such as Canada’s peacebuilding
initiative, which has been active in helping
Guatemala implement its peace accords.
Disarmament
and illicit drugs are among the key issues
in advancing human security in the hemisphere
while preventing social development further
enhances human security. In moving human
security forward, however, developing the
means is just as important as defining the
issues. Achievement of our human security
objectives will require the engagement of
civil society, forging links between parliamentarians,
and the creation of a network of regional
standards to protect the individual.
In a world
where global or regional action is no longer
the exclusive domain of governments, constructive
and innovative partnerships with civil society
are an effective way to pursue issues. This
was the case with the campaign to ban anti-personnel
mines and efforts to create the International
Criminal Court. In different ways, civil
society made an important contribution to
both.
At Santiago,
Leaders recognized the positive role that
non-state actors can play, and they endorsed
greater dialogue between governments and
civil society in advancing the hemispheric
agenda. Canadians take this commitment seriously.
As we prepare for the next Summit of the
Americas in 2001 in Quebec City, my government
is working to establish a process for wide
public consultations aimed at giving civil
society a voice.
This process
is equally crucial at multilateral forums.
For that reason, the resolution to be adopted
here, prepared by Canada and others, establishes
a Committee of the Permanent Council on
the Participation of Civil Society -- a
very welcome first step. Further work is
needed to determine guidelines for this
committee, the details of accreditation
of civil society organizations and the scope
of participation. Canada supports the most
open collaboration with civil society within
the work of the Organization.
Member states
will, by adopting the resolution at this
assembly, recognize the utility of involving
civil society in the full range of our discussions
at the OAS. I am confident that the Secretariat
will expeditiously implement the mechanism
to be agreed to in this year’s resolution.
The result will be that at our next General
Assembly, for the first time, we will approve
resolutions that are the products of consultations
with civil society.
We have already
seen how productive co-operation between
governments and civil society can be. The
UN/OAS Civilian Mission in Haiti, in existence
for most of this decade, is long-standing
proof. There is broad consensus that the
international community -- particularly
in this hemisphere -- should continue to
accompany the people of Haiti with new elections
later this year.
Dialogue between
the elected representatives of our people
is another important way to enhance hemispheric
co-operation and help create stable, democratic
institutions that promote human security.
Indeed, parliamentary exchange has been
on the hemispheric agenda since the Miami
Summit.
That is why
Canada has advocated examining the creation
of a Parliamentary Network of the Americas,
to be associated with the OAS. Last year
at Caracas, we agreed to establish a voluntary
fund dedicated to supporting this dialogue
with the assistance of the OAS Secretariat.
I am pleased that, during this Assembly,
we will adopt a resolution supporting a
meeting early next year of the chairs of
the foreign relations committees of our
legislatures, to discuss the structure and
scope of a future network. I strongly encourage
others to support this OAS-based parliamentary
forum.
Human security
depends on the creation of a global network
of norms of behaviour that focus on reducing
the vulnerability of the individual -- especially
the most disadvantaged -- while ensuring
that violators are held accountable. The
creation of the International Criminal Court,
the Ottawa Convention, efforts to develop
international legal instruments relating
to children in conflict -- all these are
not discrete and unrelated but rather part
of a larger effort.
The OAS has
been in the forefront of regional initiatives
that complement global initiatives. I am
encouraged by the recent success of the
OAS in completing an impressive battery
of inter-American legal instruments that
promote human security, and gaining acceptance
of them. In addition to the Convention on
the Disabled, which I have already mentioned,
I welcome the conclusion in time for this
Assembly of the Inter-American Convention
Against Corruption, which Canada will sign.
We also need
to ensure that the provisions of these agreements
are properly and effectively followed through.
In this regard, we need to review the operations
of existing mechanisms -- for example, the
inter-American human rights system. The
heavy workload of the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights makes delivering timely
and well-considered findings increasingly
difficult.
Ensuring that
it has sufficient resources to do its work
is only one element. The fact that the current
Chairman of the Commission, Professor Robert
Goldman, will address this Assembly is an
indication of the progressive path to which
the Commission is committed. Canada will
work with the Commission in improving its
operations. I am certain that the new commissioners
will ensure a strong and vital human rights
system as we move into the new millennium.
We regret
the denunciation of human rights instruments.
Acts of denunciation, regardless of the
events that would seem to justify them,
bring into question the state’s commitment
to the tenets of human rights embodied in
the instrument.
A dynamic,
renewed and flexible OAS is central to all
efforts to promote human security and to
advancing the hemispheric agenda. As the
number of tasks incumbent on the OAS increases,
we must ensure that it has both the capacity
and the means to function effectively.
With new mandates
increasingly flowing from the Summit of
the Americas process, we must seriously
explore how to institutionalize the Summit
process within the OAS. Such a move would
help draw a clearer line between the decisions
taken by our leaders and the mandates such
decisions hand to the OAS.
The decision
last year to create the Joint Working Group
on the Strengthening and Modernization of
the OAS is another useful development in
adapting the Organization to a changing
regional context. The Group’s first
recommendation, the proposed Inter-American
Agency for Co-operation for Development,
would improve management of the OAS’s
technical co-operation programming. While
this is a welcome proposal, successful operation
of the Agency will require significant and
sustained effort on the part of all member
states.
One well-recognized
difficulty constraining all bodies and specialized
agencies of the OAS is the deep financial
crisis facing the Organization. Core programs
are being left unfunded. The implementation
of the spate of new mandates flowing from
the Summit is even more precarious. The
first indispensable step is resolution of
the arrears problem. States that are behind
in payments to the Organization and that
have not yet done so should establish payment
plans and comply with them. We cannot demand
ever more of the Organization and at the
same time starve it of the resources it
needs to do its job.
Settling past
and current debts is important, but it is
no panacea for the financial crisis faced
by an overburdened organization. Secretary
General Gaviria has made efforts to cut
costs and rationalize operations, for which
we commend him. As he embarks on his second
mandate, we should give him the support,
tools and collective goodwill he needs to
guide us and the Organization into the next
century.
This General
Assembly is important to Canada, given the
impetus and direction it provides as we
prepare to host the hemisphere over the
next two years. Next month at the Pan Am
Games in Winnipeg, Canadians will welcome
athletes from throughout the hemisphere.
This will be followed by the Conference
of Spouses of Heads of State and Government
of the Americas this September in Ottawa,
the Americas Business Forum and FTAA [Free
Trade Area of the Americas] Trade Ministerial
Meeting in November in Toronto, and the
next OAS General Assembly in Windsor on
Canada’s 10th anniversary as an OAS
member. The culmination will be the Quebec
City Summit of the Americas in 2001.
We have had
a busy hemispheric calendar over the past
two years because we have recognized that
closer co-operation serves all our interests.
We share a desire to take advantage of new
opportunities and promote common values,
and we are united in our commitment to defend
democracy, promote the rule of law, advance
human rights and accelerate economic integration.
There has been encouraging progress in all
these areas. Yet this only makes more evident
the ground we still need to cover.
Our ultimate
goal is the welfare and security of all
our peoples. Mindful of that goal, I am
confident that the events Canada will host
over the next two years will move us closer
to our vision of a shared, stable, prosperous
and peaceful hemisphere.
Thank you.
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