Remarks to the OAS Permanent Council

Mr. Chair, distinguished members of the Council, Permanent Observers, Mr. Assistant Secretary General, OAS staff, friends:

Much has changed at the OAS since I had the honor of serving as Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States a dozen years ago. My staff has advised me, for example, that flowery speeches are “out” and brevity is “in” now at the Permanent Council. Now that’s a change that I, for one, like very much. Friends, I will be brief.

Mr. Chair, as a diplomat who has dedicated virtually his entire professional career to the Western Hemisphere, and as an individual with many long-lasting personal friendships in the region, I am enthusiastically devoted to the Organization of American States and the ideals it represents, and advocates and defends.

Multilateral diplomacy works at the OAS because the entire Western Hemisphere -- with Cuba’s lonely tyrant the only exception -- has embraced democracy as the sine qua non of social, political, and economic development, a right of all the peoples, which governments must promote and defend -- always and everywhere.

With the advent of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, no OAS member state can be a disinterested spectator to what occurs in our Hemisphere. Any actions that undermine democratic order or that threaten the security and well being of the region are of legitimate concern to all. As an organization and individually, we will not let our neighbors down.

The Democratic Charter has been formally invoked and implemented in Venezuela, and continues to be tested. What is important now is that the international community, led by the OAS, ensure that the agreement facilitated by the Secretary General is implemented, and that resolution 833, which calls for a “ peaceful, democratic, constitutional, and electoral solution,” is fully carried out in good faith by all sides -- by the elected government, by Venezuela’s political institutions, and by all elements of the opposition.

In Haiti, with the Democratic Charter as guide, the OAS adopted Resolution 822, which establishes a clear course of action for the Government of Haiti and the opposition. Compliance with Resolution 822 and the presence of the OAS Special Mission there remain the best hope for breaking the political impasse and establishing a climate conducive to free and fair elections.

The terrible events of September 11, 2001 led to dramatic and effective steps by the OAS to coordinate a regional response to fight terrorism in the Hemisphere. The OAS invigorated the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism, and then member states negotiated in record time the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism.

The Democratic Charter and response to terrorism underscore the ability of the OAS to convert Hemispheric consensus into concrete steps, such as fighting corruption through the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption and combating drug abuse and narcotics trafficking through the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and its Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism.

The list of recent OAS initiatives to advance the Summit of the Americas mandates is long and impressive. The recently created Secretariat for the Summit Process is an important symbol of OAS commitment to ensuring that these Summit meetings have follow-through. The Inter-American Council for Integral Development works in areas ranging from education, and scholarships and training to sustainable development and science and technology, and implements regional programs in partnership with numerous public and private institutions of the Hemisphere. In particular, we need to look for better ways to address the development needs of the smaller and more vulnerable member states, particularly in the Caribbean.

Other areas of the OAS and its specialized organizations are addressing conflict resolution; the rights of women, children and the indigenous; trafficking in persons; agricultural development; and confidence and security-building measures to lower tensions among and within the member states, to name but a few.

The United States is committed to a successful outcome of the Special Conference on Hemispheric Security. Our common Hemispheric security rests on the pillars of democracy, prosperity and peace. Our task is to define our Hemisphere’s common vision of regional security in the 21^st century. This will require continued support for existing mechanisms and institutions, including our own OAS Charter and the Rio Treaty.

Mr. Chair, the Organization of American States has never been more relevant in addressing key hemispheric concerns than it is today. Yet, the OAS has just begun to realize its potential in meeting its mandates, and there are new challenges, which will require new political will of the member states. These include:

• Applying the Inter-American Democratic Charter to the entire Hemisphere, leaving no country out -- and one day the Democratic Charter will serve as a blueprint for a new, democratic Cuba, where human rights and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed;
• Enhancing those OAS elements that deal with strengthening democracy so member states may make the institutional changes that are needed to permit upward social mobility based on equality of opportunity;
• Strengthening national institutions in each country to complement the march toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas, which is the key to jobs, and growth, and fighting poverty effectively;
• Following through in ways that realistically address the post 9/11 security threats from transnational organized crime and international and home-grown terrorists;
• Helping countries deal effectively with burgeoning domestic crime rates at a time of high citizen insecurity in both urban and rural areas; and
• Implementing the new growth by investing in people and governance mandates that we hope will emerge from the upcoming Special Summit of the Americas.

Over the last 12 years the Hemisphere, and indeed the OAS, have made enormous progress, but we have not, however, managed to erase the legacy of decades of poverty, corruption, and, even, wrong-headed policies.

Mr. Chair, today the Hemisphere is troubled, and we all know it. Many of the region’s elected leaders are grappling with persistent political, economic, and social problems. Economies in the region are not growing fast enough to generate sufficient jobs for growing populations, let alone deal with extreme poverty.

Corruption and inefficiency have stunted development and spawned popular discontent and, sometimes, violence, which new and relatively weak institutions of democratic government are hard-pressed to control.

Surmounting these challenges requires leadership and political will on the part of individual hemispheric leaders. The OAS provides significant value-added and can play an important catalytic role in these efforts. The United States stands ready to work side by side with our partners in the region, and with and through the OAS, to overcome these challenges.

We can do this by following through on our commitments to make democratic government more credible and effective. We must continue to advocate policies that have a proven record of success, such as free market reform, liberalized trade, respect for the rule of law, the right to property, and sound macroeconomic principles.

The OAS and the specialized organizations of the inter-American system must help governments invest in their people, so that people from all walks of life have the tools -- such as education and basic healthcare and the opportunity to get jobs -- to claim their fair share of economic opportunity, improve their own quality of life, and contribute to the common good.

President Bush’s commitment to the Hemisphere flows from his vision for the Western Hemisphere -- “a partnership of strong and equal and prosperous countries, living and trading in freedom.” Working closely with and through the Hemisphere’s multilateral institutions, such as the OAS, the Inter-American Development Bank, PAHO and the Summit process, is a key tenet of this Administration’s foreign policy.

But my President would be the first to underscore the amount of additional work, and sacrifice and change that all of us must bring to our Hemispheric agenda and institutions, if we are to live up to the promise of the OAS Charter, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the Monterrey Consensus, and the Action Plans of the several Summits.

The path ahead is clear. We must, collectively and individually, summon the political will and commit the leadership necessary to make tough decisions if we are to move ahead.

In closing, I’d like to recall the comments Secretary Powell made just last week at my swearing in. He said: “Clearly the OAS is our home. We feel comfortable here -- dealing as equal partners with our friends who share our commitment to freedom, democracy, individual liberties, and opportunities for all.” It’s good to be home. Thank you, Mr. Chair.