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Summary of U.S. Government Initiatives and Actions in Compliance with the Mandates of the 1998 Summit of the Americas
Fact Sheet released by the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs,
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Below are actions taken by the U.S. Government in compliance with and support of the mandates of the 1998 Summit of the Americas. In cases where a single agency or group has taken the action, that agency or group is identified. Some of the actions are completed; some are ongoing.
Civil Society
- Worked closely with Organization of American States (OAS) member countries in drafting and implementing guidelines for the accreditation and participation of civil society organizations in meetings and activities.
- Supports Corporacion PARTICIPA, a Chilean civil society organization, and the North-South Center, in their efforts to assist in the gathering of input into the Summit of the Americas process and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA.)
- Worked with OAS member governments and civil society organizations to adopt and implement the Inter-American Strategy for Public Participation and Sustainable Development Decision-Making (ISP). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting the strategy development component of ISP.
- Supports the Civil Society Task Force.
- Engages U.S. civil society in the design and implementation of technical cooperation programs.
Cooperation
- Established a bilateral partnership with Chile to promote closer relations between national, regional, and local entities involved in international development.
Confidence and Security Among States
Transparency
- Presented to the OAS a fifth report on steps taken to implement the 1998 Santiago Plan of Action and the San Salvador Declaration.
- Released "The United States Security Strategy for the Americas" at the Fourth Defense Ministerialin the Western Hemisphere.
- Signed the Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions.
- Aims to end all anti-personnel landmines (APL) use (except mixed anti-tank systems) outside of Korea by 2003.
- Continues to contribute to the goal of a Western Hemisphere free of APL. Annually, the U.S. Government has reported on its activities in compliance with OAS General Assembly Resolutions 1411 (XXVI-0/96), 1496 (XXVII-0/97) and 1569 (XXVIII-0/98).
- Addressed the landmine problem by strongly contributing to OAS humanitarian de-mining programs and assisting in building awareness of landmine prevention procedures.
- Works to further strengthen the Convention on Conventional Weapons Amended Mines Protocol.
- Works to increase international coordination, raise funds, and publicize and accelerate efforts to remove all anti-personnel landmines that threaten civilians by the end of this decade through the Demining 2010 Initiative.
Corruption
- Hosted the 1999 Global Forum on Corruption.
- Ratified the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption in September 2000.
- Worked with other OAS member states to design a follow-up mechanism that will monitor implementation of the Convention.
- Supported an OAS project to assist nations to ratify the Convention and to draft implementing legislation.
- Supported training for investigative journalists through the OAS Office of Legal Affairs.
- Funded counternarcotics, police training, and administration of justice improvement programs.
- Supported a regional anti-corruption program called America's Accountability and Anti-Corruption Project (AAA).
Democracy and Human Rights
The Inter-American Human Rights System
- Made financial contributions to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Special Rapporteur for the Freedom of Expression.
- Supported the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH).
- Provided, through the OAS, $500,000 to support the institutional development of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress and the work of its three centers.
- Supported the Inter-American Commission on Women to conduct a study on the status of the implementation of the Belem do Para Convention (Elimination of Violence against Women).
- USAID has helped establish 11 alternative dispute resolution centers in countries throughout the region.
- Launched the Community of Democracies Initiative in 1999 in partnership with Chile and five other governments.
- Provided an additional $5 million in fiscal year 1999 and fiscal year 2000 to support OAS' Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) activities.
- Sponsored a seminar on "Conflict Analysis and Management Tools for Strengthening Democratic Systems."
- Provided training to 105 Latin American NGOs, municipalities, and universities on programs to increase citizen participation and democratic values.
- Supports efforts through the Community of Democracies Initiative to exchange best practices and build regional organizations' capabilities to assist democratic governments in crisis and promote institution strengthening.
- Maintained training programs for law enforcement personnel in various countries of the hemisphere.
- Helped various countries in the region revamp their law enforcement training curricula to include "human dignity training" through the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP).
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has hosted more than 126 hate-crime-training conferences across the country.
- The FBI Academy has increased its ethics instruction for new agents.
Actions to Fight Discrimination
- Allocated nearly $275 million to institutional development and policy reform projects that specifically incorporate women's interests or needs.
- Congress appropriated a 6% increase in funding for federal civil rights enforcement, and a 19% increase for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice for fiscal year 2000.
- Assisting 6.2 million children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
- Signed the Work Incentives Improvement Act in December 1999 allowing disabled individuals to remain or return to the work force without losing federal health benefits.
- Hosted the first White House Conference on Economic Development in Indian country in August 1998.
- Signed the 1998 Presidential Directive on the Steps to Combat Violence Against Women and Trafficking in Women and Girls and called trafficking a "fundamental human rights violation."
- Funded a pilot project to provide medical services, emergency shelter, and referrals for medical care to victims of trafficking in the Los Angeles area.
- Created a Department of Justice Working Group to address trafficking.
- Created a Worker Exploitation Task Force to investigate and prosecute domestic trafficking cases.
- Provided grants to States to improve the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of child abusers and to increase public awareness of the problem through the Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act of March 10, 2000.
- Over 53 federal programs or initiatives fulfill or go beyond the mandates of the 1998 Santiago Plan of Action.
- Agreed with Brazil to cooperate in five education topics, including a new teacher exchange program and a prototype for an electronic clearinghouse on educational technology.
- Negotiated a bilateral agreement with Mexico on special education, post-secondary education, and education for migrant children at risk.
- The United States-Chile Development Scholarship Program supports the development of human resources in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Actively participated in the "Indicators of the Americas" project by working closely with governments, providing over $450,000 in financial assistance, and hosting planning meetings.
- Worked with Hemispheric partners to implement the commitments of the implementation plan agreed in Brasilia in July 1998.
- Participated in several of the OAS projects on education, including "Strengthening Educational Management."
- Invested approximately $10,000 in the development of a paper describing innovative U.S. practices in education management.
- Serves as co-coordinator of the Hemispheric Energy Initiative.
- Hosted the Fourth Western Hemisphere Energy Ministerial in New Orleans in 1999.
- Organized a discussion on key energy issues with government and business representatives in July 1999, in conjunction with the ministerial.
- The Department of Energy (DOE) and the International Development Bank (IDB) established the Hemispheric Sustainable Energy Fund in December 2000 in the amount of $1.25 million as part of the partnership to help clean energy projects in the region to access financing.
- USAID pledged $120 million in assistance to micro-enterprises between 1998-2000.
- Assisted micro-financed institutions move toward financial self-sufficiency
- Assisted in the creation and regulation of several institutions in the region.
- Actively participates in the FTAA negotiating process.
- Served as Chair of the Negotiating Group on Government Procurement for the 18 months from the Santiago Summit through the Toronto Ministerial.
- Served as Chair of the Negotiating Group on Services since November 1999.
- Ensures civil society input as it develops official contributions and interventions during the FTAA negotiations.
- Instituted the practice of the FTAA Negotiating Groups and other entities providing public summaries of each of their meetings and copies of their agendas to the public through the FTAA public website.
- Helped to increase the amount of information regarding the business facilitation process and helped to expand the content of the FTAA public website.
- Supports an Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund project to provide assistance toward full implementation of the customs-related business facilitation measures agreed at the Toronto Ministerial.
- Created a temporary administrative support structure for the FTAA process, establishing an Administrative Secretariat in Miami and laying the foundations for its move to Panama City in March 2001.
Education
- Maintained outreach efforts to Indian country by participating in the annual conferences of the National Indian Education Association, the National Congress of American Indians, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the National Indian School Boards Association.
- The Department of Education visits and provides technical assistance to over 300 Indian education projects throughout the nation.
- Continues to promote vocational and cultural preservation programs.
- The Family and Child Education Program (FACE) serves 1,500 families in providing family literacy services and support for parents.
- Created the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)/Colorado State University program for the education and professional development of Indian students in natural resource fields.
- The National Park Service continues to provide education and training in National Parks to American Indian students and teachers.
- Distributed printed and video training materials focusing on the federal Indian trust responsibility and the government-to-government relationship.
- The U.S. Geological Survey continues to sponsor and conduct Indian education programs.
- The Bureau of Indian Affairs has provided specialized technical training to Indian youth and tribal program managers.
- The Bureau of Reclamation provides training opportunities at Central Washington and Arizona State Universities and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute.
- Conducted the 10th Annual Providers Conference in November 2000, a forum for information sharing about federal programs for Alaska tribes.
- The Department of Agriculture is sponsoring an Indian country integrated resource/land use planning conference.
- The Department of the Interior (DOI) continues to administer the "Jobs in the Woods" program providing tribal people formerly employed in the timber industry with alternative employment and job training.
- Expanded the tribal Self-Governance Program to more than 206 tribal governments through annual funding agreements.
- DOI's Indian Affairs line officers continue pursuing efforts to improve information sharing on key national issues affecting Indian country.
- Signed Executive Order No. 13084 requiring federal agencies to adopt detailed policies for communicating with tribal governments on matters that significantly or uniquely affect their communities.
- DOI and the Department of Commerce issued Secretarial Order No. 3206 ordering both agencies to work directly with Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis.
- Provided geotechnical assistance on Indian Mineral Development agreements for more than 20 tribes.
- Assisted tribal wetland rehabilitation in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
- Continues to convene the interdepartmental Working Group on American Indians and Alaska Natives within the White House Domestic Policy Council to ensure fulfillment of treaty and statutory obligations and address various issues of concern.
- Initiated various programs to reduce alcohol and substance abuse in Indian country.
- The Department of Labor (DOL) plans to invest a total of $10 million in the hemisphere to help strengthen social safety nets and, through the International Labor Organization (ILO), provide technical assistance and training.
- DOL serves as the donor for a project that provides governments with policy tools to mitigate the adverse impacts of globalization and technological change on the labor market while protecting the basic rights of workers as reflected in the ILO Declaration.
- Conducting a Labor Exchange Project in the Anglophone Caribbean and Suriname.
- Funded projects that allowed some 120,000 children in the hemisphere to attend school instead of work.
- Hosted an international seminar on the "Human Rights of Migrants" for members of the Regional Conference on Migration and NGOs in April 1998.
- The Department of State briefed and hosted a quarterly session of the informal Interagency Committee on Migrants in January and April 1999, to ensure greater recognition among federal agencies and NGOs about the Migrant Worker Initiative.
- Completed and submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) a detailed U.S. Government interagency response to the questionnaire on migrant workers.
- Conducted field trips to Pennsylvania, New York, California, Washington State, and Maryland from June to August 1999, to brief state governments and local groups on the Migrant Worker Initiative and gather information on implementation.
- Organized and hosted a workshop for 40 U.S. experts at the University of California in April 2000, to identify "best practices" that have helped to further implementation of the Migrant Worker Initiative in the U.S.
- Organized and co-hosted a "best-practices" workshop for 30 international experts at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) headquarters in Santiago, Chile in June 2000.
- Organized and helped finance a hemisphere-wide symposium held in September 2000 on "International Migration in the Americas."
- Created and funded the Inter-Summit Property Systems Initiative (IPSI).
- USAID extended its longstanding relationship with the Peruvian Institute for Liberty and Democracy with a Cooperative Agreement allocating $4.8 million to increase understanding of the need to formalize the property rights of persons in the informal sector.
- Funded and participated actively in several policy dialogue events including:
- A high-level conference on property registry reform in Central America in March 1999.
- A "Civil Society Discovery and Dialogue" workshop series held in Washington, DC from September 1999 to March 2000.
- A workshop on property registry reform in Central America in October 1999.
- A workshop on capacity-building for quality and sustainability in land administration services in November 2000.
- Awarded a small grant to the University of Florida in February 2000, to develop and test an internet-based training course in contemporary land administration.
- Began planning a "sharing best practices" project in Central America for indigenous communities.
- USAID and the World Bank organized a "best-practices" activity in July 2000.
- Supported the creation of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas and has approved $1 million in seed funding.
- USAID supports 14 programs to promote the modernization of justice throughout the region including supporting the development and training of public defenders and prosecutors, the professionalization of the judiciary, and the use of oral trial procedures.
- Participated in two hemisphere-wide meetings of the Ministers of Justice: Lima, Peru in 1999 and Costa Rica in 2000.
Increasing Citizen Participation
- Assisted with the implementation of the Popular Participation Law in Bolivia.
- Introduced participatory planning in 17 small- and medium-sized municipalities in Paraguay.
- Partnered several Mexican municipalities with cities in the U.S. to transfer skills and know-how as concerns enhancing citizen participation.
- Worked with various regional institutions to promote citizen participation in local governments.
- Supported a conference entitled "Local Strategies to Access Financial Markets: Lessons and Opportunities for Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe" in October 1998.
- Approved the start-up of a regional dialogue involving the financial community, the regulatory authorities, and national and municipal governments in Central America.
- USAID is implementing training programs for local governments in the hemisphere.
- USAID is engaged in numerous studies in this area, mainly through the work of its various missions throughout Latin America.
- Participated and helped finance the International Forum for Cooperation on Local Government in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Actively participate and support the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL). U.S. Government efforts are reflected in CITEL's "Report on Activities to Follow-up on the Summit of the Americas."
- Hosted the Western Hemisphere Transportation Ministerial in New Orleans, Louisiana in December 16-18, 1998.
- Actively participated in the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative, where the U.S. led an initiative to exchange information on transportation safety practices in the hemisphere.
- Additional progress is reflected in the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative Progress Report of October 13, 2000.
Economic
- Advocated and expanded microcredit loans to women.
- On March 8, 1999, the Department of Commerce announced the Women in International Trade Initiative, which will reach out to the 8.5 million women-owned firms in the U.S.
- Supported a women's business development mission to MERCOSUR (Common Market of the South).
- The U.S. Embassy in Argentina is supporting the "Trade Unions Working for Women: Global Integration" initiative.
- USAID co-sponsored a major international conference entitled "Educating Girls: A Development Imperative," in May 1998.
- Sponsored the Vital Voices of the Americas conference, held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from October 1 to 3, 1998.
- Sponsored four Vital Voices political workshops in Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, and Trinidad and Tobago in 1999.
- Sponsored a Caribbean Vital Voices conference from September 29 to October 1, 1999 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
- USAID sponsors a variety of activities to address and improve girls' participation and performance in school.
- Initiated a legal literacy and worker rights program for women migrant farm workers.
- The Department of Justice funded the development of an interactive website to educate medical professionals on how to recognize and treat domestic violence.
- The U.S. budget has recommended increased support for reproductive health care every year to support clinics providing reproductive health services and clinical care to more than 5 million low-income women.
- Sponsored a nationwide "Women's Customer Service Day" on March 20, 1999.
- Established the national Worker Exploitation Task Force (WETF) in 1998.
- The Department of Labor's Women's Bureau will promote partnership initiatives with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and State and local governments to improve working women's ability to balance work and family.
- Signed the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights..
- The President's Interagency Council on Women (PICW) established an interagency working group to review and implement measures to combat trafficking in women in the areas of prevention, protection, and prosecution of traffickers.
- The Department of Justice (DOJ) sponsored eight regional teleconferences for federal prosecutors on emerging issues in Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1998.
- DOJ's S*T*O*P (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Violence Against Women program, promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to improving the criminal justice system's response to violence against women.
- USAID sponsored training conferences on sex-crime analysis and prosecution in May and July 1999.
- Signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in October 2000, which institutionalizes mechanisms to combat trafficking in persons.
- The Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is supporting a project under the auspices of Harvard University to develop a comprehensive database on U.S. and international legislation regarding commercial sexual exploitation.
- Funded the development of a comprehensive database on U.S. and international legislation protecting women and children from commercial sexual abuse.
- Launched a Women's Labor Rights Project in Costa Rica to educate and promote rights of women workers.
Environment
- The U.S. Government supports environmental activities in Latin America and the Caribbean through many programs.
- Regional offices for environmental activities have been established at U.S. embassies in Costa Rica and Brazil.
- USAID invests $60-$65 million per year to support environmental activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Peace Corps Volunteers work on environmental projects in 10 countries.
- The National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA, National Science Foundation, and Smithsonian Institution are among the many agencies of the U.S. Government working with government agencies and research institutions throughout the hemisphere.
- Foundations to support local environmental NGO activities have been established in eight countries under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative.
- Emerging and Infectious Diseases
- U.S. programs for health and education include USAID's "child survival emphasis" in 8 countries, Peace Corps activities, and the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) initiative.
- The U.S. Government supports the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) vaccination program and activities to improve the control of tuberculosis and to prevent the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance.
- Continuing Hurricane Mitch Recovery programs support efforts to prevent and control malaria and dengue fever.
- Environmental Health
- Supports programs to improve community water resources and sanitation throughout the hemisphere.
- U.S. Government programs support sustainable agricultural development throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Areas of special attention include watershed protection and management, improved forest management practices, and protected areas management programs.
- USAID provides approximately $30 million annually to promote agricultural development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- The Tropical Forest Conservation Act debt conversion program offers countries in the region the potential for additional funds for investment in sustainable forestry.
- USAID supports cleaner industrial production activities in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Jamaica, and Central America.
- U.S. Government support for the United Nations Environment Program's (UNEP's) Caribbean Environment Program finances sewage treatment needs assessments in St. Lucia, Belize, Colombia and Venezuela; additional sewage treatment projects in hurricane-prone areas are underway in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala.
- USAID's Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism (EAST) project supports environmental management for the hotel and tourist industry in Jamaica.
- The U.S. funds several coastal and marine resource management programs in Central America, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean, Mexico, and Ecuador.
- USAID supports sustainable energy activities in Central America, Mexico, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.
- USAID supports environmentally sound metal ore mining through a multifaceted program that addresses policy, technology, and financing issues.
- The U.S. supports the development and use of a range of innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms for sound environmental management, including debt-for-nature swaps, national environmental funds, joint implementation for carbon offsets, water use fees targeted to ecosystem conservation, and joint ventures and partnerships with the private sector to mobilize environmentally sound direct investment and technical assistance in various environmental areas.
- Supported the OAS-led development and launching of the Inter-American Forum on Environmental Law.
- USAID supports the monthly Water Policy in the Americas Roundtable.
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