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Roundtable with the Civil Society Highlights Fight against Poverty

24 January 2005

“The key for the democratic stability in the Americas passes through pulling out two hundred thousands of people of their margination and misery and bring them to enjoy the benefits of development.” The Interim General Secretary of the Organization of the American States (OAS), Ambassador Luigi Einaudi, also affirmed that “it also consists in promoting a culture of democracy and making all citizens feel part of the design of the public policies.”

Ambassador Einaudi pronounced these words today at the opening of a roundtable with the civil society, which centered its discussion on topics of the next Summit of the Americas. The forum, where more than ninety representatives of non-government organizations were present, gave an equilibrated balance of the region and analyzed the theme of the Fourth Summit “Creating Work to Confront Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance”. The IV Summit will gather in Mar de Plata, Argentina next November, and the Heads of State and Government to consider important topics related to the hemispheric agenda. 

On the other hand, the Argentinean Ambassador and President of the Committee on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil Society Participation in OAS activities (CISC), Rodolfo Gil, considered that the next Summit must respond a to series of questions that will give answers to the need to confront poverty and strengthen democratic governance; what States have to do in order to attract investments and generate more jobs; and how to insure that the less unfortunate people participate and accede to decent work.  

Luis Alberto Rodríguez, Director of the Office for the Summit Process of the OAS, referred to the purposes of the roundtable, emphasizing that the roundtable is not a normal meeting, but a start point to promote positive and constructive advances in the policies that impact on the life quality of the people of the continent.

Among the participants were representatives of the civil society organizations and other actors such as labor unions, small and medium business, and academic groups. A special session of the CISC, as part of the program organized by the Office for the Summit Process of the OAS with the sponsoring of the United States Agency for the International Development (USAID), will take place tomorrow.