Agenda.- First International Seminar
The role of Civil Society in peace-building, regional security and prevention of conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean will be the issues discussed. With the presence of important panelists and speakers.

(INFORID, June 25th, 2004).- On Monday 28 and Tuesday 29, the first regional seminar "Civil Society in Peace- building, Regional Security and Prevention of Conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean" will be held. The venue is Cristóforo Colombo Hotel (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and it is organized by the Coordinadora Regional de Investigciones Económicas y Sociales (CRIES), the Centro de Estudios Globales y Regionales (CEGRE), and the Foro Social para la Transparencia, sponsored by the International Development Research Center.

Next Monday, the seminar will be opened by Senator María Cristina Perceval (Chair of the Defense Commission of the Argentine Senate), Mr. Carlos Felipe Martínez (Representative of the United Nations Development Program), Andrés Serbin (Chairman of CRIES). The latter will speak about Peace, Security and the Prevention of Conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Global Partnership Program for the Prevention of Armed Conflict will be presented (GPPAC), as well as the GPPAC Canadian initiative by Judy Meltzer (FOCAL, Canada) and the Mexican initiative by Felipe Toussant Loera (CORECO, Mexico).

Issues for debate shall be: Civil Society Organizations and their relation with Multilateral Agencies in the prevention of conflicts and peace-building efforts; Civil Society Organizations and UNO; Civil Society Organizations and the OAS; Preventive Multilateral Diplomacy: the experience of the High Commissioner for Minorities of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe).

Among the speakers, we may mention: Julián Bertranou and Alejandra Pero (UNDP), Jorge Sanín (OAS), and Juan Antonio Blanco (FDC/HRI). Keynote participants include Gustavo Gamallo (IADN), Catalina Delpiano, (PARTICIPA, Chile), Ana Glenda Táger (WSP, Guatemala), Alcides Costa Vaz (University of Brasilia, Brazil), and Carmen Artigas (ECLAC).

Representing the sub-regions the following speakers have been invited: Andean Region (Alvaro Ramírez-Durini, Non-Violent Peace Forces, Ecuador), Central America (Francine Jácome, INVESP, Venezuela), Caribbean Region and Cuba (Armando Fernández, FUNAT, Cuba and María Carla Alzugaray, Centro Félix Varela, Cuba), Southern Cone and Brazil (José Manuel Ugarte, Foro Social para la Transparencia, Argentina and José Marcelo Zacchi, Viva Río, Brazil).

On Tuesday there will be simultaneous breakout sessions for the discussion of recommendations and an action agenda. These working groups will focus on the following issues: CSO’s and the Prevention of Conflicts, the Role of Government in Prevention of Conflicts and Regional and International Organizations in the Prevention of Conflicts.

The first Regional Seminar shall be closed by Francine Jácome and Andrés Serbin.

For further information, contact CRIES ( [email protected]/ www.cries.org)