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On May 10 and 11, 2007 the OAS hosted the
Roundtable with Civil Society and Special Meeting of the CISC on the
Hemispheric Agenda. This event, traditionally held each year prior to
the OAS annual General Assembly, gathered civil society organizations
that carry out activities throughout the Americas in order to provide a
space for reflection, debate, and dialogue on the most pressing themes
of the inter-American agenda.
The Roundtable with Civil Society was
inaugurated with speeches presented by Ambassador Aristides Royo,
Permanent Representative of Panama to the OAS, in his role as Host of
the General Assembly, and Ambassador Marina Valère, Permanent
Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the OAS and Chair of the
Committee on Inter-American Summits Management and Civil Society
Participation in OAS Activities (CISC). Both Ambassadors recognized the
importance of civil society participation in this event as a means of
providing inputs to the hemispheric agenda and expressed their thanks
for their presence and the essential labor they carry out.
Ambassador Valère furthermore indicated
her Government’s commitment to sustaining dialogue and consultation with
civil society organizations in lead-up to the forthcoming Fifth Summit
of the Americas, to be held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in
2009.
The OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel
Insulza, also welcomed the participants and re-stated the commitment of
the Organization of American States to providing spaces for the voice of
civil society through the organization of activities, such as the
Roundtable. Ambassador Carmen Marina Gutiérrez, Director of the Summits
Secretariat, explained the methodology and format of the 2-day event.
On this occasion, civil society representatives divided into thematic
working groups with the objective of elaborating recommendations and
observations on the theme of XXXVII OAS General Assembly “Energy for
Sustainable Development”, promoting democracy and good governance,
promoting and protecting human rights, hemispheric security, as well as
social development and fighting poverty.
On the second day of the meeting, civil
society participants engaged in an informal dialogue with Secretary
General Insulza, discussing the outcomes developed in the working group
deliberations as well as other topics on interest. The Secretary
General reiterated the interest of the OAS in deepening the exchange of
information between the Organization and civil society.
The event culminated in a Special Meeting
of the Permanent Council Committee on Inter-American Summits Management
and Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities (CISC) in which civil
society participants presented the Roundtable recommendations to the
representatives of the OAS Member States. Member State representatives
thanked civil society participants for their constructive contributions
and reiterated their support for continued and strengthened dialogue
with citizen groups through OAS processes.
For more information on the Roundtable
with Civil Society and Special Meeting of the CISC on the Hemispheric
Agenda, please visit the OAS Civil Society Webpage at
www.civil-society.oas.org.
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