On April 26th, the sixth meeting of the Voluntary Group for the Follow-up to the Inter-American Democratic Charter was held at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., with participation of 17 OAS Member States. The meeting was led by the Chair of the Voluntary Group, Francisco Mora, Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS.
The Voluntary Group took note of the information presented by the Chair on the preparation of the Symposium with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Group of Friends of the IADC/Carter Center & the OAS IADC Voluntary Group, planned on May 30th.
Member States also shared views regarding preparations for the Special meeting of the Permanent Council on May 22nd and the official side event of the Voluntary Group during the 54th OAS General Assembly (June 26-28 in Asuncion, Paraguay).
Prior to the discussion of planned upcoming events, Professor Rosa Celorio — Burnett Family Associate Dean and Distinguished Professorial Lecturer for International and Comparative Legal Studies at George Washington University (GWU) — gave remarks on the
symposium co-sponsored by the OAS and GWU on April 10 In presenting the
conclusions and recommendations of the Symposium she noted the success of the symposium and stressed the OAS's role in protecting human rights and strengthening democracy in the region. She was followed by a presentation by Maria Fernanda Trigo, Director of the OAS Department for Effective Public Management — on the Department's efforts to support the Voluntary Group by promoting transparency and good governance.
The Voluntary Group adopted the following agreements:
1. To request the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy (SSD) to distribute the list of invitees to the Symposium sponsored by USIP and Carter Center;
2. To request SSD to distribute the presentation of the Department for Effective Public Management;
3. To incorporate the suggestions and comments made by the delegations regarding the agenda of the Special Meeting of the Permanent Council to be held on May 22nd;
4. To officially request the inclusion of a side event on behalf of the Voluntary Group on the agenda of the General Assembly.
5. To incorporate the suggestions and comments made by delegation to the concept note for the side event of the General Assembly.
The Voluntary Group for Follow-up of the Inter-American Democratic Charter was created in response to the mandate of resolution resolution to foster dialogue, horizontal cooperation, and the exchange of best practices among its members, and to identify opportunities within the principles of the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter to strengthen their democracies.
Reference: E-030/24
