ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THIRTY-FOURTH REGULAR SESSION
QUITO, ECUADOR
June 6 – 8, 2004
PROCEEDINGS
VOLUME I
AG/DEC. 36 - AG/DEC. 40 (XXXIV-O/04)
AG/RES. 1975 - AG/RES. 2060 (XXXIV-O/04)
CERTIFIED TEXTS OF THE DECLARATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
GENERAL SECRETARIAT
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
WASHINGTON, D.C.20006
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OEA/Ser.P/XXXIV-O.2
30 November2004
Volume 1
THIRTY-FOURTH REGULAR SESSION
QUITO, ECUADOR
June 6 – 8, 2004
PROCEEDINGS
VOLUME I
AG/DEC. 36 - AG/DEC. 40 (XXXIV-O/04)
AG/RES. 1975 - AG/RES. 2060 (XXXIV-O/04)
CERTIFIED TEXTS OF THE DECLARATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
GENERAL SECRETARIATORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
WASHINGTON, D.C.20006
2004 /
1
I hereby certify that this volume contains the official texts of the declarations and resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States at its thirty-fourth regular session, held in Quito, Ecuador, from June 6 to 8, 2004.
Luigi R. Einaudi
Acting Secretary General
Organization of American States
1
CONTENTS
Page
AG/DEC. 36 (XXXIV-O/04)Declaration of Quito on Social Development and Democracy, and the Impact of Corruption
AG/DEC. 37 (XXXIV-O/04)Declaration on Elections in El Salvador...... 5
AG/DEC. 38 (XXXIV-O/04)Declaration on the Question of the Malvinas Islands
AG/DEC. 39 (XXXIV-O/04)Delcaration on the Impact of the Energy Situation on the Development of Member States
AG/DEC. 40 (XXXIV-O/04)Declarationon Respect for Representative Democracy in Ecuador
AG/RES. 1975 (XXXIV-O/04)Recognition of the Achievements of Mr. César Gaviria, Secretary General of the Organization of American States
AG/RES. 1976 (XXXIV-O/04)Free Trade and Investment in the Hemisphere
AG/RES. 1977 (XXXIV-O/04)Appointment of Women to Senior Management Positions at the Oas
AG/RES. 1978 (XXXIV-O/04)Continuing Participation in the Inter-American Council for Integral Development by Member States That Have Not Ratified the Protocol of Managua
AG/RES. 1979 (XXXIV-O/04)Follow-Up on the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development
AG/RES. 1980 (XXXIV-O/04)Report of the First Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Culture
AG/RES. 1981 (XXXIV-O/04)Strengthening Mechanisms for Policy Dialogue for Integral Development
AG/RES. 1982 (XXXIV-O/04)Strengthening Technical Cooperation for Integral Development
AG/RES. 1983 (XXXIV-O/04)Poverty, Equity, and Social Inclusion
AG/RES. 1984 (XXXIV-O/04)Inter-American Committee on Social Development
AG/RES. 1985 (XXXIV-O/04)Report of the Third Meeting of Ministers of Education within the Framework of Cidi
AG/RES. 1986 (XXXIV-O/04)Report of the Xiii Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor
AG/RES. 1987 (XXXIV-O/04)XVIII Inter-American Travel Congress
AG/RES. 1988 (XXXIV-O/04)Status of the Preparation of the Draft Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development
AG/RES. 1989 (XXXIV-O/04)Strategies for Raising External Funds and Expanding and Strengthening the Oas Scholarship and Training Programs
AG/RES. 1990 (XXXIV-O/04)Study of the Relationship between Trade, Debt, and Financing
AG/RES. 1991 (XXXIV-O/04)Increasing and Strengthening Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities
AG/RES. 1992 (XXXIV-O/04)Follow-up to the Special Summit of the Americas
AG/RES. 1993 (XXXIV-O/04)Mexico City Plan of Action on Decentralization and Strengthening of Municipal and Regional Administrations and Citizen Participation
AG/RES. 1994 (XXXIV-O/04)Support for and Follow-up to the Summits of the Americas Process
AG/RES. 1995 (XXXIV-O/04)Support for the Program for Comprehensive Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Central America
AG/RES. 1996 (XXXIV-O/04)Transparency and Confidence- and Security-Building in the Americas
AG/RES. 1997 (XXXIV-O/04)Proliferation of and Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons
AG/RES. 1998 (XXXIV-O/04)Follow-up to the Special Conference on Security
AG/RES. 1999 (XXXIV-O/04)Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials
AG/RES. 2000 (XXXIV-O/04)The Americas as a Biological- and Chemical-Weapons-Free Region
AG/RES. 2001 (XXXIV-O/04)Limitation of Military Spending
AG/RES. 2002 (XXXIV-O/04)Support For Action against Antipersonnel Mines in Ecuador and Peru
AG/RES. 2003 (XXXIV-O/04)The Americas as an Antipersonnel-Land-Mine-Free Zone
AG/RES. 2004 (XXXIV-O/04)Adoption of a Comprehensive Inter-American Strategy to Combat Threats to Cybersecurity: A Multidimensional and Multidisciplinary Approach to Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity
AG/RES. 2005 (XXXIV-O/04)Addressing Extreme Poverty, Inequality, and Social Exclusion as a Means of Strengthening Hemispheric Security
AG/RES. 2006 (XXXIV-O/04)Special Security Concerns of the Small Island States of the Caribbean
AG/RES. 2007 (XXXIV-O/04)Disarmament and Nonproliferation Education
AG/RES. 2008 (XXXIV-O/04)Inter-American Support for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
AG/RES. 2009 (XXXIV-O/04)Consolidation of the Regime Established in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco)
AG/RES. 2010 (XXXIV-O/04)Amendments to the Statute of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism
AG/RES. 2011 (XXXIV-O/04)Integrating a Gender Perspective into the Summits of the Americas
AG/RES. 2012 (XXXIV-O/04)Violence against Women: Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará”
AG/RES. 2013 (XXXIV-O/04)Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Hemisphere
AG/RES. 2014 (XXXIV-O/04)Trade and Integration in the Americas
AG/RES. 2015 (XXXIV-O/04)Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission
AG/RES. 2016 (XXXIV-O/04)Cooperation between the Organization of American States and the United Nations System, the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System, and the General Secretariat of the Caribbean Community
AG/RES. 2017 (XXXIV-O/04)Modernization of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States
AG/RES. 2018 (XXXIV-O/04)White Helmets Initiative
AG/RES. 2019 (XXXIV-O/04)Fighting the Crime of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women, Adolescents, and Children
AG/RES. 2020 (XXXIV-O/04)Support for and Follow-up on the Activities of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission
AG/RES. 2021 (XXXIV-O/04)Strengthening of the Inter-American Commission of Women
AG/RES. 2022 (XXXIV-O/04)Joint Efforts of the Americas in the Struggle against Corruption and Impunity
AG/RES. 2023 (XXXIV-O/04)Promotion of Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality
AG/RES. 2024 (XXXIV-O/04)Natural Disaster Reduction
AG/RES. 2025 (XXXIV-O/04)Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Reports of the Organs, Agencies, and Entities of the Organization
AG/RES. 2026 (XXXIV-O/04)Fighting Transnational Organized Crime in the Hemisphere
AG/RES. 2027 (XXXIV-O/04)The Human Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families
AG/RES. 2028 (XXXIV-O/04)Inter-American Program of Cooperation to Prevent and Remedy Cases of International Abduction of Children by One of Their Parents
AG/RES. 2029 (XXXIV-O/04)American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
AG/RES. 2030 (XXXIV-O/04)Strengthening of Human Rights Systems pursuant to thePlan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas
AG/RES. 2031 (XXXIV-O/04)XIX Pan American Child Congress
AG/RES. 2032 (XXXIV-O/04)Inter-American Program for the Development of International Law
AG/RES. 2033 (XXXIV-O/04)Inter-American Specialized Conferences on Private International Law
AG/RES. 2034 (XXXIV-O/04)Follow-up on the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and Its Program for Cooperation
AG/RES. 2035 (XXXIV-O/04)Protecting Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism
AG/RES. 2036 (XXXIV-O/04)Human Rights Defenders: Support for The Individuals, Groups, And Organizations Of Civil Society Working To Promote And Protect Human Rights In The Americas
AG/RES. 2037 (XXXIV-O/04)Study of the Rights and the Care of Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
AG/RES. 2038 (XXXIV-O/04)Prevention of Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance and Consideration of the Preparation of a Draft Inter-American Convention
AG/RES. 2039 (XXXIV-O/04)Promotion of the International Criminal Court
AG/RES. 2040 (XXXIV-O/04)Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas
AG/RES. 2041 (XXXIV-O/04)Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
AG/RES. 2042 (XXXIV-O/04)Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee
AG/RES. 2043 (XXXIV-O/04)Observations and Recommendations on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
AG/RES. 2044 (XXXIV-O/04)Promotion and Strengthening of Democracy
AG/RES. 2045 (XXXIV-O/04)Program for Democratic Governance in the Americas
AG/RES. 2046 (XXXIV-O/04)Support for the Restructuring of the Inter-American Indian Institute
AG/RES. 2047 (XXXIV-O/04)Protection of Asylum Seekers, Refugees, Returnees, and Stateless Persons in the Americas
AG/RES. 2048 (XXXIV-O/04)Amendment of Article 19.a.iii of the General Standards on the Language Proficiency Requirement for Continuing Contract Eligibility
AG/RES. 2049 (XXXIV-O/04)Fourth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Science and Technology and First Meeting of Ministersand High Authorities on Science and Technology within the Framework of Cidi
AG/RES. 2050 (XXXIV-O/04)Combating the Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Smuggling of and Trafficking in Children in the Hemisphere
AG/RES. 2051 (XXXIV-O/04)Support for the Work of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism
AG/RES. 2052 (XXXIV-O/04)Promotion of and Respect for International Humanitarian Law
AG/RES. 2053 (XXXIV-O/04)Central American Democratic Security Model
AG/RES. 2054 (XXXIV-O/04)The Americas as a Zone of Peace and Cooperation
AG/RES. 2055 (XXXIV-O/04)Internally Displaced Persons
AG/RES. 2056 (XXXIV-O/04)Draft Social Charter of the Americas: Renewal of The Hemispheric Commitment to Fight Extreme Poverty in the Region
AG/RES. 2057 (XXXIV-O/04)Access to Public Information: Strengthening Democracy
AG/RES. 2058 (XXXIV-O/04)Situation in Haiti: Strengthening of Democracy
AG/RES. 2059 (XXXIV-O/04)Program-Budget of the Organization for 2005; Quotas and Contributions to Femcidifor 2005
AG/RES. 2060 (XXXIV-O/04)Vote of Appreciation to the People and Government of Ecuador
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AG/DEC. 36 (XXXIV-O/04)
DECLARATION OF QUITO ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND
DEMOCRACY, AND THE IMPACT OF CORRUPTION
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 8, 2004)
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegation of the member states of the Organization of American States, assembled in Quito, Ecuador, on the occasion of the thirty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly,
REITERATING that social development and democracy are essential purposes of the OAS and of its member states;
RECALLING that the Inter-American Democratic Charter declares that the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it and, at the same time, it establishes that transparency in government activities, probity, and responsible public administration on the part of governments are essential components of the exercise of democracy;
BEARING IN MIND that, since its inception, the Summits of the Americas process has been concerned with the fight against corruption and that this topic has warranted the attention of their Heads of State and Government;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Declaration of Santiago on Democracy and Public Trust: A New Commitment to Good Governance for the Americas [AG/DEC. 31 (XXXIII-O/03)] and resolution AG/RES. 1960 (XXXIII-O/03), “Program for Democratic Governance in the Americas”;
UNDERSCORING the Declaration on Security in the Americas, in which corruption is recognized, from a multidimensional perspective, as a new threat to the security of states that undermines public and private institutions and public trust, causes grave economic damage, impairs stability, erodes the rule of law, and weakens governmental capacity to respond to other threats to security;
RECALLING the mandate set forth in the Declaration of Nuevo León, adopted by the Special Summit of the Americas, which established a commitment to join efforts within the framework of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, particularly by strengthening the Follow-up Mechanism for Implementation of that Convention;
REAFFIRMING their determination to continue to implement the Plans of Action of the Summits of the Americas as well as the commitments undertaken in the United Nations Millennium Declaration;
RECALLING that the United Nations Convention against Corruption (Mérida Convention) indicates that corruption is no longer a local matter but a transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and economies, making international cooperation to prevent and control it essential;
RECALLING ALSO that the Mérida Convention expresses concern about cases of corruption that involve vast quantities of assets, which may constitute a substantial proportion of the resources of states, and that threaten the political stability and sustainable development of those states;
CONVINCED that multilateralism and cooperation among sovereign states play an important role in supporting national efforts to consolidate democracy, promote social development, and fight corruption;
RECOGNIZING:
That external debt relief may be a critical factor in freeing resources that can be directed to activities that promote social investment of states and strengthen democracy;
That the Inter-American Convention against Corruption is the most important inter-American legal instrument for fighting corruption, in that it establishes indispensable means of cooperation in the fight against this scourge and thus promotes international actions to prevent, detect, and punish it;
The efforts made by member states to honor the commitments undertaken in the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, and their participation in the Follow-up Mechanism to that Convention; and
The importance of the Conclusions and Recommendations concerning Specific Measures for Strengthening MESICIC, adopted by the First Conference of the States Parties to the Follow-up Mechanism for Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, held at OAS headquarters on April 1 and 2, 2004; and
UNDERSCORING the recent adoption of the Mérida Convention as an effective and modern instrument for fighting corruption, particularly because it establishes the obligation of the States Parties to adopt preventive measures and to criminalize a wide range of acts of corruption; to extend to one another the broadest possible cooperation with respect to extradition and mutual legal assistance, pursuant to national legislation and applicable international norms, and to confiscation of the proceeds of crime; and to provide technical assistance and create a mechanism for returning proceeds of acts of corruption to their legitimate owners; and making an appeal for its prompt ratification to ensure its entry into force and the implementation of its mechanisms,
DECLARE:
1.That development, democracy, and the fight against corruption are closely interrelated topics and, as such, should be addressed in a balanced and integrated way by our countries.
2.That the world phenomenon of corruption constitutes a serious obstacle to the social development of their peoples and has warranted the attention of the Heads of State and Government in the Summits of the Americas process. In that regard, they reaffirm their commitment to fight corruption, which jeopardizes democracy and democratic governance, weakens institutions, undermines economic and social development and the fight against poverty, erodes public trust, and disrupts political stability.
3.That they commit, in the framework of applicable national and international law, to deny safe haven to corrupt officials, to those who corrupt them, and to the proceeds of corruption, and to cooperate in their extradition as well as in the recovery and return of those proceeds of corruption to their legitimate owners; and they commit to enhance regional mechanisms for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
4.Their concern regarding corrupt, illegal, and fraudulent practices in the management of some national and transnational enterprises, which may have a negative impact on economies, in particular those of developing countries, and on their producers and consumers.
5.That they reaffirm their pledge to intensify efforts to combat corruption and other unethical practices in the public and/or private sectors, strengthening a culture of transparency and ensuring more efficient public management.
6.Their willingness to promote the adoption, in accordance with fundamental principles of their domestic law, of such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to enable competent authorities of the requested state to return confiscated property to the requesting state, in the case of embezzlement of public funds or of laundering of embezzled public funds.
7.The importance of the international community making concerted efforts with the states of the Hemisphere to fight corruption and impunity, offering them the broadest cooperation in the framework of applicable treaties and laws so that those who have perpetrated acts of corruption from a position of political power against those states can be tried by their national courts and be answerable to them.
8.That political pluralism and sound political parties are essential elements of democracy. They underscore the importance of rules to ensure the transparency of party finances, to prevent corruption and the risk of undue influence, and to encourage a high level of electoral participation.
9.That the prevention and eradication of corruption is a responsibility of all states and that they must cooperate with one another, with the support and involvement of individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as civil society, nongovernmental organizations, and community-based organizations, if their efforts in this area are to be effective.
10.That the fight against corruption should involve principles of proper management of public affairs and public property, fairness, responsibility and equality before the law, fundamental principles of due process of law in criminal proceedings and in civil or administrative proceedings to adjudicate property rights, and the need to safeguard integrity and to foster a culture of rejection of corruption.
11.That international cooperation against corruption should be respectful of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the principle of nonintervention in domestic matters.
12.That the Inter-American Convention against Corruption is the framework for collective action and hemispheric cooperation in this field. They underscore their commitment to strengthen the Follow-up Mechanism for Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), and in that connection they endorse the conclusions and recommendations of concrete measures to strengthen the MESICIC, adopted by the First Conference of the States Parties thereto.
13.That they also underscore the importance of the adoption by the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention, to be held in Managua, Nicaragua on July 8 and 9, 2004, pursuant to the mandate of the Special Summit of the Americas, of additional concrete measures to increase transparency and combat corruption in the Hemisphere.
14.Their resolute support for implementation of the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption and for the Inter-American Network for Cooperation against Corruption, established in the framework of the OAS.
15.That the media and the various actors in civil society must play a fundamental role in the prevention of and fight against corruption, in accordance with domestic law and applicable international norms. Responsible action on their part contributes to the culture of transparency, good governance, and democratic values.