Transcript Insert title here - Summits of the Americas

Introduction to the Summits of the Americas
Process
Summits of the Americas Secretariat
December 13, 2010
Questions to Answer
1. What is the Summits of the Americas process?
2. Who are Social Actors and how do they participate
in the Summits process?
3. How have Indigenous Peoples participated?
4. What is the Summit Virtual Community (SVC) and
how can Indigenous Peoples participate?
Summits of the Americas Process
5th Summit of the Americas
(Port of Spain, April 2009)
“Securing Our Citizens’ Future by
Promoting Human Prosperity,
Energy Security and
Environmental Sustainability”
Consensus-building at the Highest Level
Discuss common
concerns
I Summit
Miami
1994
Develop a shared vision
Seek solutions to problems
for the future development and challenges facing their
of the region
countries
Special Summit
Santa Cruz
1996
II Summit
Santiago
1998
III Summit
Québec
2001
Special Summit
Monterrey
2004
IV Summit
Mar del Plata
2005
Main components - Summits of the
Americas Process
Host Country
(Colombia)
OAS General Secretariat Summits of the Americas
Secretariat
OAS Member
States - SIRG and
Executive Council
Main Actors of
the Summits Process
Joint Summit
Working Group :
12 institutions
Social Actors
Inter-American
Ministerial
Meetings
Social Actors’ Participation
Historical antecedents of the participation are wide and diverse
Political bases for participation: Summits’ Declarations and Plans
of Action, OAS Resolutions and the inter-American Democratic
Charter (Art. 3, 4, 6 and 26)
The participation is key for the Summits process, both in the
preparatory stages and for follow-up and implementation of
previous Summits.
Fifth Summit of the Americas
V Summit of the Americas (2009 – Port of Spain):
“We commit to continue encouraging the
participation of our peoples, through the
engagement of our citizens, communities and civil
society in the design and execution of
development policies and programmes, by
providing technical and financial assistance, as
appropriate, and in accordance with national
legislation to strengthen and build their capacity
to participate more fully in the inter-American
system”.
[Paragraph 94]
Social Actors
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Who Are Social Actors?
Civil Society Organization
Indigenous Peoples
Private Sector
Women and Gender Group
Youth
Afro-descendants
Academia and Think tanks
Unions and Workers’ groups
Others
Social Actors’ Participation
The participation of social actors is being consolidated by…
1
Forums and Consultation meetings, both face to face and virtual
2
Presentation of their recommendations in Member States’ meetings
3
Dialogue between Member States and Social Actors’ representatives in the
framework of the Summits
4
Assisting States in the implementation of commitments
5
Development of the e-participation tools as a way to involve social
actors with other stakeholders.
Indigenous Peoples Participation in the
Summits of the Americas and the
Indigenous Summits
Indigenous Peoples as a Social Actor
Opportunities to create
linkages and network
with other Indigenous
and social actors from
the hemisphere
Importance of
Indigenous Peoples
Follow-up &
implementation of
high-level mandates
and implement your
own documents,
(Declarations and
Plans of Action)
as a Social Actor
Commitments can be
enacted at
hemispheric and
national levels
in the Summits Process
Access to
decisionmakers
Collectively
consolidate
policy priorities
Indigenous Peoples Participation: ILSAs
Indigenous Summits in the framework of the Summit of the
Americas:
• First Indigenous Summit of the Americas
(Ottawa, Canada. March, 2001).
Main themes: Economic Development, new economic models
and Human Rights.
• Second Summit of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
(Buenos Aires, Argentina. October, 2005).
Main themes: Governance and free determination; lands,
territories, and resources; Sustainable Development.
Third ILSA
III Indigenous Leaders’ Summit of the Americas
“Implementing the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples
of the Americas for Present and Future Generations”
(Panama, April 14-15, 2009).
Declaration and a Plan of Action: Short and concrete points.
Main themes: Reaffirm principles and Rights; Human Prosperity,
energy security, Environmental Sustainability, and Strengthening
Public Security, Democratic Governance and the Summit of the
Americas. A final point includes Follow-Up and Implementation.
Presented outcomes at the Dialogue between Ministers
of Foreign Affairs and Social Actors (Trinidad y Tobago. April
17, 2009)
Follow-up proposal: Creation of a Permanent Forum. A proposal was
presented to the OAS Secretary General in March, 2010.
Indigenous themes and language from
the Summits
Language from the Declarations and Plans of Action:
All Summits held have expressed the desire to protect
indigenous peoples of the Hemisphere and have recognized
the need to promote a common vision to improve the lives of
indigenous peoples and facilitate their participation in the
Inter-American System.
Related themes more relevant or frequent: Human Rights; health;
Education; Justice; Employment; Cultural Diversity; Sustainable
Economic Development; among others.
www.summit-americas.org/sisca/ip.html
Indigenous Peoples in the Fifth Summit
Declaration
Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain
Paragraph 86: “Recognizing the diversity and the traditional and
ancestral nature of the cultures, histories and demographic, socioeconomic and political circumstances of indigenous peoples, we
reaffirm our commitment to respect their rights and we will
promote the successful conclusion of negotiations on the American
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Recognition of the
rights of indigenous peoples is essential for their existence, welfare,
and integral development. In accordance with the domestic laws of
each State, we will promote the exercise of their rights, their full
participation in national activities and the creation of the
conditions that allow them to overcome poverty, social exclusion,
and inequality.”
Paragraph 55: Corporate social responsibility - best practices in the energy
sector, - enhance dialogue with indigenous groups
Activities since the Fifth Summit and
Colombia as Host Country for the
Sixth Summit
Follow-up and Implementation
- A joint effort -
Follow-up and Implementation
Social Actors: key for the Implementation
• It is necessary that the Summits’ objectives be assumed as a
joint effort between the States, the Inter-American
Institutions and the social actors.
• The current task is implementing initiatives to provide
concrete and measurable results in development of the
hemispheric agenda that has been reflected in the Summits
documents.
Initiatives being developed
• Submission of social actor’s inputs and recommendations to the Ministerial
meetings.
• Multi-sectoral meetings lead by think tanks and other social actors: Creation of a
“Public Opinion Task Force” (underway).
• Development Marketplace for Latin America and the Caribbean 2010
(Grant Competition - YABT, BM, BID): Follow-up projects of the Youth Forum of
the Americas
• E-participation Mechanisms: Summits Virtual Community (June 4, 2010)
• Seminar “Mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the OAS” (June
22-24, 2010)
• Initiatives proposed to Colombia: Multi-sectoral Policy Dialogues to start in 2011
OAS Seminar with Indigenous Peoples
Seminar on “Mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the OAS
and the inter-American System”, held in OAS
In follow-up to this Seminar, the SAS is
• working on a booklet that showcase the current mechanisms in the
OAS, the Summits Process and the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
• fostering continuous participation via Virtual Group
• Holding this series of Sub-regional phase-to-phase activities, as
requested in the June Declaration.
• Providing this opportunity to listen to your inputs towards the Sixth
Summit and to exchange ideas on the possible next steps for indigenous
participation.
Advances and Next Steps
Inmediate Next Steps (by the OAS):
• Sub-regional Meeting with Indigenous representatives from the
Spanish-speaking countries, to be held tentatively in Colombia, early in
2011.
• Gather all your recommendations for submission to Colombia and
other Member States for: Consultations, events and other activities to
be developed in preparation for the Sixth Summit of the Americas in
2012, including through the Summits Virtual Community.
• Present to the Colombian Government a proposal for Indigenous
Peoples Participation in the Summits process.
SUMMITS VIRTUAL COMMUNITY
“It is the right and responsibility of all citizens to participate in
decisions relating to their own development. This is also a necessary
condition for the full and effective exercise of democracy. Promoting
and fostering diverse forms of participation strengthens
democracy.”
• Inter American Democratic Charter – Art. 6
New phase: Virtual Community
Its new name shows its
evolution towards a more
dynamic and user-focused
interaction.
Plataform
Member
States
OAS
Community
Social
Actors
JSWG
INSTITUTIONS
Why was the Virtual Community created?
MAIN GOAL : (long-term)
• Strengthen the culture of democratic engagement in the Americas
• Facilitate the development of a Inter-American agenda that represents
Text the
common challenges and interests of the peoples of the Americas.
INTERMEDIATE GOALS:
Txt
• Broaden the consultation, participation and interaction of social actors and other
Summits stakeholders in the Summits of the Americas process and the InterAmerican system
Text
• Strengthen the dialogue between Member States and other Summit
Text
stakeholders
Summits Virtual Community
Members of the Virtual Community can:
Share their views with decision-makers of the Summit process;
Text
Stay informed by participating actively and accessing thematic
information and resources;
Txt
Network and collaborate with peers and organizations;
Engage in a rich dialogue on key hemispheric issues
and share best practices;
Text
Contribute to raising awareness and to solving challenges faced by the
peoples of the Americas.
Current Statistics
SVC Basic Statistics
No.
Registered users
No. of Countries represented by users
Registered Orgs in Spanish
Registered Orgs in English
Forums
Groups
Comments
Documents & Publications
Videos
Think-tanks
Private Sector
5%
Public Sector
Non-affiliated 2%
1%
Network
of CSOs
409
41
84
44
7
15
140
88
19
4%
Multilateral
Organization
22%
2%
Academia
5%
Afrodescendent
Organization
Gender Representation
Male,
49%
Age Range
55 and over
(41-54)
(25-40)
(18-24)
17 and…
1%
CSO Civil
Society
Organization /
NGO
54%
Indigenous
Organizations
4%
Female,
51%
Types of Organization Registered
0%
20%
40%
60%
Stayed informed on the Summits Process
OAS Summit Americas
@SummitAmericas
Be an active
member of the
Summits
Community and
Stay informed!
SVC Launch to Follow!
www.summit-americas.org/svc
www.cumbre-americas.org/cvc
Thank you!
SUMMITS OF THE AMERICAS SECRETARIAT
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
www.summit-samericas.org
19th Street & Ave. Constitution, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
[email protected]