FOREIGN MINISTER ADDRESSES 49TH REGULAR SESSION OF OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
GENERAL STATEMENT49TH REGULAR SESSION OF THE OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE HONOURABLE DR. KAREN CUMMINGS
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA
MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA, JUNE 26-28, 2019
Mr. Chairman
Esteemed colleague Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Heads of Delegation
Mr. Secretary General
Mr. Assistant Secretary General
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
Mr. Chairman,
Congratulations upon your election to preside over these proceedings. I am confident that your leadership will result in a successful outcome for us all.
My sincere thanks to the Government and people of Colombia for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to my delegation upon our arrival here in Medellín, the city of eternal spring.
This year’s General Assembly, being held under the theme “Innovating to Strengthen Hemispheric Multilateralism” comes, of course, on the heels of the celebration in 2018 of the 70th Anniversary of our Organization. I do believe that the selection of this year’s theme is apposite, as it provides an opportunity for us to recommit to the values of multilateralism and a strengthened Inter-American System. The OAS Charter, signed on April 30, 1948, in Bogotá, should continue to be our standard for how we conduct business.
In this respect, the OAS, as the principal forum for political dialogue in the hemisphere and as a rules-based institution, must continue to pursue consensus on the great challenges of our time, ever mindful of the principles espoused in the Charter and in strict accordance with the rules of procedure of the various organs and bodies of the Organization. There can be no suggestion that there is one set of rules for some and another set for others. None of us can afford to play fast and loose with our Charter and our normative framework. We are all governed by the same rules and we must all abide by them. The end, no matter how noble, can never justify the means, if these fall short of the highest standards of probity and legality.
As a small state, Guyana continues to value multilateral diplomacy and the role of the OAS. I therefore take this opportunity to reaffirm Guyana’s commitment to the four pillars of the OAS: democracy and good governance; the promotion and protection of human rights; the pursuit of integral, sustainable and equitable development; and ensuring that the multidimensional security needs of our peoples are addressed.
We also continue to adhere to the fundamental principles of sovereignty and non-intervention, respect for the rule of law, mutual respect, dialogue and building consensus, as we work together to resolve common challenges.
Permit me, at this point, Mr. Chairman, to draw attention to perhaps the greatest, existential threat to my country, other low-lying coastal states and small island states, in the Americas and, indeed, in the world: climate change.
We regard the CIDI meeting, on May 28, 2019, on Cooperation for Building Resilience, as a critical step in that it addressed the crux of the matter, as it relates to leveraging partnerships to build capacity to mitigate against natural disasters. In the draft resolution on Advancing Hemispheric Initiatives on Integral Development, Guyana and like-minded states have acknowledged the crosscutting nature of the issue and striven to ensure a greater role for CIDI in the fight against natural disasters.
Mr. Chairman,
Our region will only continue to grow and be prosperous if we are able to advance the Agenda for Sustainable Development and make progress towards attaining the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. But in addition to the threats posed by climate change and natural disasters, we also have to contend with a plethora of challenges to our stability and development in the context of the multidimensional nature of security. Indeed, the links between the vulnerability of our countries to multiple security threats, including transnational organized crime, corruption, narcotrafficking, cyber-attacks, terrorism and violent crime, and our development challenges, have never been greater. We therefore call on our friends in the hemisphere to acknowledge the critical and inter-related nature of these challenges, threats and risks, and not seek either to conflate or compartmentalise issues, thereby obstructing a coherent and cohesive approach, which would actually strengthen all the pillars of our Organization.
Mr. Chairman,
Our hemisphere also continues to face grave political challenges, which if not ameliorated have the potential to create an irreparable chasm among our countries. The OAS must therefore remain the principal forum for political dialogue to resolve these challenges, responding to the needs and priorities of all its members, irrespective of size, levels of GDP, or any other measure some might wish to adopt.
As my delegation has consistently made clear, the Government of Guyana, shares the concerns of OAS member states and of the international community over the continuing political, economic and humanitarian problems in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Guyana, like so many others, has been seriously affected by the cross-border migration of Venezuelan citizens seeking relief from the situation in their homeland. To this end, my Government has assisted Venezuelans who have sought refuge in Guyana, through the implementation of systems to monitor their entry and the provision of social and health care services. And even as other countries report astonishing numbers of Venezuelans seeking refuge in their territory, I ask you to consider the phenomenon not in absolute terms but in relative ones, to count not the numbers of migrants and refugees but to measure the impact, especially on a small country such as ours, with limited resources and facilities to provide the assistance required.
We are also not indifferent to the worsening political and constitutional crisis in Venezuela and wish to use this opportunity to reiterate Guyana’s disposition to continue participating in efforts, as a responsible member of the international community, in an effort to bring about a lasting solution that would be beneficial to the people of Venezuela.
Mr Chairman, we consider the withdrawal from this meeting of the delegation of Uruguay unfortunate. But we are in sympathy with their concerns regarding the need for scrupulous adherence to the normative framework of the Organisation and its institutional integrity. In this respect the Delegation of Guyana also wishes to enter a footnote to all decisions and resolutions adopted by this General Assembly as follows:-
“Guyana reserves its rights, on procedural grounds, regarding all resolutions and declarations adopted at the 49th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States.”
Mr. Chairman
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
In conclusion, I pledge my delegation’s support for continuing the work of the OAS and for those issues on which we have clear consensus as we seek to enhance the well-being of our peoples. It is my hope also that we can work together to ensure a better, stronger and more relevant OAS.
I thank you.