CELAC is “no threat for OAS, rather a useful component” says Insulza

Tuesday, January 29th 2013 - 03:34 UTC

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Secretary General Insulza: OAS has a hemispheric responsibility (Photo: Efe)

The Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States, CELAC, is “no threat” but rather a useful component for the Organization of American States, OAS, said Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza during his attendance to the Celac summit meetings.

“They are different things and CELAC is not destined to compete with OAS, rather it is a useful component” said Insulza. He added that OAS has a hemispheric duty and also includes North America which, like it or not represents a third of the region’s population. Therefore there is ample space for a hemispheric policy”.

Insulza was referring to the fact that the US and Canada belong to OAS but have been excluded from CELAC. “Certainly CELAC is no threat”.

OAS excluded Cuba back in 1962 but in 2009 during a summit in Honduras Havana’s reincorporation was approved although the Castro brothers’ regime did not accept integration to a regional body created and sponsored by the US following the Second World War.

Cuban president Raul Castro took office Monday as the pro-tempore president of CELAC at the end of a summit in Chile, which hosted the event and held the chair until this summit.

Insulza said he could not question a decision adopted in the Caracas summit in December 2011 in which CELAC, made up of 33 countries from the region was officially born.

“There is no way I can question that decision, it’s not my organization; it’s not my responsibility. Regarding Cuba I have always believed that inclusion and cooperation with Cuba is far better to promote democracy than exclusion and isolation”, added Insulza.

But the problem is the following: “CELAC was created on certain foundations I have no powers to question and Cuba was admitted as full member. Once inside, it’s only natural that all countries must have the same rights. Cuba thus has the right to occupy the presidency of the group as any other country”.

Now, “if this was convenient or not in a nascent community that still needs to consolidate internationally and where there will be a lot of criticisms and discussions, that is up to the heads of state and government to asses when they made the original decision”, argued Insulza.

Cuba will be chairing CELAC following an agreement which has Costa Rica succeeding in such a way that some kind of balance can be met.

Categories: Politics, International, Latin America.

Tags: CELAC, CELAC Summit - Chile, Jose Miguel Insulza, OAS, Raúl Castro.

Top Comments

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Shed-time
Seriously though, how many organisations do these uneducated people need to have? There seems to be one for every day of the week, and they all have overlapping remits such that nothing they say can have any purpose. Every single one of them simply seems to be there to provide 'the evil' with a pulpit to rant from, and the USA and Canada just have to sit there staring at the poor people.
Jan 29th, 2013 - 09:30 am 0
Anglotino
Few regions of the world have so many overlapping and hence useless regional organisations.

Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO)
Andean Community of Nations (CAN)
-Andean passport
Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
Bank of the South (BancoSur)
Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA)
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
-CARICOM Single Market and Economy
-CARICOM passport Central American Integration System (SICA)
-CARIPASS
-Caribbean Court of Justice
Caribbean Development Bank
Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA)
CARIFORUM
Central America-4 Border Control Agreement
Central America-4 passport
Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF)
Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)
Eastern Caribbean Currency Union
Free Trade Area of the Americas
G3 Free Trade Agreement
Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA)
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Latin American Integration Association (ALADI)
Latin American Economic System (SELA)
Latin American Parliament (Parlatino)
Mercosur
-Mercosur Parliament
Organization of American States (OAS)
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI)
Pacific Alliance
Petrocaribe
Rio Group
SUCRE
Union of South American Nations (Unasur)
-South American Parliament
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, CEPAL)

So yeah Raul, this organisation is going to be different.

“33 independent nations as a space of regional sovereignty to promote integration, dialogue, cooperation and solidarity”.

Well by my counting this is the THIRTY NINTH promotion of ”integration, dialogue, cooperation and solidarity”.

Does practice make perfect?
Jan 29th, 2013 - 10:46 am 0
briton
CELAC
could well be the biggest danger to south Americans since the false prophacy.
Jan 29th, 2013 - 01:42 pm 0

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