MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OAS General Assembly: a statement on Falklands/Malvinas can be expected

The OAS general assembly two/day meeting is taking place in Santo Domingo

This Monday evening the Organization of American States 46th General Assembly will officially open in Santo Domingo and this year's convening agenda refers to “Institutional Strengthening for Sustainable Development in the Americas”. The two day gathering is also expected to focus on the Venezuela, Haiti and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission situations, and as is the norm, the Falklands-Malvinas issue will be addressed or included in the final declaration.

 According to the OAS sources the agenda also includes the final approval of a declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, an ongoing issue motive of 17-years discussions, plus presentations by other multilateral organizations such as the UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC.

Following the formal opening Monday evening, the general assembly will begin discussions on Tuesday, with the attendance of US Secretary of State John Kerry. At midday the foreign ministers and the Secretary General Luis Almagro, will be sharing lunch when the Venezuelan situation is expected to be addressed behind closed doors. Argentine foreign minister Susana Malcorra is in disagreement with the position sponsored by Almagro on the Venezuelan situation.

In the last day of activities, with two sessions, the president of the CIDH, James Cavallaro, is scheduled to deliver the annual report of the commission. Cavallaro is expected to make a strong presentation requesting funds for the proper functioning of the Commission which has had its clashes with Venezuela, Ecuador and even Brazil, (among other members) that have strong objections about the annual country reports and the overall working of the CIDH. He will argue that with insufficient funding many of the human rights activities of the Commission will have to be suspended.

As to the Falklands/Malvinas situation a similar statement to the annual declaration can be expected, calling for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the UK through dialogue and negotiations.

Following the formal opening Monday evening, the general assembly will begin discussions on Tuesday, with the attendance of US Secretary of State John Kerry. At midday the foreign ministers and the Secretary General Luis Almagro, will be sharing lunch when the Venezuelan situation is expected to be addressed behind closed doors.