MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OAS General Assembly salutes Argentina's stance regarding Malvinas and issues Declaration of Asunción

The OAS gathering agreed on the need to resume negotiations on sovereignty over the Falkland/Malvinas as soon as possible

The 54th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded Friday in the Paraguayan capital with the Declaration of Asunción, a document promoting the elimination of violence against women and girls, the fight against climate change, and the fight against organized crime.

The Assembly also approved a declaration expressing the OAS' satisfaction with the Argentine Government's reaffirmation of its willingness to continue exploring all possible avenues for a peaceful resolution of the Malvinas controversy and emphasizing the need to resume negotiations on sovereignty as soon as possible to find a peaceful solution. Even in its version in English, the OAS website (accessed June 29 at 9 am GMT) never used the word “Falklands.”

”The Asunción declaration reflects agreements to (...) strengthen the fight against transnational organized crime, defend human rights, eliminate all forms of discrimination and (...) address climate change,“ Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano explained. The joint statement also proposes to ”respect, protect and promote human rights (...) and eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, and groups in vulnerable situations.“

These paragraphs were adopted despite Argentina's contention on the need to have a gender and ethnic perspective. ”There has been an intense negotiation dynamic“ but ”the resolutions and declarations have been approved by consensus,“ OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro admitted.

The OAS Member States also reaffirmed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, since ”there can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development“, and committed to prioritizing public policies to protect the environment and combat climate change.

The declaration also focused on the fight against transnational crime and mentioned the possibility of ”national and regional measures to respond to the multiple challenges in the area of security“ while strengthening democratic governance and institutions in the countries of the region as a factor of social cohesion, promoting conditions that bring about equal, fair, and prosperous societies, ensuring respect for democratic processes and the rights of all persons.

The convention also addressed Wednesday's attempted coup d'état in Bolivia and approved a resolution for the ”follow-up to the situation in Nicaragua,“ a country that left the body last year at the request of its president, Daniel Ortega, who was urged to cease all violations of human rights and take effective measures to restore democratic institutions.

Additionally, member states approved resolutions on a variety of topics related to the Organization's four pillars of work: democracy, integral development, multidimensional security, and human rights. The Assembly focused on regional issues and on countries facing critical situations and topics of special interest.

The OAS also adopted a resolution on ”continued efforts toward the immediate restoration of security, strengthening of humanitarian assistance, promotion of socioeconomic development, and support for protecting human rights and democracy in Haiti” was adopted, endorsing the newly formed Presidential Transition Council and the new transitional government, and urging member states and the international community to provide immediate humanitarian aid to the country, as well as support to the Multinational Security Support Mission.