DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ASSUMES CHAIR OF THE OAS PERMANENT COUNCIL

Washington, January 14- The Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Organization of American States (OAS), Pedro Vergés, assumed the Chair of the Permanent Council of the hemispheric institution, held during the past three months by Perú.

Upon receiving the gavel that represents the Council’s authority from his predecessor, Ambassador Vergés highlighted the historic ties that bind his nation to the OAS. "For our country, and to me personally, is a great honor to assume the Chair of the Council of this Organization, which for us is of paramount importance, since we were among the first countries that shaped it and have followed all of its institutional history to the present," he said.

The Dominican diplomat said his country "is engaged in a continuous process of institutional and democratic strengthening which will not rest for a second. And on that basis we will work to strengthen the OAS not only in our territory, but also in the territories of our brother countries vying for the same”.

Ambassador Vergés said that during the three months he holds the Chair he will work to strengthen the hemispheric Organization "as much from the administrative point of view as the institutional point of view, and also in strengthening all the programs of the Organization to promote what it represents”.

Secretary General Insulza recalled that when he took office, eight and half years ago, the Chair of the Permanent Council was held by the Ambassador of Perú, Alberto Borea, who was succeeded by the Dominican Ambassador Roberto Álvarez. "This means that today we are witnessing a complete cycle in the Council, where the 34 countries participating in the Organization have assumed the Chair of the Council, and it is a positive development that deserves to be highlighted," said the OAS Secretary General.

The head of the hemispheric institution said that the period presided over by the new Chair will be key to the institution, because "this year, 2014, will be when we will make the necessary reforms in the OAS," referring to the debate on the Strategic Vision of the Organization, which he proposed and which is currently underway in the Permanent Council.

For his part, Ambassador Jiménez, who chaired the Council during the last days of December after his predecessor and countryman, Walter Albán, was called by the government of Peru to serve as Interior Minister, said that "in this short period for me, but not for my country, the Chair of the Permanent Council was a very important experience”.

The Peruvian diplomat highlighted the work of Ambassador Albán in defense of the values of the Organization, noting that "there have been major tasks related to clearing the mandates of the Organization, there was also an important level of cultural activity and further progress was made in the Plan of Action of the Social Charter of the Americas Ambassador Jiménez added. “Right now we are at a crucial stage for the Organization, to strengthen it, to emphasize its constitutional mandate and to establish the political ties between our countries, so we can envision our common future in terms of democracy, good governance and respect for rights”.

The handover ceremony was also attended by the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, and several Permanent Representatives of the member countries.

The Permanent Council’s statutes establish that the chair be held by each of the Permanent Representatives in turn, following the alphabetic order in Spanish of the names of their respective countries, and the office of Vice Chair, by identical standards, following reverse alphabetical order. The Vice Chair of the Council will be the Permanent Representative of Venezuela, Ambassador Roy Chaderton.

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