IV UNASUR Summit close with historic ‘Georgetown Declaration’

President Bharrat Jagdeo, outgoing UNASUR Chairman Rafael Correa and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez giving the ‘thumbs up’ after a successful summit

Agreement on a 33 point, five-page communiqué testifying to the will and wishes of the Heads of State and Delegations of the Union of South American Nations, UNASUR, brought the curtains down on what is being declared a ‘successful’ fourth Regular Summit of the 12 member union, today at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal.

SEE AGREEMENT HERE

Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo who assumed the Chairmanship of UNASUR said that the resolutions inherent in the Declaration reflect the desire of the Heads to ‘carve a bigger space for South America in the world.’
To this end, Clause 25 of the Declaration speaks to the pledge by the member states to “participate actively in international and regional multilateral forums, in order to fortify UNASUR’s presence, seeking out solutions to global problems of common interest.”
The Georgetown Declaration started out with the Heads, in the first two clauses, paying tribute to the late the former Argentine President and Secretary-General of UNASUR Dr. Nestor Kirchner by acknowledging the scope of the work undertaken during his tenure at the helm of the group.
Clauses three and four recognise the achievements of the Ecuadorian President Raphael Correa Delgado in his tenure as Pro Tempore President of UNASUR and sought to welcome President Jagdeo as he assumes the position constitutionally Guyana’s for the next year.
The members of UNASUR thus declared their “willingness to continue working towards the consolidation of a common space for the political, economic, social, cultural, energy, environmental and infrastructural integration of the region, in order to achieve sustainable development. They also highlighted their “firm commitment to work together to promote social and human development with equity and inclusion, and in harmony with nature, in order to eradicate poverty, reduce asymmetries, and overcome inequalities, with a framework of unity, democracy, unwavering respect for human rights and cooperation, both regionally and internationally, in the context of strengthening the sovereignty and independence of states,” as is inherent in clauses five and six.
In order to concretise such strengthening, the members approved the “Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty of UNASUR on Commitment to Democracy” which seeks to fundamentally guarantee “that member states will not tolerate any challenge to the institutional authority or any attempted coup against the legitimately constituted civil and that they shall adopt concrete and immediate measures in event of violations against the constitutional order.”
They further sought to ratify the “Declaration of Buenos Aires” dated October 1, 2010 in which they affirmed “that in the event of such new challenges or violations, measures such as “border closure, suspension of trade, air traffic and the provision of energy, services and other supplies” will be adopted against the offending parties.
As part of their Communiqué too, the Heads expressed their approval on the setting up of the various Councils of UNASUR including the approval of the Statute of the Council of Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Innovation (COSECCTI), and its attendant Action Plan in Education and the Roadmaps in the fields of Science, Technology, Education and Culture; the work carried out by the South American Council on Health, underscoring the importance of the implementation of the UNASUR Health Scholarship Programme next year; the advancement made by the South American Council on the World Drug Problem, strongly urging the implementation of mechanisms that can allow for consultations among the police and military personnel of South America.
The Heads approved too, the Statutes and Regulations of the South American Council for Infrastructure and Planning (COSIPLAN); pronounced on the advancements made by the South American Energy Council; applauded the approval of the Statute of the Centre for strategic Defense Studies of the South American Defence Council(CEED-CDS) and the creation of the Council on Economy and Finance.
Inherent in the document too is a provision for the Pro Tempore President to convene within the next 30 days the Working Group on Dispute Settlement which, according to the Declaration, “shall comprise high-level experts appointed by Heads of State and Government to consider the proposal put forward by the Republic of Ecuador”, regarding a myriad of issues relating to the settlements of disputes, a code of conduct for member states and issues related to investments. The group is expected to present their findings to the Council of Delegates, 90 days after it has been constituted.
The Declaration also made clear the Heads’ position on Haiti with a call to member states that have not yet done so to make their contributions to the pledges under the “Decision on UNASUR Solidarity with Haiti.” The “UNASUR Fund for the Reconstruction of Haiti” was created in the amount of $100M and member states were urged to make viable a line of credit amounting to $200M, which would complement UNASUR’s contribution. Importantly, the Heads also called on the International Community “to concretise the aid” offered to the impoverished Island nation especially in light of recent events there.
Significant too was the position of the union on the issues of climate change and noteworthy was the call to the developed countries to use the upcoming Cancun Conference to make firm political commitments which would allow for actions and proposals to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gasses as commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol. UNSAUR heads also applauded internal initiatives aimed at promoting the sustainable development of natural resources including forests, through national and regional initiatives and instructed the Council of Delegates under the chairmanship of Guyana to invite a representative of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation to examine areas of cooperation between both organisations.
The Heads also called for consensus on the final draft of the Additional Protocol that will allow for the establishment of the South American Parliament.
Finally, the Communiqué sought to communicate the Heads’ support of the Bolivian people in the chewing of Cocoa leaves as an ancestral and cultural tradition that should be respected by the international community and their support for the United Nations to declare 2011 the International “Year of Quinoa” noting that the grain would make a significant nutritional contribution as the global grain of the future.