Plan of Action
Table of Contents
I. Preserving and Strengthening the Community of Democracies of
the Americas
1. Strengthening Democracy
2. Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
3. Invigorating Society/Community Participation
4. Promoting Cultural Values
5. Combating Corruption
6. Combating the Problem of Illegal Drugs and Related Crimes
7. Eliminating the Threat of National and International Terrorism
8. Building Mutual Confidence
II. Promoting Prosperity Through Economic Integration and Free
Trade
9. Free Trade in the Americas
10. Capital Markets Development and Liberalization
11. Hemispheric Infrastructure
12. Energy Cooperation
13. Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure
14. Cooperation in Science and Technology
15. Tourism
III. Eradicating Poverty and Discrimination in Our Hemisphere
16. Universal Access to Education
17. Equitable Access to Basic Health Services
18. Strengthening the Role of Women in Society
19. Encouraging Microenterprises and Small Businesses
20. White Helmets--Emergency and Development Corps
IV. Guaranteeing Sustainable Development and Conserving Our Natural
Environment for Future Generations
21. Partnership for Sustainable Energy Use
22. Partnership for Biodiversity
23. Partnership for Pollution Prevention.
Summit of the Americas Plan of Action
The heads of state and government participating in the 1994 Summit
of the Americas in Miami, Florida, desirous of furthering the
broad objectives set forth in their Declaration of Principles
and mindful of the need for practical progress on the vital tasks
of enhancing democracy, promoting development, achieving economic
integration and free trade, improving the lives of their people,
and protecting the natural environment for future generations,
affirm their commitment to this Plan of Action.
I. PRESERVING AND STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES
OF THE AMERICAS
1. Strengthening Democracy
The strengthening, effective exercise and consolidation of democracy
constitute the central political priority of the Americas. The
Organization of American States (OAS) is the principal hemispheric
body for the defense of democratic values and institutions; among
its essential purposes is to promote and consolidate representative
democracy, with due respect to the principle of non-intervention.
The OAS has adopted multilateral procedures to address the problems
created when democratic order has been interrupted unconstitutionally.
In order to prevent such crises, the OAS needs to direct more
effort toward the promotion of democratic values and practices
and to the social and economic strengthening of already-established
democratic regimes.
Governments will:
- Give expeditious consideration to ratifying the Cartagena de Indias,
Washington and Managua Protocols to the OAS Charter, if they have
not already done so.
- Strengthen the dialogue among social groups and foster grass roots
participation in problem solving at the local level.
- Support efforts by the OAS to promote democracy by:
- Encouraging exchanges of election-related technologies and assisting
national electoral organizations, at the request of the interested
state.
- Strengthening the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy so that
it can provide assistance at the request of the interested state
on such matters as legislative and judicial processes, government
reforms (including administration of justice, technical modernization
of national legislative bodies, simplification of government regulations
and promotion of participation by community organizations in local
democracy), and other institutional changes.
- Encouraging opportunities for exchange of experiences among member
states' democratic institutions, particularly legislature-to-legislature
and judiciary-to-judiciary.
- Fostering understanding, dialogue and political reconciliation,
at the request of the affected state and bearing in mind that
national reconciliation comes from within.
- Requesting the OAS to promote and follow up on these commitments.
2. Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
Great progress has been made in the Hemisphere in the development
of human rights concepts and norms, but serious gaps in implementation
remain. While courts ultimately have the responsibility for enforcing
legal rights and obligations, reforms in other institutions are
needed to contribute to the further development of a climate of
respect for human rights. There must also be universal access
to justice and effective means to enforce basic rights. A democracy
is judged by the rights enjoyed by its least influential members.
Governments will:
- Give serious consideration to adherence to international human
rights instruments to which they are not already party.
- Cooperate fully with all United Nations and inter-American human
rights bodies.
- Develop programs for the promotion and observance of human rights,
including educational programs to inform people of their legal
rights and their responsibility to respect the rights of others.
- Promote policies to ensure that women enjoy full and equal legal
rights within their families and societies, and to ensure the
removal of constraints to women's full participation as voters,
candidates and elected and appointed officials.
- Review and strengthen laws for the protection of the rights of
minority groups and indigenous people and communities to ensure
freedom from discrimination, to guarantee full and equal protection
under the law, and to facilitate active civic participation. Support
a process to review and enhance the protection of indigenous rights
in OAS member states and to develop promptly an effective United
Nations declaration on indigenous rights.
- Review national legislation affecting people with disabilities,
as well as benefits and services for them, and make any changes
needed to facilitate the enjoyment by these individuals of the
same rights and freedoms as other members of society.
- Undertake all measures necessary to guarantee the rights of children,
and, where they have not already done so, give serious consideration
to ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
- Guarantee the protection of the human rights of all migrant workers
and their families.
- Take the necessary steps to remedy inhumane conditions in prisons
and to minimize the number of pretrial detainees.
- Review training curricula for law enforcement agents to ensure
that they adequately cover proper treatment of suspects and detainees
as well as relations with the community.
- Exchange experiences on protection of human rights at the national
level and, where possible, cooperate in the development of law
enforcement and security force training or other programs to reduce
the potential for human rights violations.
- Call on the OAS and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
to establish or to reinforce programs, as appropriate, to support
national projects for the promotion and observance of human rights
in the Western Hemisphere.
- Further strengthen the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
3. Invigorating Society/Community Participation
A strong and diverse civil society, organized in various ways
and sectors, including individuals, the private sector, labor,
political parties, academics, and other non-governmental actors
and organizations, gives depth and durability to democracy. Similarly,
a vigorous democracy requires broad participation in public issues.
Such activities should be carried out with complete transparency
and accountability, and to this end a proper legal and regulatory
framework should be established to include the possibility of
obtaining technical and financial support, including from private
sources.
Governments will:
- Review the regulatory framework for non-governmental actors with
a view to facilitating their operations and promoting their ability
to receive funds. This review will emphasize the management and
oversight of resources as well as transparency and the accountability
to society of said actors.
- Take steps to improve the participation in social activities and
initiatives of groups traditionally marginalized, including women,
youth, indigenous people and the extremely poor.
- Exchange progress reports on activities in the civil society area
at the 1996 Summit Conference on Sustainable Development in Bolivia.
- Consider the development by the IDB of a new Civil Society Program
to encourage responsible and accountable philanthropy and civic
engagement in public policy issues.
4. Promoting Cultural Values
Cultural development is a fundamental and integral component of
development in the Americas and has an inherent capability to
enrich our societies and to generate greater understanding among
our countries.
In order to promote cultural values, governments will:
- Encourage more dynamic relations among public and private institutions
and organizations, including universities, museums, and centers
of art and literature, as well as among individual cultural actors.
Such exchanges emphasize our cultural diversity, recognize the
value of our local cultures and contribute to improving hemispheric
understanding.
- Request that the OAS and IDB reinforce their plans and programs
to facilitate these cultural exchanges and the flow of cultural
and historical information within and among our nations.
5. Combating Corruption
The problem of corruption is now an issue of serious interest
not only in this Hemisphere, but in all regions of the world.
Corruption in both the public and private sectors weakens democracy
and undermines the legitimacy of governments and institutions.
The modernization of the state, including deregulation, privatization
and the simplification of government procedures, reduces the opportunities
for corruption. All aspects of public administration in a democracy
must be transparent and open to public scrutiny.
Governments will:
- Promote open discussion of the most significant problems facing
government and develop priorities for reforms needed to make government
operations transparent and accountable.
- Ensure proper oversight of government functions by strengthening
internal mechanisms, including investigative and enforcement capacity
with respect to acts of corruption, and facilitating public access
to information necessary for meaningful outside review.
- Establish conflict of interest standards for public employees
and effective measures against illicit enrichment, including stiff
penalties for those who utilize their public position to benefit
private interests.
- Call on the governments of the world to adopt and enforce measures
against bribery in all financial or commercial transactions with
the Hemisphere; toward this end, invite the OAS to establish liaison
with the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business
Transactions.
- Develop mechanisms of cooperation in the judicial and banking
areas to make possible rapid and effective response in the international
investigation of corruption cases.
- Give priority to strengthening government regulations and procurement,
tax collection, the administration of justice and the electoral
and legislative processes, utilizing the support of the IDB and
other international financial institutions where appropriate.
- Develop within the OAS, with due regard to applicable treaties
and national legislation, a hemispheric approach to acts of corruption
in both the public and private sectors that would include extradition
and prosecution of individuals so charged, through negotiation
of a new hemispheric agreement or new arrangements within existing
frameworks for international cooperation.
6. Combating the Problem of Illegal Drugs and Related Crimes
The problems of illegal drug and related criminal activities pose
grave threats to the societies, free market economies, and democratic
institutions of the Hemisphere. Drug use imposes enormous social
costs; drug money and income are net drains on economic growth;
and drug lords and criminal organizations endanger the security
of our people through corruption, intimidation, and violence.
While drug trafficking continues to be a significant source of
illegal funds, the money laundering industry increasingly deals
with the proceeds of all types of criminal activity. An integrated
and balanced approach that includes respect for national sovereignty
is essential to confront all aspects of these problems. For these
reasons, a broad coordinated hemispheric strategy to reduce drug
use and production, including new enforcement methods that can
disrupt drug trafficking and money laundering networks and prosecute
those engaged in such activities, is required. In this context,
governments note the work of the 1992 San Antonio Summit, endorse
the efforts of the Inter-American Commission on Drug Abuse Control,
and agree to work together to formulate a counter-narcotics strategy
for the 21st Century.
Governments will:
- Ratify the 1988 United Nations Convention Against the Illicit
Traffic of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances and make it a
criminal offense to launder the proceeds of all serious crimes.
- Enact legislation to permit the freezing and forfeiture of the
proceeds of money laundering and consider the sharing of forfeited
assets among governments.
- As agreed by ministers and representatives of Caribbean and Latin
American governments in the Kingston Declaration, November 5-6,
1992, implement the recommendations of the Caribbean Financial
Action Task Force on Money Laundering and work to adopt the Model
Regulations of the Inter-American Commission on Drug Abuse Control
(CICAD).
- Encourage financial institutions to report large and suspicious
transactions to appropriate authorities and develop effective
procedures that would allow the collection of relevant information
from financial institutions.
- Work individually and collectively to identify the region's narcotics
trafficking and money laundering networks, prosecute their leaders,
and seize assets derived from these criminal activities.
- Adopt programs to prevent and reduce the demand for and the consumption
of illicit drugs.
- Adopt effective and environmentally-sound national strategies
to prevent or reduce substantially the cultivation and processing
of crops used for the illegal drug trade, paying particular attention
to national and international support for development programs
that create viable economic alternatives to drug production.
- Pay particular attention to the control of precursor chemicals
and support comprehensive drug interdiction strategies.
- Strengthen efforts to control firearms, ammunition, and explosives
to avoid their diversion to drug traffickers and criminal organizations.
- Hold a working-level conference, to be followed by a ministerial
conference, to study and agree on a coordinated hemispheric response,
including consideration of an inter-American convention, to combat
money laundering.
- Convene a hemispheric-wide conference of donors, including multilateral
development banks and UN agencies, to seek resources for alternative
development programs aimed at curbing the production, trafficking,
and use of illicit drugs, and the rehabilitation of addicts.
- Support the discussion the OAS has initiated with the European
Union on measures to control precursor chemicals.
- Support the convening of a global counter-narcotics conference.
7. Eliminating the Threat of National and International Terrorism
National and international terrorism constitute a systematic and
deliberate violation of the rights of individuals and an assault
on democracy itself. Recent attacks that some of our countries
have suffered have demonstrated the serious threat that terrorism
poses to security in the Americas. Actions by governments to
combat and eliminate this threat are essential elements in guaranteeing
law and order and maintaining confidence in government, both nationally
and internationally. Within this context, those who sponsor terrorist
acts or assist in their planning or execution through the abuse
of diplomatic privileges and immunities or other means will be
held responsible by the international community.
Governments will:
- Promote bilateral and subregional agreements with the aim of prosecuting
terrorists and penalizing terrorist activities within the context
of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
- Convene a special conference of the OAS on the prevention of terrorism.
- Reaffirm the importance of the extradition treaties ratified by
the states of the Hemisphere, and note that these treaties will
be strictly complied with as an expression of the political will
of governments, in accordance with international law and domestic
legislation.
8. Building Mutual Confidence
The expansion and consolidation of democracy in the Americas provide
an opportunity to build upon the peaceful traditions and the cooperative
relationships that have prevailed among the countries of the Western
Hemisphere. Our aim is to strengthen the mutual confidence that
contributes to the economic and social integration of our peoples.
Governments will:
- Support actions to encourage a regional dialogue to promote the
strengthening of mutual confidence, preparing the way for a regional
conference on confidence-building measures in 1995, which Chile
has offered to host.
II. PROMOTING PROSPERITY THROUGH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND FREE
TRADE
9. Free Trade in the Americas
1) While pursuing economic integration and free trade in the Hemisphere,
we reinforce our strong commitment to multilateral rules and disciplines.
We endorse full and rapid implementation of the Uruguay Round,
active multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization,
bilateral and subregional trade agreements, and other trade arrangements
that are consistent with the provisions of the GATT/WTO and that
do not raise barriers to other nations.
2) Extraordinary achievements have been made by countries of the
Hemisphere in trade liberalization and subregional integration.
Free trade and increased economic integration are key factors
for sustainable development. This will be furthered as we strive
to make our trade liberalization and environmental policies mutually
supportive, taking into account efforts undertaken by the GATT/WTO
and other international organizations. As economic integration
in the Hemisphere proceeds, we will further secure the observance
and promotion of worker rights, as defined by appropriate international
conventions. We will avoid disguised restrictions on trade, in
accordance with the GATT/WTO and other international obligations.
3) We will strive to maximize market openness through high levels
of discipline as we build upon existing agreements in the Hemisphere.
We also will strive for balanced and comprehensive agreements,
including among others: tariffs and non-tariff barriers affecting
trade in goods and services; agriculture; subsidies; investment;
intellectual property rights; government procurement; technical
barriers to trade; safeguards; rules of origin; antidumping and
countervailing duties; sanitary and phytosanitary standards and
procedures; dispute resolution; and competition policy.
4) We recognize that decisions on trade agreements remain a sovereign
right of each nation. In addition, recognizing the importance
of effective enforcement of international commitments, each nation
will take the necessary action, in accordance with its own legislation
and procedures, to implement the agreements in the areas covered
by this Plan of Action.
5) As we work to achieve the "Free Trade Area of the Americas,"
opportunities such as technical assistance will be provided to
facilitate the integration of the smaller economies and increase
their level of development.
Immediate Action Agenda
We direct our ministers responsible for trade to take the following
concrete initial steps to achieve the "Free Trade Area of
the Americas."
6) With the objective of ensuring full and complete discussion
among the parties to the various trade agreements in the Hemisphere,
we direct that meetings be held under existing trade and investment
fora. Members of these fora will determine areas of commonality
and divergence in the particular agreements under review and should
consider the means of improving disciplines among them and bringing
them together. We further direct that members of these fora inform
ministers of the status of their discussions and make recommendations
for achieving the "Free Trade Area of the Americas."
7) Transparency in, and a clear understanding of, the subregional
and bilateral agreements achieved to date among the nations in
the Hemisphere are critical for advancing trade and investment
integration in the Americas. We will direct the OAS Special Committee
on Trade, with the support of the IDB, ECLAC, and other specialized
regional and subregional organizations, to assist in the systematization
of data in the region and to continue its work on studying economic
integration arrangements in the Hemisphere, including brief comparative
descriptions of the obligations in each of the Hemisphere's existing
trade agreements. We will further direct the Special Committee
on Trade to prepare a report of its work by June 1995 for the
meeting of ministers.
8) We direct our ministers responsible for trade to: (a) review
the progress of work undertaken in the fora noted in paragraphs
6 and 7; (b) provide guidance with respect to further work; and
(c) consider areas for immediate attention--such as customs facilitation
and product testing and certification with a view to mutual recognition
agreements--that could be taken up in the appropriate fora.
9) Therefore, today we launch the "Free Trade Area of the
Americas" by initiating the following process. We will direct
the OAS to assist the host country in arranging the ministerial
meetings.
January 1995
Initiation of work programs and establishment of schedules in
the fora in paragraph 6 and in the Special Committee on Trade.
June 1995
March 1996
10. Capital Markets Development and Liberalization
The availability of capital at competitive rates is essential
to finance private sector investment--a vital ingredient in economic
development. Developing, liberalizing and integrating financial
markets domestically and internationally, increasing transparency,
and establishing sound, comparable supervision and regulation
of banking and securities markets will help to reduce the cost
of capital by enhancing investor and depositor confidence.
Governments will:
- Form a Committee on Hemispheric Financial Issues to examine steps
to promote the liberalization of capital movements and the progressive
integration of capital markets, including, if deemed appropriate,
the negotiation of common guidelines on capital movements that
would provide for their progressive liberalization.
- Prepare, in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank,
a comprehensive list of national capital regulations in order
to promote transparency and support the discussions in the Committee
on Hemispheric Financial Issues.
- Support the cooperative endeavors of the Association of Latin
American and Caribbean Bank Supervisors and the Council of Securities
Regulators of the Americas to provide sound supervision and regulation
that support the development and progressive integration of markets.
- The Committee on Hemispheric Financial Issues should also review
problems of debt in the Hemisphere, taking account of ongoing
work and drawing, as appropriate, on a broad range of expertise.
11. Hemispheric Infrastructure
Development in this Hemisphere depends on urgent infrastructure
measures, including the priority allocation of financial resources,
in accordance with national legislation and with the participation
of both the public and private sectors. Strengthening the flow
of private productive capital to economically and environmentally
sound projects has become increasingly vital to countries throughout
the Hemisphere as the growth of official sources of capital has
failed to keep pace with the area's needs.
Governments will:
- Charge multilateral development banks to work with governments
and, as appropriate, private concerns, to develop mechanisms to
deal with lending and investment issues.
- Draw on other regional and sub-regional experiences within the
Hemisphere to support infrastructure development.
- Governments that so wish will develop suitable mechanisms, including
multilateral and bilateral commitments on regulatory and legal
rules and practices, to encourage private investment, both domestic
and foreign, in national and transboundary infrastructure projects.
12. Energy Cooperation*
The nations of the Hemisphere have begun a new era of economic
growth. This new era is based on greater economic cooperation,
freer trade, and open markets. Sustainable economic development
requires hemispheric cooperation in the field of energy.
Governments will:
- Convene a follow-up hemispheric officials' meeting in the first
semester of 1995 to encourage cooperation to study ways to develop
the energy industry within the Hemisphere, consistent with the
least cost national energy strategies and the activities described
in the "Partnership for Sustainable Energy use" in the
following areas:
- Consideration of ways to use the energy sector to promote sustainable
economic growth.
- Cooperation to study ways to optimize and facilitate the financing
mechanisms of international financial institutions to support
the development of projects in the energy sector, especially including
those pertaining to the enhancement of efficiency in the use of
energy and to non-conventional renewable energy.
- Cooperation to promote capital investment and to foster the use
of innovative financial mechanisms to increase investment in the
energy sector and the enhancement of efficiency in the use of
energy and non-conventional renewable energy, in accordance with
each country's legislation and developmental needs.
- Promotion of the use of efficient and non-polluting energy technologies,
both conventional and renewable, leading to a higher degree of
knowledge and technical expertise in this area.
- Consideration of the enhancement of ongoing efforts to establish
electric and other energy facilities in accordance with domestic
regulatory frameworks and, where appropriate, under sub-regional
agreements.
* This initiative is integrally linked with the Partnership
for Sustainable Energy Use item.
13. Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure
A country's information infrastructure--telecommunications, information
technology, and broadcasting--is an essential component of political,
economic, social and cultural development. The information infrastructure
development needs in the Americas are immense. The governments
of the Americas intend to meet these needs by engaging in multiple
actions, where consistent with their respective governing laws,
such as: encouraging private sector investment to increase participation
in the telecommunications and information infrastructure sectors;
promoting competition; implementing flexible regulatory regimes;
stimulating diversity of content, including cultural and linguistic
diversity; providing access to information networks for service
and information providers; and ensuring universal service, so
that the benefits of the information infrastructure will be available
to all members of our societies.
Governments will:
- Engage in ongoing discussions at the international level of the
actions referred to above and endeavor to take those actions in
their own countries, taking account of domestic conditions and
circumstances.
- Undertake efforts to make government information more publicly
available via electronic means.
- Review the availability and interoperability of connections to
international networks that facilitate trade, improve education
and improve access to health care.
- Encourage major universities, libraries, hospitals and government
agencies to have access to these networks, building on the work
of the OAS Hemisphere-Wide Inter-University Scientific and Technological
Information Network.
- Via the OAS Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL),
and in coordination with the sub-regional telecommunications organizations,
develop and carry out a work program to:
- Evaluate regulatory, technical and legal means to promote liberalization,
common standards, interoperability of networks and compatible
use of the radio spectrum.
- Examine ways to promote greater consistency of the certification
processes for telecommunications equipment among member countries.
- Develop regional guidelines for the provision of international
value-added network services.
- Support a meeting by 1996, coordinated by CITEL, of senior telecommunications
officials to conduct further discussions of the above actions.
14. Cooperation in Science and Technology
There is a need to re-assess the on-going interaction among the
region's science and technology (S&T) infrastructure and cooperative
mechanisms; to provide impetus for improved cooperation; to reduce
barriers to collaboration; to augment the demand for technology;
and to disseminate information about technological opportunities
using new advances in information technology; and generally to
improve communications among the key S&T organizations, researchers
in the region, and growing technology-based small and medium-sized
enterprises.
The commitment of the countries of the Americas to non-proliferation
has gained new momentum with the acceptance of the international
safeguard regime by some of our countries. The outstanding progress
achieved in this field is to be commended and should contribute
to enhanced opportunities for cooperation in the area of advanced
goods and technologies.
Governments will:
- Convene a meeting of ministers responsible for science and technology
in the Hemisphere within the next year to assess progress and
to promote the Bolivar Programme and the OAS Common Market of
Scientific and Technological Knowledge (MERCOCYT) program, to
provide the necessary support to improve scientific partnerships
and technological ventures in the region, and to explore the possibility
of establishing a council on science and technology.
- Use existing multilateral mechanisms in the region to address
a wide number of common S&T interests, including enhanced
professional technical training, development and implementation
of national policies and regional programs, dissemination and
standardization of science and technology (including metrology
and other technical norms), environmental technology development,
and more effective partnerships to promote learning and competitiveness.
- Stimulate greater S&T interaction in the Hemisphere and support
efforts already undertaken in other fora, including the Inter-American
Institute for Global Change Research, and the International Research
Institute for Climate Prediction. Governments will serve to advance
and communicate new initiatives such as the Global Learning and
Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program.
- Confirm their interest in participating in new initiatives driven
by a demand from private sector and non-government interests in
technological opportunities.
- Confirm their national commitments to share S&T information
with others in the Hemisphere, in accord with their respective
laws, and to expand cooperation in scientific and environmental
research.
15. Tourism
Tourism is important to our economies and valuable in promoting
understanding among the people of the Americas.
Governments will:
- Undertake initiatives to stimulate tourism in the Hemisphere.
III. ERADICATING POVERTY AND DISCRIMINATION IN OUR HEMISPHERE
Large segments of society in our Hemisphere, particularly women,
minorities, the disabled, indigenous groups, refugees and displaced
persons, have not been equipped to participate fully in economic
life. Nearly one-half of the Hemisphere's population still lives
in poverty. Expanded participation of the poor in the region's
economies, access to productive resources, appropriate support
for social safety nets and increased human capital investments
are important mechanisms to help eradicate poverty. In pursuit
of these objectives, we reaffirm our support for the strategies
contained within the "Commitment on a Partnership for Development
and Struggle to Overcome Extreme Poverty" adopted by the
OAS General Assembly.
The World Summit for Social Development to be held in Copenhagen
in March 1995, as well as the United Nations World Conference
on Women in Beijing in September 1995, will provide unique opportunities
to define strategies to promote social integration, productive
employment and the eradication of poverty.
16. Universal Access to Education
Universal literacy and access to education at all levels, without
distinction by race, national origin or gender, are an indispensable
basis for sustainable social and cultural development, economic
growth and democratic stability.
Governments will:
- Guarantee universal access to quality primary education, working
with public and private sectors and non-governmental actors, and
with the support of multinational institutions. In particular,
governments will seek to attain by the year 2010 a primary completion
rate of 100 per cent and a secondary enrollment rate of at least
75 per cent, and to prepare programs to eradicate illiteracy,
prevent truancy and improve human resources training.
- Promote, with the support of international financial institutions
and the private sector, worker professional training as well as
adult education, incorporating efforts to make such education
more relevant to the needs of the market and employers.
- Improve human resources training, and technical, professional
and teacher training, which are vital for the enhancement of quality
and equity of education within the Hemisphere.
- Increase access to and strengthen the quality of higher education
and promote cooperation among such institutions in producing the
scientific and technological knowledge that is necessary for sustainable
development.
- Support strategies to overcome nutritional deficiencies of primary
school children in order to enhance their learning ability.
- Support decentralization including assurance of adequate financing
and broad participation by parents, educators, community leaders
and government officials in education decision-making.
- Review existing regional and hemispheric training programs and
make them more responsive to current needs.
- Create a hemispheric partnership, working through existing organizations,
to provide a consultative forum for governments, non-governmental
actors, the business community, donors, and international organizations
to reform educational policies and focus resources more efficiently.
- Urge the March 1995 World Summit for Social Development and the
September 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women to address the
issue of universal access to education.
17. Equitable Access to Basic Health Services
Despite impressive gains in the Hemisphere, limitations on health
services access and quality have resulted in persistently high
child and maternal mortality, particularly among the rural poor
and indigenous groups.
Governments will:
- Endorse the maternal and child health objectives of the 1990 World
Summit for Children, the 1994 Nariño Accord and the 1994
International Conference on Population and Development, and reaffirm
their commitment to reduce child mortality by one-third and maternal
mortality by one-half from 1990 levels by the year 2000.
- Endorse a basic package of clinical, preventive and public health
services consistent with World Health Organization, Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO) and World Bank recommendations and
with the Program of Action agreed to at the 1994 International
Conference on Population and Development. The package will address
child, maternal and reproductive health interventions, including
prenatal, delivery and postnatal care, family planning information
and services, and HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as immunizations
and programs combating the other major causes of infant mortality.
The plans and programs will be developed according to a mechanism
to be decided upon by each country.
- Develop or update country action plans or programs for reforms
to achieve child, maternal and reproductive health goals and ensure
universal, non-discriminatory access to basic services, including
health education and preventive health care programs. The plans
and programs will be developed according to a mechanism to be
decided upon by each country. Reforms would encompass essential
community-based services for the poor, the disabled, and indigenous
groups; stronger public health infrastructure; alternative means
of financing, managing and providing services; quality assurance;
and greater use of non-governmental actors and organizations.
- Strengthen the existing Inter-American Network on Health Economics
and Financing, which serves as an international forum for sharing
technical expertise, information and experience, to focus on health
reform efforts. The network gathers government officials, representatives
of the private sector, non-governmental institutions and actors,
donors and scholars for policy discussions, analysis, training
and other activities to advance reform; strengthens national capabilities
in this critical area; and fosters Hemisphere-wide cooperation.
- Convene a special meeting of hemispheric governments with interested
donors and international technical agencies to be hosted by the
IDB, the World Bank and PAHO to establish the framework for health
reform mechanisms, to define PAHO's role in monitoring the regional
implementation of country plans and programs, and to plan strengthening
of the network, including the cosponsors' contributions to it.
- Take the opportunity of the annual PAHO Directing Council Meeting
of Western Hemisphere Ministers of Health, with participation
of the IDB and donors, to develop a program to combat endemic
and communicable diseases as well as a program to prevent the
spread of HIV/AIDS, and to identify sources of funding.
- Urge the March 1995 World Summit for Social Development and the
September 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women to address the
issue of access to health services.
18. Strengthening the Role of Women in Society
The strengthening of the role of women in society is of fundamental
importance not only for their own complete fulfillment within
a framework of equality and fairness, but to achieve true sustainable
development. It is essential to strengthen policies and programs
that improve and broaden the participation of women in all spheres
of political, social, and economic life and that improve their
access to the basic resources needed for the full exercise of
their fundamental rights. Attending to the needs of women means,
to a great extent, contributing to the reduction of poverty and
social inequalities.
Governments will:
- Recognize and give full respect for all rights of women as an
essential condition for their development as individuals and for
the creation of a more just, united and peaceful society. For
that purpose, policies to ensure that women enjoy full legal and
civil rights protection will be promoted.
- Include a gender focus in development planning and cooperation
projects and promote the fulfillment of women's potential, enhancing
their productivity through education, training, skill development
and employment.
- Promote the participation of women in the decision-making process
in all spheres of political, social and economic life.
- Undertake appropriate measures to address and reduce violence
against women.
- Adopt appropriate measures to improve women's ability to earn
income beyond traditional occupations, achieve economic self-reliance,
and ensure women's equal access to the labor market at all employment
levels, the social security systems, the credit system, and the
acquisition of goods and land.
- Cooperate fully with the recently-appointed Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
- Support and actively work to secure the success of the United
Nations World Conference on Women that will take place in Beijing
in September 1995.
- Encourage, as appropriate, ratification and compliance with the
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
Against Women and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women.
- Further strengthen the Inter-American Commission on Women.
- Call upon regional and international financial and technical organizations
to intensify their programs in favor of women. Encourage the adoption
of follow-up procedures on the national and international measures
included in this Plan of Action.
19. Encouraging Microenterprises and Small Businesses
Microenterprises and small businesses account for a large percentage
of the employment of the poor, particularly women, and contribute
a considerable percentage of the gross domestic product of our
countries. Strengthened support for microenterprises and small
businesses is a key component of sustainable and equitable development.
Governments will:
- Further pursue or initiate programs of deregulation and administrative
simplification.
- Increase efforts to enable enterprises to obtain information on
appropriate technologies (especially those that are environmentally
sound), markets, processes, raw materials and management systems
that will permit them to be more competitive in the global economy.
- Develop programs of financial deregulation to reduce costs in
credit transactions and strengthen the institutional capacity
of the financial sector servicing microenterprises and small businesses,
and encourage the active participation by multilateral and bilateral
agencies, development banks, commercial banks and other intermediary
credit organizations, consistent with strict performance standards.
- Strengthen the institutions and programs that supply services
and facilitate access to training and technical assistance to
make possible this sector's participation in the global economy
through export of its products and services.
- Encourage cooperation among businesses in this sector to enable
them to benefit from the advantages of economies of scale without
losing their distinctive characteristics.
- Promote the strengthening of relations among the public, private
and mixed (public/private) institutions that support the microenterprise
and small business sector through programs of information, training,
technical assistance, financing and association-building, enabling
this sector to thrive over the long term.
- Recommend to the multilateral development organizations, especially
the World Bank and the IDB, the establishment or fortification
of funds and other mechanisms to support microenterprises and
small businesses.
20. White Helmets--Emergency and Development Corps
The "White Helmets Initiative" is based on the conviction
that a concerted international effort of developing and developed
countries can facilitate the eradication of poverty and strengthen
the humanitarian rapid response capability of the international
community to emergency humanitarian, social and developmental
needs.
The countries of the Americas could pioneer this initiative through
the creation of national corps of volunteers that could respond
to calls from other countries in the region. These national corps
could eventually be put at the disposal of the United Nations.
Governments will on a voluntary basis:
- Establish, organize and finance a corps of volunteers to work
at the national level and, at the same time, be at the disposal
of other countries of the Hemisphere and, eventually, the United
Nations system, on a stand-by basis, for prevention, relief, rehabilitation,
technical, social and development cooperation, with the aim to
reduce the effects of natural disasters, social and developmental
needs and emergencies.
- Through the creation of a national corps of volunteers, be
responsible for the following:
- Selection and training of its national volunteer corps;
- Financing of its national corps of volunteers, encouraging the
involvement of the private sector;
- Preparedness to send specialized volunteers, on short notice and
at the request of the United Nations, to cope with situations
generated by or to prevent the effects of natural disasters and
humanitarian emergencies.
- Contribute to the formation of this corps and invite private enterprises,
foundations and regional financial institutions to do so.
- Contribute to the development of an international roster of volunteers
to be maintained in a master plan in the United Nations to be
drawn upon to complement the activities of existing UN mechanisms.
The IDB, OAS, and PAHO should be invited to participate and assist
in developing this corps.
IV. GUARANTEEING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVING OUR
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
21. Partnership for Sustainable Energy Use*
Consistent with Agenda 21 and the Framework Convention on Climate
Change, sustainable energy development and use promote economic
development and address environmental concerns. Governments and
the private sector should promote increased access to reliable,
clean, and least cost energy services through activities and projects
that meet economic, social, and environmental requirements within
the context of national sustainable development goals and national
legal frameworks.
Governments will:
- Pursue, in accordance with national legislation, least cost national
energy strategies that consider all options, including energy
efficiency, non-conventional renewable energy (i.e., solar, wind,
geothermal, small hydro, and biomass), and conventional energy
resources.
- Emphasize market-oriented pricing, which discourages wasteful
energy use.
- Identify for priority financing and development at least one economically
viable project in each of the following areas: non-conventional
renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean conventional energy.
- Promote, in cooperation with the private sector and rural and
isolated communities, rural electrification programs which take
into account where appropriate the utilization of renewable energy
sources, in accordance with the domestic regulatory framework.
- Seek to ratify and begin implementation of the provisions of the
Framework Convention on Climate Change which entered into force
on March 21, 1994.
- Encourage the World Bank and IDB to increase promptly and substantially,
as a portion of energy lending, financing of projects in energy
efficiency and renewable energy and financing to improve the environmental
sustainability of conventional energy sources, in accordance with
economic rationality.
- Call on the multilateral financial institutions and other public
and private financial institutions to finance regional and national
programs in support of this action plan, such as training and
exchange programs as well as technology cooperation, in accordance
with the needs and conditions of receiving countries.
- Assist with coordination and technical cooperation between countries,
using existing regional organizations, including project identification
and implementation, training programs, and personnel and information
exchanges to increase capacity.
- Promote the identification and implementation of private sector
projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Convene a Sustainable Energy Symposium in the first half of 1995
to discuss follow-up activities relative to this initiative.
In the spirit of cooperation countries will share their experiences
and discuss progress on implementing this action plan.
*This initiative is integrally linked with the Energy
Cooperation item.
22. Partnership for Biodiversity
Our Hemisphere contains over half the world's biodiversity. To
sustain the Hemisphere's social and economic development, we must
intensify efforts to understand, assess, and sustainably use this
living resource base. We must act now to increase the technical
and management capacity and public awareness of national and international
efforts in this area. Agenda 2l, the Convention on Biological
Diversity, and other related international instruments recognize
these needs and call for the conservation and sustainable use
of biodiversity resources.
Governments will:
- Seek to ensure that strategies for the conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity are integrated into relevant economic development
activities including forestry, agriculture, and coastal zone management,
taking into account the social dimension and impact of these
activities.
- Develop and implement the policies, techniques, and programs to
assess, conserve, and sustainably use terrestrial, marine, and
coastal biodiversity resources.
- Seek to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity and pursue
opportunities for collaboration under it, and, as appropriate,
other international and regional environmental instruments.
- Support democratic governmental mechanisms to engage public participation,
particularly including members of indigenous communities and other
affected groups, in the development of policy involving conservation
and sustainable use of natural environments. The forms of this
participation should be defined by each individual country.
- Develop national plans and programs to establish and strengthen
the management of parks and reserves, seeking links to economic,
social, and ecological benefits for local people.
- Build capacity for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity,
through programs on management of parks and protected areas, forests
and wetlands management, the Small Islands Developing States Action
Plan, the Coral Reef Initiative, CITES support projects, and the
Caribbean Regional Marine Pollution Action Plan, among others.
- Launch a "Decade of Discovery" to promote hemispheric
technical and scientific cooperation and to facilitate the exchange
of information relevant to the conservation and sustainable use
of biological diversity.
- Increase support of training and education initiatives addressing
sustainable use of biodiversity resources and foster activities
by universities, non-governmental actors and organizations and
the private sector to assist in the training of managers and to
empower local communities.
- Call on multilateral financial institutions, including the IDB
and the Global Environment Facility, to support eligible regional
and national projects.
- Discuss progress on implementation of national and international
activities described above at the 1996 Summit Conference on Sustainable
Development in Bolivia, and at subsequent annual sustainable development
ministerials.
23. Partnership for Pollution Prevention
As recognized in Agenda 21, sound environmental management is
an essential element of sustainable development. Cooperative
efforts are needed to develop or improve, in accordance with national
legislation and relevant international instruments: (1) frameworks
for environment protection; and (2) mechanisms for implementing
and enforcing environmental regulations. To achieve this goal,
a new partnership will promote cooperative activities for developing
environmental policies, laws, and institutions; increasing technical
capacity; promoting public awareness and public participation;
continuing to pursue technological, financial and other forms
of cooperation; and facilitating information exchange, including
on environmentally sound technologies. The activities of the
partnership will build on and advance the implementation of international
agreements and principles including those agreed to at the 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the
1994 Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States, in areas identified as priorities by
countries of the Hemisphere.
Governments will:
- Strengthen and build technical and institutional capacity to address
environmental priorities such as pesticides, lead contamination,
pollution prevention, risk reduction, waste and sanitation issues,
improved water and air quality, access to safe drinking water,
urban environmental problems, and to promote public participation
and awareness.
- Develop and implement national action plans to phase out lead
in gasoline.
- Strengthen national environmental protection frameworks and mechanisms
for implementation and enforcement, and include sustainability
criteria and objectives in national and other development strategies.
- Undertake national consultations to identify priorities for possible
international collaboration.
- Support democratic governmental mechanisms to engage public participation,
particularly from members of indigenous and other affected communities,
in the consideration of policies regarding the environmental impact
of development projects and the design and enforcement of environmental
laws.
- Convene a meeting of technical experts, designated by each interested
country, to develop a framework for cooperative partnership, building
on existing institutions and networks to identify priority projects.
These projects will initially focus on (1) the health and environmental
problems associated with the misuse of pesticides, and (2) the
impacts of lead contamination from gasoline and other sources.
Subsequent activities could address waste, air, water quality,
marine pollution from ships and other sources, and problems associated
with urbanization.
- Promote the participation of organizations, such as the IDB, MIF,
the World Bank, PAHO, the OAS, and non-governmental actors and
organizations, as appropriate, to finance, develop and implement
priority projects.
- Develop environmental policies and laws with the goal of ensuring
that economic integration of the region occurs in an environmentally
sustainable manner.
- Establish mechanisms for cooperation among government agencies,
including in the legal and enforcement areas, to facilitate environmental
information exchange, technology cooperation and capacity-building.
- Develop compatible environmental laws and regulations, at high
levels of environmental protection, and promote the implementation
of international environmental agreements.
- Discuss progress on implementation of international and national
activities described above at the 1996 Summit Conference on Sustainable
Development in Bolivia and at subsequent annual sustainable development
ministerials.
Appendix
The primary responsibility for implementing this Plan of Action
falls to governments, individually and collectively, with participation
of all elements of our civil societies.
Existing organizations or institutions are called upon to implement
the package of initiatives that has emerged from this Summit of
the Americas. In many instances we have proposed that specific
issues be examined by meetings of ministers, senior officials
or experts. We are also proposing that some of these initiatives
be carried out in partnerships between the public and private
sector. Wanting to benefit from existing hemispheric mechanisms,
and considering the various proposals included in this Plan of
Action, we offer the following recommendations, which shall not
impede any government from approaching other institutions not
cited herein, as appropriate.
I. Principal Initiatives in Which International Organizations
and Institutions Will Be Involved
A) The OAS will have a paramount role in following up on the various
decisions of this Summit meeting. Regarding the Plan of Action,
the OAS has a particularly important supporting role in connection
with the following:
- Strengthening Democracy
- Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
- Combating Corruption
- Eliminating the Threat of National and International Terrorism
- Building Mutual Confidence
- Free Trade in the Americas
- Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure
The Action Plan also envisages roles for the OAS in the following
areas:
- Promoting Cultural Values
- Combating the Problem of Illegal Drugs and Related Crimes
- Cooperation in Science and Technology
- Strengthening the Role of Women in Society
- Partnership for Pollution Prevention
B) We call on the Inter-American Development Bank to support the
activities specified in this Plan of Action. The policies agreed
in the recently completed augmentation of its capital and replenishment
of the Fund for Special Operations already move in the directions
identified and should receive special emphasis. The IDB has a
particularly important role in connection with the following:
- Universal Access to Education
- Equitable Access to Basic Health Services
- Encouraging Microenterprises and Small Businesses
- Partnership for Sustainable Energy Use
- Partnership for Biodiversity
- Partnership for Pollution Prevention
In addition, the Action Plan envisages roles for the IDB and its
affiliates in the following areas:
- Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
- Invigorating Society/Community Participation
- Promoting Cultural Values
- Combating Corruption
- Combating the Problem of Illegal Drugs and Related Crimes
- Free Trade in the Americas
- Capital Markets Development and Liberalization
- Hemispheric Infrastructure
- Cooperation in Science and Technology
- White Helmets--Emergency and Development Corps
C) Other international organizations, notably ECLAC and PAHO in the Hemisphere, as well as the World Bank and all agencies of the UN system active in the Hemisphere, are called upon to assist in the implementation of the action items where appropriate.
II. High-Level Meetings
The following high level meetings and conferences are called for
to carry out the mandates emanating from the Summit:
- Summit Conference on Sustainable Development (Bolivia, 1996) with
follow-on Annual Ministerials
- Ministerial Conference on Combating Money Laundering (preceded
by working level meeting)
- Conference of Donors for Alternative Development Programs to Curb
Narcotics Trafficking
- Global Counter-Narcotics Conference
- Special OAS Conference on Combating Terrorism
- Regional Conference on Confidence-Building Measures (Chile, 1995)
- Meetings of Ministers Responsible for Trade (June 1995, March
1996)
- Meeting of Committee on Hemispheric Financial Issues
- Hemispheric Meeting on Development of Energy Industries (first
semester 1995)
- Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Science and Technology (1995)
- Meeting Between Governments and Donors/Technical Agencies to Establish
Health Reform Mechanisms
- Sustainable Energy Symposium (first half of 1995)
III. Initiatives in Which Public and Private Sector Partnerships Play an Important Role
- Strengthening Democracy
- Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
- Invigorating Society/Community Participation
- Promoting Cultural Values
- Combating Corruption
- Hemispheric Infrastructure
- Cooperation in Science and Technology
- Universal Access to Education
- Equitable Access to Basic Health Services
- Encouraging Microenterprises and Small Businesses
- White Helmets--Emergency and Development Corps
- Partnership for Sustainable Energy Use
- Partnership for Biodiversity
- Partnership for Pollution Prevention
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