Diplomats from around the region got around to passing the Lima Declaration Tuesday, officially closing the 40th OAS General Assembly in Lima. As an OAS press release puts it in diplomatic-speak, the document “emphasizes the obligation of the Member States to avoid the use of force except in cases of legitimate self-defense; the strengthening of inter-American cooperation for integral development; the importance of continuing to promote in the Hemisphere an environment propitious to the control of weapons; the overcoming of situations of tension and the solving of crises; and other aspects related to the theme of the annual assembly, ‘Peace, Security and Cooperation.’” At the official site of the Peru meetings you can also find a full listing of the additional 80+ resolutions adopted by OAS member states. To highlight a couple that may be of interest to readers, a resolution was passed supporting a multilateral evaluation mechanism of the Inter-American drug abuse control commission; there was a resolution calling for a “regional strategy to promote hemispheric cooperation in dealing with criminal gangs;” the hemisphere renewed its commitment to fighting poverty through the “social charter of the Americas;” and “hemispheric plans” related to transnational organized crime and regional drug strategy were also passed.
On the most covered issue under debate in Lima – that of Honduras’s re-integration into the inter-American body – the OAS also agreed to send a “high-level commission” back to the country to assess the “evolution of the situation.” Recommendations regarding re-admittance are due back to the OAS no later than July 30, 2010.
That decision comes amidst various new and interesting developments in Honduras.
First, on Monday the Inter-American Human Rights Commission released its preliminary observations from its most recent visit to Honduras (May 15-18). The IACHR maintains that “violations of human rights in the context of the [June 2009] coup d’etat continue.” [The fact that time and again the report puts such violations “in the context of the coup” is notable]. The organization also mentions lingering impunity for such violations and calls on the Honduran government to reconsider the amnesty decree of last year, “taking into consideration the State’s obligations under international treaties – particularly its obligation to investigate and punish serious human rights violations.” Finally, the IACHR notes how worrying it is that various golpistas from the military now occupy “high-level management positions within public institutions.” More on the report from Infolatam, as well as some fascinating quotes in a Mercopress report on the matter. The latter quotes Honduran Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati who called on the OAS to “act with a spirit of neutrality” in assessing the Honduran situation. It then quotes the country’s golpista Human Rights Commissioner, Ramón Custodio who seems to still have nothing but contempt for the OAS. Here’s Custodio, in his own words:
Here we don’t need any witnesses of what’s going on because all is working normally. Sending an OAS committee is a hypocritical attitude of international diplomacy… Honduras has shown the world how a small country can subsist without the OAS.
The U.S. also seemed quite uninterested in what the IACHR had to say. On the same day the IACHR released its preliminary findings, the US decided to restart military aid to the country. It’s first new delivery: 25 military trucks (totaling approx. US $812,000), courtesy of SouthCom, whose deputy commander, Gen. Ken Keen, visited Tegucigalpa on Monday. Poor timing on that one.
And finally, RNS at Honduras and Culture and Politics has had some recent posts that are well-worth reading. The blog’s been following growing frustration with the Lobo Sosa government – frustrations which have some worrying about the possibility of another coup (here and here). The latter post highlights Lobo Sosa saying this week he knows who those who seek his ouster are. Also, a great post from RAJ on the issues surrounding the controversial removal of four anti-golpista Supreme Court judges.
Behind the headline:
· The New York Times reports on Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting with Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, following her time in Peru. “I don’t know any two countries that agree on everything,” Ms. Clinton said after speaking privately with Correa for over two hours. “From our perspective, we have reached out and feel very much as though we are forging a new set of relationships.” To that Correa rejected notions that the Latin American Left, of which he considers himself a member, is any way “anti-American.” “The new left that I represent is not anti-anything. We’re not anti-American; we love America.” He added that his years of studying economics at the University of Illinois had been some of the best of his life. Infolatam highlights Clinton’s promise to Correa that UNASUR will be informed of all proceedings regarding the United States’ new military base deal in Colombia. Following the meeting, Clinton also spoke at a museum in Quito (full speech here). Interestingly, one of the major focuses of a recent CEPAL report (which I again recommend) – namely tax reform –was atop Ms. Clinton’s list of recommendations for the region. “It is also a simple fact that the wealthy do not pay their fair share,” said Clinton. “We can’t mince words about this. Levels of tax evasion are unacceptably high – as much or more than 50 percent in some of this region’s economies when it comes to personal income tax.” Hillary Clinton is in Colombia today (where she is joined by her husband, coincidentally).
· Staying in high politics, Clinton also announced in Quito that a new round of UN sanctions on Iran were about to be approved by the Security Council. Clinton said the sanctions would be “the most significant” Iran has ever faced. More specifics on the new sanctions at the Wall Street Journal and New York Times (as well as the text of the final draft resolution), but on the Latin America side of things, the LA Times reports that the US has been lobbying Brazil to abstain from the sanctions vote, rather than voting “no,” so as to maintain the appearance of “international unanimity.”
· Another New York Times piece today says the Obama administration is delaying the release of a new Justice Department report on the “high and increasing” availability of meth coming from large-scale production sites in Mexico. According to the Times, the delayed release sought to “minimize diplomatic turbulence with the Mexican government.” However, the Times got a leaked copy of the report and links to it at its site. It says the report, apparently completed in mid-May by the National Drug Intelligence Center at DOJ, “portrays drug cartels as easily able to circumvent the Mexican government’s restrictions on the importing of chemicals used to manufacture meth, which has reached its highest purity and lowest price in the United States since 2005.” And, interestingly, the report was so close to being publicly released that copies were “printed and boxes of it were shipped to San Diego to be distributed to law enforcement officials at a meth conference.” White House officials, at the last minute, held the report back, not wanting it to overshadow Felipe Calderón’s recent visit to Washington.
· The AP reports on the resignation of Chile’s ambassador to Argentina, Miguel Otero. Otero came under intense criticism this week when he told Argentina’s Clarín [audio from CIPER Chile] that “most of Chile didn't notice the dictatorship of [Augusto] Pinochet. On the contrary, they felt relieved.” According to the AP, “the ambassador also claimed that any human rights violations during the 1973-1990 dictatorship didn't reflect official policies, but rather were individual abuses of authority.” The appointment of the longtime pinochetista was seen as a “bow” by President Sebastian Pinera to the right wing of his coalition. More commentary on the matter from Patricio Navia in his La Tercera column this week.
· In Colombia, Reuters reports on a recent video released by the FARC, showing five kidnapped members of the country’s security forces calling on the Colombian government to negotiate with the rebel group. The five are among 22 members of the security forces who are believed to be still in FARC hands. More links at Latin American News Dispatch.
· In Bolivia, the national congress has approved judicial legislation that includes support for “indigenous justice” – a notion which has come under scrutiny after the lynching of four Bolivian police officers two weeks ago.
· And from Venezuela, IPS has a good report on a brewing food scandal. Tens of thousands of tons of food, says the report, sat in shipping containers last year, never delivered to supermarkets for public sale. It has many Venezuelans perturbed, and it forced a response from President Hugo Chavez last week. “One might think it is carelessness or negligence. If that is the case, there should be a sanction, but it could also be corruption,” Chávez said. “We will get to the bottom of this case.”
· Finally, two opinions. The New York Times has an editorial, again criticizing the slow delivery of much needed shelter to Haiti. In the Miami Herald yesterday, AEI’s Roger Noriega offered his thoughts on Clinton’s visit with Rafael Correa. My guess is that he was probably not satisfied with the discussion.
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