Summit of the
Americas Ends with Hope but Debatable Unity
Note:Regarding the Fifth Summit of the Americas that came to a close on Sunday,
April 19, below are (1) a news report from AP; (2) a press release with remarks by Trinidad
and Tobago’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning on behalf of the National Secretariat, Fifth Summit of the Americas; and
(3) a link to the draft declaration (following related comments).
"Summit declaration has just 1 signatory
"PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — The final declaration of the Summit of
Americas, which Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and his leftist bloc refused to sign, turned out to have just one signatory.
"It was Prime Minister Patrick Manning, host of the 34-nation summit.
"He said during Sunday's closing ceremony that "there was not unanimity, but
there was consensus" on the declaration.
"Chavez and allies including Nicaragua and Bolivia refused to sign chiefly because
they want Cuba reinstated in the Organization of American States, which suspended it in 1962.
"The declaration sets hemispheric goals including promoting human development
and environmental sustainability. It is not in any way binding.
"Manning said the leaders
authorized him to sign it on their behalf, so he did." (April 19, 2009)
Hemisphere’s Leaders Adopt Declaration of Commitment
of Port of Spain
With a focus on the theme of the weekend’s Summit –“Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy
Security and Environmental Sustainability” – the Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain outlines key areas in which the countries will work toward common
goals.
The 97-paragraph document, which was negotiated by the countries over the past seven months and adopted today
by consensus, places an emphasis on fighting poverty and promoting development and social justice, and states that “deep
inequalities continue to exist in our countries and in our region.”
Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad
and Tobago, who chaired the Fifth Summit of the Americas, signed the Declaration of Commitment on behalf of the region, following
a retreat by the Heads of State and Government held at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain.
The Prime Minister
acknowledged that the document had not found unanimous support – when 34 countries
are negotiating, he noted, “no one country is likely to get everything that country requires” – but said the leaders agreed to adopt it by consensus.
In his remarks at the signing, Prime Minister Manning said he was “extremely pleased” at the outcome of
the Fifth Summit, adding that the meeting “has turned out to be a signal example of cooperation and collaboration between
the countries of the Western Hemisphere.”
The opening sections of the Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain
focus on the three pillars of the theme – human prosperity,
energy security and environmental sustainability – while later sections address ways to strengthen public security, democratic governance and the Summit of the
Americas process itself.
The Declaration of Commitment recognizes that meeting long-term goals will require tackling
short-term economic challenges. “We are committed to addressing the current economic and financial crisis in order to
achieve our objectives of promoting human prosperity and securing our citizens’ future,” the document states.
“We are determined to enhance our cooperation and work together to restore global growth and achieve needed reforms
in the world’s financial systems.”
The longest section of the document, on human prosperity, lays out measures
to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of anti-poverty efforts, promote job creation and prevent exploitation of workers.
It also calls for action to strengthen food security, promote good nutrition and broaden access to health care, particularly
for the most vulnerable. Health-related commitments include measures to reduce neonatal mortality, combat both communicable
and non-communicable diseases and continue efforts against HIV/AIDS. “We commit to strengthening public policies aimed
at reducing the incidence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to less than 5% by 2015,” the document states.
It
also lays out a series of education-related commitments, among them achieving universal primary education by 2015, a secondary
education enrolment rate of 75% by 2010 and a minimum 40% participation in tertiary education by 2020.
The section
on energy security looks at aspects such as energy efficiency and conservation and calls for the development of renewable
energy sources and technologies. It notes that energy “is an essential resource for improving the standard of living
of our peoples and that access to energy is of paramount importance to economic growth with equity and social inclusion.”
Environmental sustainability, the third pillar of the Fifth Summit theme, is another area in which the region’s
leaders called for cooperation. The Declaration of Commitment recognizes “the adverse impacts of climate change on all
countries of the Hemisphere, in particular, Small Island Developing States, countries with low-lying coastal, arid and semi-arid
areas or areas liable to floods, drought and desertification, developing countries with fragile mountainous ecosystems and
land-locked countries.”
——————————
National Secretariat, Fifth
Summit of the Americas, April 19, 2009
The Draft Declaration of Port of Spain
The Draft Declaration of Commitment for
the Fifth Summit of the Americas was presented by the National Secretariat at a meeting of the National Coordinators of the
Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) held at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington
D.C. on Thursday July 24, 2008.Here is the Draft Declaration.
"Securing Our Citizens’ Future by
Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability"
Fifth Summit of the Americas, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago, April 19, 2009
National Secretariat, Fifth Summit of the
Americas 2009 and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2009, http://www.fifthsummitoftheamericas.org/, Office of the Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago
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