WASHINGTON, USA – The Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy (SSD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) facilitated the coordination of the third meeting of the Voluntary Group for the follow-up of the Inter-American Democratic Charter Friday, January 19 at OAS headquarters in Washington DC.., in which participants discussed in detail the work plan to give follow-up to the Charter during the next 24 months.
The work plan consists of four axes aligned with the chapters of Inter-American Democratic Charter: “Democracy and human rights,” “Democracy, integral development, and combating poverty,” “Promotion of a democratic culture” and “Strengthening and preservation of democratic institutions.” Under each of the axes, member states identified themes and activities to be implemented.
A total of 17 delegations participated in the meeting, adopting the following:
- The Guidelines for the group’s operations;
- The Work Plan, with changes agreed upon by delegations;
- The Work Plan will be valid for 24 months; every six months, the Group will review its work and its prioritization of activities, in accordance with available resources, with eventual adjustments to the Work Plan when appropriate;
- Peru was designated by acclamation as the Vice Chair of the Voluntary Group; and,
- The next meeting will take place on February 26, 2024.
The Group also welcomed the participation of the delegation of Suriname as the newest member of the Voluntary Group.
The Group was created in response to the mandate of resolution AG/RES. 3004 (LIII-O/23) STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY..