WASHINGTON, USA – The general-secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) launched a Portal of Consultations, Forums, and Repository about the world during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The objective of the Portal is to become an essential forum in which citizens, government officials, civil society, and other groups can propose ideas and initiatives that can later become real projects to be implemented with a priority objective: guarantee more rights for all people, beyond the pandemic.
“The pandemic shows that our health depends on the health of others and that the health of others depends on our health,” said OAS secretary – general Luis Almagro. “There are no individual solutions to this health, economic, and social crisis, the solution must be collective. From the OAS general-secretariat, we want to think now about how we can ensure more rights for more people, during the pandemic and beyond the pandemic. This Portal aims to be a participatory and democratic space where everyone has the opportunity to express their ideas on how we can shape the post-COVID-19 world so that more people access more rights beyond the pandemic,” he explained.
The SARS-COV-2 pandemic, the virus that generates the COVID-19 disease, has exposed multiple vulnerabilities in the political, economic, and social systems in which we live. International financial organizations project one of the worst economic recessions in modern history, with the consequent impact on unemployment and income levels. It is reasonable to think that there will be deep debates on issues such as the role of the State in the economy and society, the relationship of humanity with nature and the use of natural resources, climate change, and globalization, among many others.
The OAS general secretariat proposes to use this time of crisis to think, devise, debate, and make decisions about forms of social coexistence that promote equity, justice, and the economic and social inclusion of the entire population. To do this, the OAS general secretariat has created this Portal, “Post COVID-19: OAS Portal for Consultations, Forums, and Repository. More rights beyond the pandemic. ” With this tool, the OAS opens the debate to the peoples of the hemisphere.
Anyone interested can register on the Portal to propose ideas, answer queries on various topics, and contribute their points of view and experience to enrich the debates. The topics for debate are organized in the Portal according to the four pillars of the work of the OAS: democracy, human rights, multidimensional security, and comprehensive development.
The OAS general secretariat will feed the debate with contributions from international experts through the organization of virtual forums and webinars that will be announced on the Portal. The Portal will also have a repository of public policies taken by States around the world in relation to the pandemic, as well as academic studies and think tanks on the subject.
The final purpose is that the best ideas and proposals become concrete projects to be implemented in the region, for the benefit of the OAS member states and their citizens.
