PRESENTATION AT THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OAS
Ambassador Luz Elena Baños Rivas
June 5th, 2019
Mr. President,
I am grateful that my presentation has been included in the agenda for this session. It is an honor to join the work of this Council, which will have my collaboration and my team’s in order to jointly move forward towards the agreements that will allow us to reach common goals.
Mexico, as a founding member of the OAS, has historically supported the efforts to fulfill the purposes and objectives of the Organization. Current challenges test the institutional framework of the OAS, and the States that conform it must spare no effort to defend its regulatory framework, its prestige and its credibility, as we have done before with determination and commitment, seeking to unite, avoiding divide, making institutionalism prevail, avoiding discretion.
Mexico has historically participated in the OAS guided by the conviction that it is an important forum to address the evolving challenges of the hemisphere on the basis of our shared values, respectful dialogue, common understanding and cooperation, seeking that the Organization serves in an effective way to improve the concrete life of the people of the Continent. Therefore, I reaffirm my country's commitment with the compliance of the founding instruments of the OAS and with the obligations that emanate from other Inter-American instruments.
In the same way, I wish to highlight our firm desire to continue contributing in a significant manner to the development and strengthening of the Organization, with the firm conviction that a solid institution which is based on respect for standards is indispensable for the harmonious coexistence of States and the achievement of our objectives.
Mexico has a strong tradition of supporting multilateralism as the best way to seek common and consensual solutions for the Hemisphere and we will continue to promote it at the OAS. We will maintain our support and leadership to initiatives focused on the modernization of the Organization, to make its work more efficient, as it happened with the "Strategic Vision of the OAS" 2013-2016 process, chaired by Mexico.
The most effective way to address the hemispheric challenges is through dialogue and multilateral cooperation, based on rules, on the legal equality of States, without intervention in the internal affairs of other States, in accordance with the precepts of International Law and the rules of the OAS itself.
Mr. President,
Mexico recognizes that we are at a decisive moment for the Organization. While we prepare for the forty-ninth regular session of the General Assembly, which will be held in just three weeks, we still have big issues to be agreed upon and other agenda items on which there is still no clarity. My delegation will continue to constructively participate in the negotiations of all the draft resolutions and declarations that will be presented to the Assembly, with special emphasis on the priorities of the Government of Mexico:
First, in the area of human rights, we will ensure that the General Assembly issues strong and clear messages on the protection and promotion of the full range of human rights, with particular attention to groups in situations of vulnerability and without any type of discrimination, which is not justified under any circumstance. Neither the origin, nor the migratory status, nor the gender or sexual orientation, appearance, socioeconomic status, age or disability are excuses to establish limits to human rights.
This year, the commemoration of anniversaries of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights and of the adoption of the American Convention on Human Rights, are excellent reasons to reaffirm our policy of openness and important cooperation with both institutions.
Mexico has been a permanent promoter of the Inter-American Human Rights System. The participation and the legal, political and economic contributions of our country to the system, are examples of the solid commitment that Mexico has with its strengthening. The work carried out by the system, together with the mechanisms and tools that have been provided to the Inter-American bodies, are indispensable instruments for the consolidation of democracy in all the countries of our region and for the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent.
The strengthening of the Inter-American Human Rights System must necessarily be accompanied by its financial sustainability. That is why two years ago all the Member States of this Organization decided to duplicate the budget for the Inter-American Commission and Court. We will give timely follow-up to the fulfillment of this commitment because their work improves the progressivity of the people´s human rights.
My Delegation, on behalf of the Government of Mexico, will continue to strengthen its collaboration with the Inter-American Human Rights System, in compliance with President López Obrador's instruction to incorporate the highest international standards in Human Rights to the actions of the Government of our country.
I would like to emphasize that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the IACHR recently agreed on a Special Mechanism of Cooperation and Technical Assistance to provide accompaniment to the Special Commission for Truth and Access to Justice in the Ayotzinapa case.
Second, in the field of democracy, we will maintain our firm support for the valuable work carried out by the OAS, specifically the Electoral Observation Missions, which have made a relevant contribution to the evolution of the electoral processes in the region.
Democracy goes beyond elections and must have solid foundations in the rule of law, good governance, transparency, the prevention and fight against corruption, the consolidation of democratic institutions and civic education, among other aspects. All of these are causes that my government hoists with the greatest of decisions and that we will promote within this Organization.
Third, for the Government of Mexico, integral development is a priority element of our work and a necessary foundation to advance in the other pillars. Therefore, we will promote the efficient and dedicated work of the OAS in this area, including the timely follow-up of the commitments emanated from the Ministerial processes of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, so that they translate into real benefits for our populations.
Mexico, as Chair of the Inter-American Tourism and Social Development Commissions, will promote the execution of actions aimed at sustainable tourism and inclusive social development.
On the other hand, as Interim President of the Inter-American Agency for Development Cooperation, we have the responsibility of following up on the implementation of the OAS scholarship programs and we will promote the follow-up of the Second Meeting of High-Level Cooperation Authorities, where we agreed to intensify cooperation efforts and deepen the strengthening of resilience in the face of disasters, an indispensable aspect particularly for the most vulnerable regions of the hemisphere.
Fourth, in the search for multidimensional security, Mexico considers with particular interest the fight against transnational organized crime, the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition and the control of drug abuse. We are convinced that all these phenomena must be addressed from a perspective that addresses the social genesis of criminal activity through cooperation for development and regeneration of the social fabric. It is essential to design novel strategies to combat crime based on the experience of our region and on the lessons learned, for which Mexico will be a responsible and proactive actor in the OAS to generate the results that our people demand and deserve in this matter.
Finally, Mr. President, allow me to refer to the pressing need to reach the necessary agreements that will allow us to lay the foundations for the sustainable budgetary exercise in this Organization. Beyond the responsibility that we have to appropriately allocate resources to the different areas of the OAS based on the priorities defined by the Member States, it is urgent to thoroughly restructure the methodology of the budgetary processes to make them more efficient and transparent.
Mexico will work with the Secretariat and the Member States in a constructive manner in order to take further steps in this direction, including through accountability, modernization of processes, austerity, and compliance with mandates. Likewise, we urge the membership to observe rationality in the creation of new mandates or renewal of existing ones.
We believe it is necessary to encourage greater coordination within the Organization, and with other regional and global forums and mechanisms, in order to avoid duplicate efforts and harmonize agendas to achieve our objectives. We will work to articulate a broad agenda that will continue to provide a sense of unity to regional efforts and encourage the convergence of our actions around priorities to avoid the atomization of efforts, resources, and effectiveness.
Mexico will continue to be a strong promoter of the expansion, consolidation and universalization of a hemispheric legal structure in the OAS, which strengthens fundamental issues of the lives of its inhabitants, which facilitate the development of institutional capacities of public entities and of inclusive public policies.
Our country will continue to ensure that the OAS actions take place within the normative framework of the Organization, as well as promoting a more effective Organization in the development of the regional agenda and the use of its financial and human resources.
The OAS draws on public resources and must rationalize its use and the orientation of its priorities in order to benefit people, especially the most vulnerable, so that social inclusion and the respect for Human Rights can increasingly give more content and sense to the hemispheric democratic life.
As I mentioned in the presentation of Credentials, at the OAS Mexico will continue to strengthen its multiple hemispheric memberships and agendas and will also continue to strengthen multilateralism as a privileged way to meet the common challenges and demands of the continent.