Belize’s Foreign Minister Addresses 53rd OAS Gathering
Eamon Courtenay
Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay addressed the fifty-third gathering of the Organization of American States earlier this week in Washington, DC. Minister Courtenay raised an issue regarding the absence of a number of other foreign ministers from the session, citing the dire financial straits that the O.A.S. is presently faced with. He called on fellow member countries to assist with repurposing the organization to meet the challenges presented in the hemisphere.
Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“At this 53rd regular session of the OAS General Assembly, Belize wishes to speak to the strengthening of a democratic and culture of accountability with a focus on human rights promotion, protection and equality in the Americas. Democracy and human rights are inextricably linked and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that these fundamental values are upheld and advanced for the betterment of our societies. Mr. President, we meet in the House of the Americas whose hallowed halls have received great men and women of the Americas. In this place, we have proclaimed and adopted fundamental instruments which our people accept as articles of faith. But all is not well with our institution. Several of our foreign ministers have elected not to attend this fifty-third assembly, the OAS is on a financial lifeline and we fail to do what is needed. Political differences prevent us from adopting resolutions on important issues of the day. It forces us to ask the question, have we lost our sense of common purpose. I fear that unless we face the reality that confronts us, work at this assembly may be in vain. Excellencies, the OAS plays a critical role in our hemisphere, but we must repurpose the organization to meet the unprecedented challenges facing the Americas today. If not, we risk this historic organization becoming defunct.”
