O.A.S. Secretary General Awarded Order of Distinguished Service

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States departed to Washington on Wednesday after participating in the SICA Summit. Jose Miguel Insulza was witness to the signing of the thirteen agreements between Belize and Guatemala. In fact, the O.A.S. had a critical role when negotiations were taking place on the territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala. But with negotiations failing, it still maintains a presence on discussions which are now focusing on the ICJ. As well, the O.A.S. is charged with verification whenever there are border incidents. For his role, Insulza was conferred with the Order of Distinguished Service at a side event of the summit. Present were a number of Foreign Ministers and delegates from Central American countries. Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington conferred the award on Insulza.

Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General, O.A.S.

Jose Miguel Insulza

“I am humbled and honoured by this distinction coming from one of the member countries which has been closer to me during my already almost finished ten years as secretary general in the Organisation of American States. As Minister Elrington has said we have worked tirelessly together for seven and a half years to make sure that from my point of view we perform the main duty of which this organisation was created. As you know the OAS prides itself in being the oldest organisation in the world. It was born as the Pan-American Union and its main goal for the beginning and still today is peace and peaceful solution of conflicts among the member countries. And I it think that though we may be in other aspects many times discussed very much that we have performers this duty as much as we can and I think that we have gotten a successful result and I will say that in the past eight years or so or even more the America saw less conflicts, less armed conflicts.”

Insulza vacates the post of Secretary General next year.