Foreign Affairs Minister addresses plenary session of OAS General Assembly and calls for strengthening multilateralism to address regional challenges
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, spoke today at the plenary session of the 53rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), which is being held in Washington D.C., United States. This year's theme is "Strengthening a Culture of Democratic Accountability with the Promotion, Protection and Equality of Human Rights in the Americas". In this regard, the Foreign Minister stated that "these are principles, values and concepts with which Chile identifies and which it considers fundamental for the development of our communities".
The Secretary of State also highlighted the importance of strengthening multilateralism to address the challenges facing the region. "The strengthening of multilateralism, regional integration, as well as international cooperation and solidarity are key aspects to address the great common challenges that our countries face," he said. "It is in this direction that we must work to strengthen and modernize the OAS, so that it can build bridges among all its member states, promoting political dialogues without exclusions that allow us to address complex political-institutional situations and governance crises," he added.
Another issue of hemispheric interest mentioned by the Minister was the migration crisis. "Migration management constitutes one of the great inter-American challenges, and it is necessary to address it jointly from a multilateral perspective, with the participation of the countries of origin, transit and destination based on the principles of shared responsibility and regional solidarity," he said.
In this regard, he indicated that "we must ensure safe, orderly, regular and humane migration that safeguards the rights of migrants and the communities that receive them. For this reason, it is necessary to seek broad instances of coordination to counteract transnational organized crime networks linked to human trafficking and drug trafficking".
The Minister pointed out that Chile is already working on this issue together with several Member States, noting that together with Colombia they have promoted a declaration on Migrant Children, which will be accompanied by a parallel event at the General Assembly, entitled Migrant and Refugee Children in the Americas. "Our international action is based on the conviction to achieve a more egalitarian world that recognizes and promotes the rights of women and girls, and duly represents today's societies, anchored in a human rights approach and the promotion of the principle of equality and non-discrimination among men, women and diversities," he said.
In addition, the Minister stated that "the promotion and defense of the fundamental bases of our societies such as democracy and respect for human rights must be accompanied by a fair, inclusive and integrating development, which embraces new issues such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity or the transition to clean, sustainable and renewable energies", concluding that "collaboration between our States is key to carry these commitments forward, always with a view to the greater welfare of our peoples and the protection of human dignity".
