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Title |
Democratic
Governance and Human Development in LAC Edition Nº 67 January-June 2003 |
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Author |
Permanent
Secretariat of SELA |
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The
Presidents of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, and the
Vice-President of Peru, meeting in the Quirama Recinto in Antioquia, the Republic
of Colombia, in the Fourteenth Andean Presidential Council, Convinced
that today the Andean Community is a community of nations closely interlinked
in all areas that are moving ahead in unity toward a more advanced political cooperation
to promote their harmonious and balanced development and bring about an
improvement in the quality of life of their inhabitants. Reaffirming
their conviction that the deepening of the Community integration process
requires the adoption of new and efficient strategy lines within the context
of a multidimensional agenda that will enable them to achieve their
countries' balanced, harmonious and shared economic development, with a view
toward strengthening their individual and collective capacity for fighting
poverty and social exclusion. Considering
that the progress made in the Subregional integration process places the
Andean Community in the position of being able to assume a role as an
important and participating player in the international community,
confronting the challenges imposed by present world dynamics. Conscious
that in order to strengthen and deepen the process of Andean integration in
all of its dimensions, it is necessary to translate our high political will
into specific and sustained efforts, particularly in regard to the
application of the Andean legal provisions. In accord
regarding the need to lay the groundwork for a new stage of the integration
process that will enhance the multidimensional nature of the Andean Community
and allow us to move ahead with our common undertaking, resting on the
political, social and economic dimensions of our integration movement, our
Common Foreign Policy, the participation of social actors and organizations,
border integration and development, the physical integration of South
America, sustainable development and our institutions. Agree to advance the lines of strategic
action for perfecting the following core themes of the integration system: A.
Political Dimension Reinforce
cooperation on issues of essential importance, such as the struggle against
poverty and social exclusion; the strengthening of democracy; democratic
governance; the defense and protection of human rights; security and
confidence-building; the war against terrorism in all its forms and
expressions; the crimes that undermine our countries' economic stability,
social welfare and public equity; the fight to control the worldwide drug
problem and related offenses; the war on corruption and organized crime; the
environment and sustainable development. Boost the Common Foreign Policy, while
safeguarding and enhancing our Community wealth to ensure that we secure a
world position that will favor the Subregion's interests and priorities, give
it a better presence in international forums and organizations, and reinforce
our political, economic and cooperative relations with third countries and
other regional groups, giving preference to concerted South American, Latin
American and Caribbean efforts and integration. B.
Social and Cultural Dimension Give
maximum priority to the design, coordination and harmonization of social
policies that will lead to the development of specific coordinated strategies
for social cohesion and the struggle against poverty and marginality, which
will help to consolidate democracy and reinforce governance in the Andean
Community, as well as open up broader spaces for the participation of social
actors and organizations. Make the
approval of the Integrated Social Development Plan, as a complement to national
development plans, and the creation of innovative financial mechanisms for
reinforcing democratic governance and facing up to poverty, among of the
first issues to be addressed. Back the
advances made in subregional negotiations to reduce the price of medicines,
the Andean Health Plan and the implementation of the Andean Health Card in
which the Health Body -the Hipólito Unanue Convention- is engaged. Affirm the
need for the Andean Community to make itself stronger by building and giving
enhanced value to a common cultural vehicle that will take education, science
and technology into account. Reinforce
the links of cultural exchange and cooperation among the Andean countries by
establishing alliances among public and private institutions concerned with
preserving and promoting Andean cultural diversity and safeguarding our
countries' cultural heritage. Give preference to actions aimed at
deepening the Andean economic space by developing instruments for policy
conciliation in areas such as labor migrations, social security and safety
and health at work, as well as the recognition of professional licenses and
degrees. C.
Economic Dimension Reaffirm
the principles of the Cartagena Agreement as an instrument for promoting the
growth and development of the region's production systems and their
competitiveness, the diversification of Andean exports and the complementary
nature of the Andean economies. Review the
instances of noncompliance and prepare a comprehensive proposal to turn around
the situation, with an established timetable, through the joint efforts of
the Member Countries. Acknowledge
the importance of creating a favorable environment for the development and
growth of trade, tourist and investment flows in the Andean Community. Boost
tourism as one of the basic driving forces for development and integration.
Work to foster the interconnection of airline routes and integrated tourist
circuits between the Subregional and South American countries. In keeping
with these aims, we firmly support the initiative being fostered by the South
American Ministers of Tourism, "Discovering South America for the South
Americans." Strive to ensure that the exchange
policies adopted by the Member Countries will contribute to the stability and
growth of trade flows in an effort that the competent authorities should
undertake. Andean
Common Market Recognize
the advances made in the free trade zone and in consolidating the customs
union and the current status of the common external tariff and the price
stabilization mechanism. As a
result, and with a view to creating the Common Market, we ratify that the
latter is an effective instrument for making the most of the trade among and
development of the Community Member Countries that will guarantee the
unhampered movement of goods, services, capital and people within the
Community territory, and for efficiently gaining an equitable position in the
international market. Encourage the adoption of a Common
Agricultural Policy as a mechanism to secure the development and
competitiveness of the agricultural and agribusiness sectors and the rural
development of the Andean countries. D.
Border Integration and Development Consolidate
the Border Integration and Development Policy by supporting the establishment
of comprehensive development programs for the border regions, particularly
the Border Integration Zones, in order to turn these regions into vehicles
for reinforcing Andean integration and improving the quality of life of the
Subregion's inhabitants. Also to promote the establishment of Border
Integration Zones with third countries. Actively expedite the execution of the
"South American Regional Infrastructure Integration Initiative"
(IIRSA) with an interrelated vision of the different focal points of
integration and development, in order to build a vehicle that will promote
further interaction among our nations, more competitiveness and the
development of the Andean economies. . E.
Sustainable Development Move ahead with the design and execution
of Community programs on strategic fronts, such as the environment, energy
development, and disaster prevention and measures that will step up
sustainable development in the Subregion. F.
Institutions Give
special attention to the surveillance and enforcement of Community legal
provisions and to building up the General Secretariat as the strategist for
and executor of the key issues on the multidimensional agenda. Reaffirm
the institutional importance of the Andean Community Court of Justice, whose
efforts help to strengthen the Andean Integration System and contribute
significantly to juridical stability and certainty in the Subregion. In order to embark upon a second
generation of integration policies that are consonant with the new dimensions
of the process and the demands of our peoples, we agree upon the following Guidelines Political Dimension of Integration 1. To
instruct the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers to propose the elements that
would serve as the basis for the possible construction of a governance agenda
for the Andean Subregion that would take into consideration the political,
economic and social challenges and allow for the promotion of social
inclusion and equity, as well as of credibility, in democratic institutions. 2. To
instruct the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers to submit to the next
Meeting of the Andean Presidential Council draft Andean Common Security
Policy guidelines that would develop the parameters of the Lima Commitment
and would provide for, among other things, specific plans of action against
terrorism and corruption, based on the work that the High-Level Group on
Security and Confidence-Building does. We deem it
essential in this context to expedite the start up of all aspects of the
Andean Plan for the Prevention, Combating and Eradication of Small, Light
Weapons and its presentation during the Biannual Meeting of States on the
Implementation of the United Nations Action Program on the subject. 3. To Instruct
the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers to adopt a Program to Disseminate and
Implement the Andean Charter for the Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights, in order to promote the full effectiveness of that instrument within
our Community. 4. To instruct
the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, with the support of the Executive
Committee on the Andean Cooperation Plan for the Control of Illegal Drugs and
Related Offenses, to move ahead with the application of the Operational Plan,
based on the priorities that Committee identifies. 5. To direct
the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers to adopt an Andean Plan to Fight
Corruption that would encompass both coordinated Subregional efforts and
joint participation in international forums. 6. To
instruct the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers to lay down the guidelines
for a Subregional Food Security Policy that would provide for specific action
plans with regard to, among other things, the fight against poverty and
marginality, in keeping with the stipulations that the Integrated Social
Development Plan establishes. 7. To
instruct the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, in developing the
guidelines for the Common Foreign Policy, to continue the negotiations aimed
at the signing of a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with the
European Union that should facilitate the launching of the negotiation of an
Association Agreement. The Council should, in addition, hold the First
CAN-MERCOSUR and Chile Political Dialogue and Cooperation Meeting and further
develop the existing lines of efforts with China, Russia and India, as well
as with Japan. To urge the Andean Council of Foreign
Ministers to expedite the creation of a Mechanism for Political Dialogue and
Cooperation with the United States and Canada and also to instruct the
General Secretariat to study the means for interlinking the Andean Community
with the EFTA, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Cuba, particularly
in regard to the Economic Complementary Agreement with the latter country. Social and Cultural Dimension 8. To request
the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, in its implementation of the
approved guidelines, to formulate the Integrated Social Development Plan
together with the Ministers responsible for the social area, the General
Secretariat and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF). 9. To
instruct the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, in close coordination with
the Advisory Council of Labor Ministers, to promote measures to establish
regulations for the Decisions on labor migrations, social security and safety
and health at work. Also to supplement the socio-labor advances made by
adopting the necessary legal provisions to Recognize Professional Licenses,
Degrees and Accreditations in the Subregion. 10. To appeal to the Andean Council of Foreign
Ministers to organize effective mechanisms to ensure the participation of the
social actors and organizations in developing the Andean integration process,
with the technical support of the General Secretariat. In this connection, we
recommend the immediate establishment of the national chapters that would
allow the first meetings of the "Working Committee on Indigenous
Peoples' Rights" and the "Andean Working Committee for the Defense
of Consumer Rights with the Participation of Civil Society," to be held,
respectively, in November 2003 in Ecuador and at the General Secretariat
headquarters on a date yet to be defined. 11. To immediately return to the tasks entrusted to
the Ministries responsible for our countries' educational, cultural and
science and technology policies, under the supervision of the Andean Council
of Foreign Ministers and with the technical support of the General
Secretariat and the contributions of the Andrés Bello Convention and the
Simón Bolívar University, so that at our next regular meeting they can submit
guidelines for the adoption of Community policies in each of these program
areas aimed at improving the quality, coverage and relevance of education,
promoting and respecting the Subregion's cultural diversity, exercising
interculturality and developing technological innovation, among other things,
in keeping with the Presidential Guidelines of the Eleventh Andean
Presidential Council of Cartagena de Indias. 12. To instruct the competent national authorities to
consolidate the efforts underway in the Subregion to control illegal
trafficking in cultural goods and to promote the application of specific new
mechanisms, such as the red list of endangered cultural goods in Latin
America; in this way, they will help to protect the tangible and intangible,
archeological, historical, ethnological, paleontological, and artistic
heritage of the Andean Community Member Countries. 13. To instruct the competent national authorities
to accede to the International Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible
Cultural Heritage during the next UNESCO General Conference, inasmuch as its
application will make it possible to reinforce national policies to protect
the memory and identity of the Andean peoples and cultures. 14. To endorse with interest the proposal of the Pan
American Health Organization / World Health Organization and the Andean
Health Body-the Hipólito Unanue Convention that creates an "Andean
Commission on Investment in Health" in order to move ahead with a joint strategy
for developing the health sector and to apply to PAHO/WHO for the necessary
funds. 15.
To direct the General Secretariat, in coordination with the national
authorities of the Member Countries, to promote cooperation among the
Subregional communications media for exchanges of common interest in the
areas of tourism, education, culture, development, etc., in order to build up
their common values and disseminate the wide diversity of Andean culture. Economic Dimension 16. To instruct the General Secretariat to submit to
the Presidential Council, by December 2003, an evaluation of the Andean
integration process with regard to each of the Member Countries, together
with the necessary recommendations. 17. To entrust the Commission with holding a special
meeting by September 2003, at which the Member Countries should examine the
causes of the failure to comply with Community regulatory provisions and
define a timetable to resolve such instances of noncompliance. 18. To exhort the Ministers responsible for trade to
maintain effective mechanisms for reaching concerted positions in forums for
trade negotiations in order to optimize the benefits for the Andean Community
Member Countries. 19. In keeping with the stipulations of the
Framework Agreement signed by the Andean Community and MERCOSUR countries in
December 2002, to direct the Commission, with the assistance of the General
Secretariat, to coordinate the establishment of a working plan and a
timetable to serve as a navigation chart for the negotiations between the
member countries of the two groups, with a view to putting the finishing
touches to the CAN - MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement by December 31, 2003, at
the latest. 20. To emphasize the importance of the trade
negotiations for positioning the Member Countries in the international
context and keeping open their possibilities for advancing in the trade
negotiations with third countries or groups of countries. To foster
a process of political reflection within the Enlarged Andean Presidential
Council in reference to the FTAA and the Andean Community's international
positioning, without neglecting the advancement of the negotiations being
furthered by the countries within the FTAA. 21. To instruct the General Secretariat to proceed
with studies complementary to those being conducted by the CAF under the
Andean Competitiveness Program (PAC) and the South American Regional
Infrastructure Integration Initiative (IIRSA), in order to enable it to put
forward proposals to the Member Countries for developing and furthering
regional Andean policies to enhance competitiveness and productivity,
particularly in the spheres of technology, industry, services and physical
infrastructure, in order to gain spaces in the international markets.. 22. Bearing in mind that the Andean Community as a
whole is the world's second leading coffee producer and exporter, it is
important for the Member Countries to participate actively in discussions
about how to overcome the crisis in this sector. Therefore, the Council
recognizes how significant the attendance of the Andean Community Member
Countries is -- insofar as they are able to attend-- at meetings of the
International Coffee Organization, so that, by acting in coordination, they
may take part in designing the policies and measures that will define the
future of coffee growing in the world. These efforts at coordination will be
reinforced by the Andean Community Ad Hoc Group on the Coffee Chain, a forum
that allows for dialogue and coordination among the different actors in the Andean
coffee sector. Andean Common Market 23. We instructed the Commission, within no more
than 30 days and on the basis of prior deliberations of the Ad Hoc Group, to
hold a special meeting for the sole purpose of adopting decisions that will
promote more development of and a growing and sustained trade in the oil seed
chain. 24. To ensure that the Commission, with the
participation of the Ministers of Agriculture and no later than September 30,
2003, takes a decision regarding the Common Andean Agriculture Policy, based
on the consultations with the corresponding organizations and with the
production sectors, to which end the Andean Agricultural Committee will meet
in Caracas in July. 25. To instruct the General Secretariat to draw up a
working program, by September 30, 2003, to advance the liberalization of
Subregional trade in services. 26. To instruct the pertinent institutions to
implement the recommendations of the GRANADUA Project, with the assistance of
the General Secretariat, in order to interconnect the Customhouses through
the adoption of the Integrated Andean Tariff (ARIAN), the Sole Customs
Declaration (DUA), and the harmonization of Special Customs Systems and other
mechanisms to avoid distortions, including those caused by differences in the
preferences granted to third countries, and expedite the effort to control
smuggling and tax evasion in the trade between the Andean countries. 27.
To emphasize that the effort to control smuggling and tax evasion require the
interconnection of the Customhouses of the Member Countries, preferably by
electronic means. Border Development and Integration 28. To urge the High-Level Group for Border
Integration and Development, based on the accomplishments to date, to
establish a Comprehensive Border Integration and Development Plan that will
define the necessary juridical, technical and financial instruments; and to
ensure the participation of the Member Country planning and cooperation
institutions. 29. To
request the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the CAF to continue
providing technical and financial support to the Border Integration and
Development Projects Bank and for all other efforts that the High-Level Group
for Border Integration and Development decides upon. 30. To instruct the competent national authorities
of the Andean Community countries to ensure that their plans and working
programs provide for backing to execute the South American Regional
Infrastructure Integration Initiative (IIRSA) and facilitate the coordination
of plans, projects and investments in an effort to reconcile and to harmonize
both the regulation and the associated policies. 31.
To instruct the Advisory Council of Foreign Ministers, in keeping with Andean
Community Decision 501, to promote the establishment of Border Integration
Zones with third countries adjacent to the Andean Community Member Countries. Sustainable Development 32. To instruct the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and
the Commission, in coordination with the Council of Ministers of Energy,
Electricity, Hydrocarbons and Mines, and with a view to maximizing the
advantages of the Andean Community Member Countries in the area of energy, to
promote the construction of the Community energy market and develop energy
services with a high value added, for the benefit of sustainable Andean
development, as well as to adopt a hydrocarbon and energy safety-oriented
strategy for its international insertion. 33. To instruct the Andean Council of Foreign
Ministers, in coordination with the environmental authorities, to shortly
carry out the Andean Plan to follow up the World Summit on Sustainable
Development held in Johannesburg and that Summit's Plan of Implementation,
including Subregional coordination with the Commission on Sustainable Development
of the United Nations (SDC) and to ensure the execution of the Regional
Biodiversity Strategy with the technical and financial support of strategic
allies like the IDB, the CA, Conservation International, UNCTAD and Condesan,
among others. 34. To instruct the Andean Council of Foreign
Ministers, in coordination with the national authorities responsible for
environmental issues, to take the necessary measures to support the creation
of the "Open Ad Hoc Group" proposed in the "Cusco Declaration,"
so that at the next meeting of the Group of Similar Megadiverse Countries, it
can put forward a proposal containing, among other things, mechanisms to
guarantee the fair and equitable distribution of benefits deriving from the
use of the biodiversity, as provided for in the Johannesburg Declaration. 35. To instruct the Andean Council of Foreign
Ministers to expedite measures to prevent and repair the damage caused by
natural disasters and external meteorological phenomena, worsened by global
warning, particularly "the Niño Phenomenon," bearing in mind the
recommendations of the Pre-Andean Program the CAF is carrying out in
coordination with the countries. 36.
To expedite Andean initiatives and projects for the protection and
sustainable development of the mountain ecosystems of the Andean Subregion
through the Andean Committee of Environmental Authorities. Institutions 37. To instruct the Andean Council of Foreign
Ministers and the Commission to back and reinforce the Andean Integration
System by adjusting it to the new strategic direction given to the process
by, among other things, promoting sectorial meetings of Ministers to analyze
and formulate proposals within their respective spheres of competence, and
ensuring their participation in the discussions of the pertinent Community
bodies. 38. To instruct the General Secretariat, in
coordination with the Andean Court of Justice, to put forward for the Member
Countries' consideration, proposals that allow them to make use of
extrajudicial conflict settlement methods within the framework of the
Community legal system. 39. To
congratulate the Member Countries that have fulfilled the mandate of the
Trujillo Modifying Protocol with regard to the direct election of Andean
Parliamentarians and to urge the national Congresses and the electoral bodies
of the countries that have not taken steps to implement this mandate, to do
so as soon as possible. Having had
the opportunity to receive reports from and engage in dialogues with the representatives
of the bodies and institutions of the Andean Integration System, the Andean
Presidential Council extends its congratulations on the work done by those
bodies and institutions in the areas of jurisdiction, people's representation
and social participation, health and education, and financial and monetary
support. This reveals the vitality of the Andean integration process and the
immense potential offered by its institutions. We wish to
draw attention to the contributions made by the General Secretariat in
defining the new multidimensional agenda for the Andean integration process
and to offer our backing for the development of the core themes envisaged in
this Declaration. We, the Presidents of the Andean
Community Member Countries, express our appreciation to Doctor Alvaro Uribe
Vélez, President of the Republic of Colombia, and to the Colombian people,
particularly the inhabitants of Antioquia, for the warm hospitality we have
received and for the excellent organization that has enabled this Summit to
be a success. For that reason, we agree that this document will be known as
the "Quirama Declaration." Quirama
Recinto, Antioquia, Republic of Colombia, June 28, 2003. |
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