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JAMAICA AT THE OAS

The Ambassador of Jamaica to the United States also serves as
Jamaica’s Permanent Representative to the Organization of American
States (OAS).

The Organization of American States (OAS), which has its headquarters
in Washington DC, is the primary political multilateral forum in the
hemisphere with the main objectives of maintaining peace and stability,
preserving and consolidating democracy, protecting human rights, and
promoting economic and social development.

The Ambassador and staff of the Permanent Mission of Jamaica attend
meetings of the OAS and its subsidiary bodies to represent Jamaica’s
interests and give support, where necessary, to the requests of other
Member States.

Through the participation of Ministers, Experts and Governmental
representatives, as appropriate, Jamaica also participates in the relevant
OAS for a in areas such a culture, education, social development,
sustainable development, labour and in the fight against corruption, drug
abuse and drug trafficking, terrorism and violence against women.

Jamaica has been a member of the OAS since 1969, collaborating with
the other Member States to achieve the stated objectives. Jamaica works
closely and coordinates its positions with its CARICOM partners.

In working towards these objectives, Jamaica firmly upholds the principles
of sovereignty and non-intervention in the affairs of other Member States.
These principles are clearly articulated in the OAS Charter.

Accordingly, the OAS has played a pivotal role in mediating political crises
and disputes between Member States and in mounting OAS electoral
observation missions. Jamaica supports these efforts as long as they are
undertaken at the request of Member States.
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Development Agenda

Jamaica attaches the greatest of importance to the development agenda
of the OAS and particularly to the needs of small states. We have
benefited over the years from the OAS technical assistance projects and
programmes.

Jamaica firmly holds the view that the eradication of poverty must remain
a high priority on the OAS agenda. Democracy and social and economic
and social development are inextricably linked – one cannot be sustained
without the other.

The eradication of extreme poverty is an integral part of the hemispheric
agenda as it is included in both the essential purposes as well as the
principles of the Charter of the OAS.

To this end, Jamaica supports the ongoing negotiations for the preparation
of a Social Charter of the Americas, which focuses on actions to
eliminate poverty and promote social inclusion/justice. The Social Charter
will also complement the Democratic Charter adopted by the OAS in 2001.
Other Sectoral Issues

Through the participation of its experts/governmental representatives,
Jamaica also participates in the hemispheric discussions and activities in
areas such as culture, education, social development, labour and in the
fight against corruption, drug abuse and drug trafficking, terrorism,
violence against women.

Bearing in mind that security threats can no longer be viewed in terms of
armed conflict, Jamaica has strongly supported the position that the OAS
must address security issues from a multidimensional perspective,
encompassing economic, social, health and environmental issues such as
the HIV/AIDS pandemic which can affect the security and stability of a
state.

Jamaica participates actively in the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission (CICAD) and in the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM)
which monitors the individual and collective efforts of Member States to
control drug trafficking and abuse while respecting the principles of
sovereignty, territorial integrity and shared responsibility.
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
Jamaica maintains that both the demand and supply side of the drug
trafficking problem must be addressed.

As a State Party to the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption,
Jamaica also participates actively in the Follow-up Mechanism for the
Implementation of the Convention (MESICIC) and has submitted its
Country Report which was adopted in the first round of evaluations in
2005. The next report will be submitted in 2014 for evaluation.

Jamaica is a State Party to the Convention of Belem do Para to eradicate
Violence Against Women and participates in its related Follow-up
Mechanism of Experts (MESECVI).

Jamaica also attaches great importance to the scholarship and training
programmes of the OAS, from which a number of Jamaican nationals
have benefited. These include undergraduate and graduate studies as
well as professional development courses.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is the main
organ of the OAS responsible for promoting the observance and
protection of human rights in the hemisphere. Jamaica has ratified the
Inter-American Convention on Human Rights.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has seven
Commissioners elected in their personal capacity for a four year term.
Commissioner Tracy Robinson of Jamaica is currently serving her first
term.

The Inter-American Commission has recently published its Report on the
Situation on Human Rights in Jamaica 2012.
Summit of the Americas

Jamaica has been an active participant in the Summits of the Americas
process since the first Summit in Miami in 1994.

In the Summit process, Jamaica and its CARICOM partners continue to
highlight the specific needs and concerns of small states and to draw
attention to the need for adequate financial resources to implement the
ever increasing mandates of the Summits.

Jamaica participated at the 6th Summit held in April 2012 in Cartagena,
Colombia.
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