CAN Secretary General hails OAS Resolution

Lima, March 6, 2008.- The Secretary General of the CAN, Freddy Ehlers, hailed the Resolution adopted yesterday by the Organization of American States (OAS) that opens the way to a settlement of the conflict between two “sister countries,”  Colombia and Ecuador, and called it a positive advance.

After stressing that the Resolution was the product of hemispheric consensus, Ehlers stated that it reaffirms the existence of international law and the two countries’ will for peace.  He went on to add that he “hopes that the high-level commission that will visit Colombia and Ecuador and the subsequent Foreign Ministers’ meeting will make it possible to find formulas for a rapprochement” between the two parties.    

In statements made to the press after greeting the representatives of the Andean Parliament meeting in Lima to examine the current situation in the region, Ehlers underscored the widespread support for the process being furthered by the OAS, as the organization called upon to ensure the peaceful settlement of disputes in the hemisphere. 

Asked about the Andean Community’s participation in that process, the Secretary General replied that the countries had chosen the OAS mechanism, but that the CAN is open to whatever the Foreign Ministers and Presidents may decide.  “We believe the OAS is playing a key role in this process and that it is important to let the organization complete its task,” he added. 

He reported that in the meantime Andean integration activities are proceeding normally with the participation of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru, as well as of Chile in its capacity as associate member country. “The Comptrollers of the region’s countries have met recently to address the fight against corruption; there has also been a meeting of representatives of the Andean countries to examine water resource management, and this very day the Andean delegates are gathered in working groups to coordinate joint positions for the bloc-to-bloc negotiations with the European Union.”   

Asked about Venezuela’s situation in regard to the CAN, the Secretary General reported that on November 9, 2007, the Andean Council of Presidents, meeting in Santiago, had handed down a mandate to start talks aimed at that country’s eventual reincorporation into the group.  However, it is public knowledge that the process had to be suspended at the end of last November until such a time as more favorable conditions exist for a return to the subject.