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THE DRAFT SOCIAL CHARTER OF THE AMERICAS IS ATTACHED.

 

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GENDER EQUALITY, GENDER INTEGRATION? GENDER RIGHTS?

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Dear Civil Society Representative,

Greetings from the Summits of the Americas Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS).


This Secretariat would like to inform you that the Joint Working Group of the OAS Permanent Council and the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI) on the Draft Social Charter of the Americas will meet between 2:30pm and 5:30pm on October 4, 2007 at OAS Headquarters (Simon Bolivar Room, 17th and Constitution Ave., Washington, DC).

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http://scm.oas.org/doc_public/ENGLISH/HIST_07/CP18851E04.doc

 

                 JOINT WORKING GROUP OF THE                                  

     PERMANENT COUNCIL AND CEPCIDI ON THE                     

     DRAFT SOCIAL CHARTER OF THE AMERICAS                       31August 2007

                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                   Original-Spanish

                                               

 

PRELIMINARY DRAFT

 

Plan OF ACTION OF THE Social CHARTER OF THE AMERICAS

 

(Presented by the General Secretariat)


PRELIMINARY DRAFT

 

Plan OF ACTION OF THE Social CHARTER OF THE AMERICAS

 

 

Introduction

 

The Executive Secretariat for Integral Development received a mandate from the Joint Working Group of the Permanent Council and the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI) to prepare a draft plan of action corresponding to each of the chapters of the draft Social Charter of the Americas as they were completed.  The mandate was renewed through resolution AG/RES. 2278 (XXXVII-O/07).

 

As it approaches conclusion of the first chapter of the Draft Social Charter and begins to deal with the second, the Drafting Group of the Joint Working Group believes it advisable to set out the measures of the first elements of the Social Charter that should be reflected in actions in the Draft Plan of Action.

 

Chapter I, on “Social Justice, Development with Equity, and Democracy,” deals with matters of a general nature. To some extent, it serves as a framework for the rest of the Charter and as a bridge between the preambular and operative sections.

 

The broad subjects addressed in Chapter I are difficult to translate into concrete actions for the corresponding chapter of the Plan of Action.

 

Nonetheless, there is a leitmotif in this chapter, having to do with the responsibilities and commitments of the state. That being so, the Plan of Action in respect of this Chapter should be directed primarily toward strengthening the state and, especially, its capacity to promote social justice, development with equity, and democracy. Actions proposed should be geared to ensuring that governments have better tools for improving their performance.


PRELIMINARY DRAFT

 

Plan OF ACTION OF THE Social CHARTER OF THE AMERICAS

 

 

CHAPTER I

 

Social Justice, Development with Equity, and Democracy

 

 

            1.         Design and implement programs to foster good governance, particularly through actions to strengthen and modernize the state and develop modern approaches to public administration, so as to achieve social justice, development with equity, and democracy. Such programs should focus on strengthening human and institutional capabilities and on designing and implementing effective government policies.

 

            2.         Strengthen inter-American dialogue on social development, particularly in the context of the Meetings of Ministers and High Authorities of Social Development and the meetings of the Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development, so that, in addition to dialogue, there is an effective forum for sharing successful experiences in fighting poverty, inequity, and social exclusion, in promoting social justice and development with equity, and in pursuing the Millennium Goals.

 

In this context, the Social Network of Latin America and the Caribbean will be strengthened and expanded as a means of sharing relevant experience.  Its activities will be geared toward developing human and institutional capabilities by transferring knowledge and experience in effective government policy formulation and implementation.

 

Intersectoral coordination is vitally important to advancing social development; therefore, especially in the context of ministerial meetings of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), encouragement will be given to increased information-sharing and to joint endeavors by sectors that deal with equitable development and fighting poverty.

 

3.         Develop or improve, as the case may be, public oversight systems to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, participation, transparency, and responsibility in public administration and in the government policy-making process.

 

In this connection, successful government policies to achieve social justice and development with equity that have been designed and implemented in a participatory, transparent manner will be identified. Special attention will be paid to policies that enlist local governments, civil society, and the private sector.  The countries of the region will be encouraged to discuss their experience, so that the policies and their design and implementation process may be replicated.

 

4.         Design and set in motion an Inter-American Program for a Universal Civil Registry, so as to correct the situation of persons without identification, which hinders access to social services and voter registration, so that all persons may benefit from development and exercise their duties and rights as citizens.

 

5.         Implement measures to promote the observance of economic, social, and cultural rights and to progressively bring about their full exercise, in accordance with the domestic law of each country and the international undertakings it has assumed in this area.

 

In this connection, measures will be taken to strengthen the states’ capacity to develop government policies, and the programs they consider most effective, to promote and achieve the observance and full exercise of economic, social, and cultural rights and principles, in accordance with the domestic law of each country and the international undertakings it has assumed in this area.

 

The Secretariat will establish a mechanism to support member states, at their request, in implementing the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the area of economic, social, and cultural rights.

 

6.         Strengthen the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices to make it an effective means of disseminating the concepts embodied in the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the Social Charter of the Americas, by incorporating an emphasis on the interdependent and mutually reinforcing nature of economic and social development and democracy. 

 





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