CÈsar Gaviria OAS Secretary General Working To Bring the Americas Together by John Shaw CÈsar Gaviria, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, is presiding over an ambitious effort to bring the people of the Americas closer together. In an interview in his elegant second floor office at the OASís majestic building near the White House, Gaviria said his organization is working with leaders in the region to advance an aggressive agenda of free trade and democratic consolidation throughout the Americas. He said that considerable progress has been made over the past decade, in part, because the Western hemisphereís leaders now meet in regular regional summits to compare notes, solve common problems and plan for the future. "The summit process has been a success. The summits of Miami, Santiago and now Quebec have made enormous contributions to democracy and prosperity in the hemisphere," he said. "The Quebec summit demonstrated that the countries of our region today hold a set of common values and ideals. These are based on promoting, strengthening and defending democracy, on res pect for human rights and the need to increase economic growth," he said. But Gaviria said the leaders of the Americas should not become complacent. "Democracy has been consolidated, but we have many challengesóeconomic problems, terrorism, corruption, narco-traffickingóall undermine democracy. There are many ways democracy can slowly break," he said. A former president of Colombia, Gaviria was first elected as the OASís secretary general in 1994 and was re-elected in 1999. Analysts credit Gaviria for reviving a slumbering OAS and giving it fresh purpose and new vitality. He has pushed important institutional changes and has ensured the OASís position as a key player in bringing about hemispheric cooperation. A smooth and successful politician, Gaviria is also a man of substance and accomplishment. He has earned a reputation as a skillful conflict mediator, champion of democracy, and defender of human rights. Still in his 50s, Gaviria has had a long and impressive political career that began at the age of 23 when he was elected as a councilman in his hometown of Pereira. Four years later, he was elected mayor of the town. He was first elected to Colombiaís House of Representatives in 1974 as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. Within a decade, he rose through the ranks to become co-chairman of his party and majority leader of the House of Representatives. In the late 1980s Gaviria served in the Barco government, first as minister of finance and then as the interior minister. He played a key role in peace talks with the guerrilla group M-19 in 1989 which brought a measure of peace and stability, albeit temporarily, to Colombia. In May 1990, Colombia elected Gaviria as president during a time of enormous turmoil. Gaviria was actually the campaign manager of Sen. Luis Carlos Gal·n, who was assassinated by drug traffickers. The Liberal Party chose Gaviria as its candidate. During his four-year term, he pushed policies to strengthen democracy, promote peace and integrate armed rebels into civilian life. He backed constitutional and institutional reforms to bolster the judicial branch and defend human rights. He also advocated economic reforms and signed important trade agreements. Reflecting on his term as Colombiaís president, Gaviria said it was an enormously difficult challenge. "Nothing compares to being president of Colombia. Nothing. Not being secretary general of the OAS. Nothing. Itís so complex. There are so many threats. I will never have a job like that again," he said. The same year he stepped down as Colombiaís president, Gaviria was elected to head the OAS. The OAS is the worldís oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to April 1890. The current charter of the OAS, however, did not enter into force until 1951. The OAS now has 35 member states and has granted permanent observer status to more than 44 states, as well as the European Union. According to its charter, the OAS seeks to strengthen peace and security in the hemisphere, promote democracy, prevent disputes between member states, take common action in response to aggression and promote economic, social and cultural development. Similar to other international bodies, such as the United Nations, it is organized into a General Assembly, Permanent Council, a General Secretariat and various other permanent committees and subsidiary organizations. Although given a sweeping mandate, the OAS had fallen on hard times by the time Gaviria took charge in 1994. The United States and Latin America did not always view world affairs in the same way during the Cold War, and this created tensions that limited the effectiveness of the OAS for several decades. During the Cold War years, many Latin American nations viewed U.S. policy toward the Americas as patently unilateralist. In Central America, for example, the United States pursued its policies with only nominal reference to the OAS. The United States invaded Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1989 without discussing the interventions with the OAS. As a result, Latin American nations went outside the OAS system to push multilateral peace proposals. When Gaviria assumed leadership of the OAS many had given up on it as a purposeful and effective institution. Member states, including the United States, became increasingly stingy about committing significant resources to key OAS programs. "When I arrived, the OAS was significantly diminished politically. Now after seven years, everyone is looking to the OAS. We have been involved in many areas. We have been able to deliver in many areas. Increasingly, all kinds of problems and challenges are given to the OAS to work on," he said. The OAS has been intimately involved in the Summit of the Americas process that was launched in Miami in 1994, continued in Santiago in 1998 and most recently held in Quebec in April of this year. Gaviria said the Quebec meeting showed that the nations of the Americas firmly support democracy. "The member states declared that they would not tolerate any deviations from, or attacks against, democratic principles and institutions, perhaps the most serious threat against democracy. To back this up, they agreed that any non-democratic regime would be automatically excluded from the inter-American system," he said. The central issue dominating the Quebec meeting was the sweeping plan to create a 34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). This initiative would forge a free trade zone extending from Canada to Chile. The FTAA would be the largest free trade area in the world with 800 million consumers producing more than $11 trillion in goods and services. Negotiations to create the FTAA began in 1994 and have made only modest progress so far. But the hemisphereís leaders in Quebec reaffirmed their commitment to achieving this ambitious goal and declared that negotiations should be concluded by Jan. 1, 2005. The negotiations are trying to slash import tariffs on trade between member countries and gradually dismantle non-tariff barriers, such as quotas. Trade in services would be liberalized and investment rules would be harmonized. As talks intensify, key issues must be resolved concerning cross-border pollution, worker safety and job flight. Gaviria praises the hemisphereís leaders for their strong support of the FTAA. "Presidents and prime ministers are increasingly engaged. They are really engaged. I think what is most interesting and challenging is that this process after Quebec is not going to be only technical any more. After Quebec, after commitments from all governments, after the protests in the streets, the process has become political," he said. Gaviria remarked that while he and other key officials at the talks noted the concerns of the anti-globalization protesters, he said their concerns did not persuade him or others that the FTAA initiative should be refocused. He said the United States is now taking this initiative seriously and praises President George W. Bush for his support of the FTAA. "Finally the media in this country is giving a lot of coverage to the Free Trade Area of the Americas initiative. I think itís partly because President Bush has sent a lot of signals that he strongly supports this initiative. Thatís very important to the process of the FT AA," he said. Gaviria said the FTAA initiative is extremely important, but should be viewed in a broader context. "We will never have integration like Europe. We are not looking at that kind of integration. If we are going to have an ambitious integration process we need to look at how institutions can be strengthened," he said. From his base in Washington, D.C, Gaviria travels to OAS activities across Latin America and underscores the regionís many accomplishments. But he is also blunt about regional failures and disappointments. In many of Latin Americaís young democracies, political institutions are weak and millions of people are disenchanted and skeptical about the future, he said. "The biggest threats faced in the Americas are diminished support for democracy, capital volatility, drug trafficking, corruption, terrorism, the illegal trade in arms and violence," he added. The OAS, under Gaviriaís leadership, is playing a larger role in resolving conflicts between some of the member states. The secretary generalís office has mediated disputes between Nicaragua and Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua and Guatemala and Belize. Depending on the particular circumstances, Gaviria has served as a witness, facilitator, and engaged mediator. His office has provided administrative and logistical support for various negotiations. Gaviria said the OAS is now focused on implementing the goals established by the Quebec summit. These include drafting the first inter-American democratic charter to strengthen collective mechanisms to defend democracy, providing adequate support for human rights, modernizing electoral processes, promoting transparency and good governance, pushing anti-corruption mechanisms, protecting minorities, promoting judicial reform, and creating a culture of tolerance and respect. Gaviria will leave the OAS in 2004 when his second term expires. He expects to work in both Colombia and the United States and stay active in regional affairs. He may write his memoirs on his experiences as a leader in Colombia and at the OAS. But he also wants to slow down the pace of his life and spend more time with his family and enjoy long neglected hobbies such as reading, playing tennis and studying contemporary art. "I have lots of plans," he said. John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.