OAS: Enhanced coordination key to regional security

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Enhanced coordination among countries is the focal point of the 41st General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), said Secretary General José Miguel Insulza.

The theme of the General Assembly, being held in this Central American capital through June 7, is "Citizen Security in the Americas." Officials are working together to devise strategies to improve security and enhance social and economic development throughout the region.

Officials are discussing how OAS-member countries can work together to combat organized crime, kidnapping and human, weapons and narcotics trafficking throughout the hemisphere.

"Our action plan, that we developed here and have been working on all year, is based on the coordination between countries in matters such as fighting narco-trafficking or weapons trafficking," Insulza said during a joint press conference with Salvadoran Foreign Minister Hugo Martínez in San Salvador.

Insulza added: "It is important that the development of this process continues later, when interior and public security ministers meet in November in Trinidad and Tobago to follow up on the implementation of those agreements reached during this assembly."

Security is a crucial element in improving economic and social development as well as promoting investment throughout the region, Insulza said.

"Competitiveness without security is impossible," he said.

Martínez said the agreements signed during the General Assembly also will focus on combating violence and narco-trafficking.

"The draft of the final agreement establishes a multi-directional focus that includes issues like prevention and prosecution of crime, rehabilitation, reinsertion and the empowerment of institutions that fight crime," Martínez said.

Insulza attributed the recent surge in narcotics seizures throughout the Americas to better coordination among OAS nations.

"Among countries in Central America, an enormous effort has been made to combat narco-trafficking," he said. "In 2010, more than 500 tons of cocaine was seized and at the same time, a huge number of people were imprisoned for drug-related offenses."

Insulza said officials must address the growing demand for narcotics in their countries.

"The main problem is demand," he said. "While there is still a demand for drugs, narco-trafficking will continue to be a problem. That's why we should focus our efforts not only on the supply but also on the demand for drugs."

Insulza said the countries must make advancements in drug rehabilitation programs to prepare recovering drug addicts to become productive members of society.

"It is necessary to improve the treatment of addicts, treat them like people who are ill and not as criminals," he said. "We need to give them the chance to be reinserted into society so they don't go back to drugs. We must enhance all aspects of drug prevention, and combat money laundering."

The reinsertion of Honduras as an OAS member also is a positive step for the advancement of democracy in the Americas, Insulza said. Members of the OAS overwhelmingly voted in favor of restoring Honduras's membership to the OAS during a meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 1.

Honduras was suspended by the OAS on July 4, 2009, just days after then-President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office by the country's military. Zelaya's banishment from the country ended when he returned to Honduras for the first time since his ousting last week.

"Honduras is a member of the OAS and will be represented at the assembly," Insulza said. "The country was never expelled from the organization - it was only suspended."

Martínez agreed with the decision to reinstate Honduras to the OAS, saying, "We are very happy with the reinsertion of Honduras."

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