VHeadline commentarist, Guyana's Ambassador to Venezuela, Dr. Odeen Ishmael writes: On December 16, an extraordinary summit of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held on the sidelines of the Latin American and Caribbean economic forum (at Sauipe Coast, Brazil), formally approved the creation of the South American councils of Defense and Health. As subsidiary bodies of UNASUR, these two councils will be formed by ministerial representatives from the twelve member states.The South American Defense Council was proposed by Brazil earlier this year to coordinate defence mechanisms in South America. The council, which will hold its first meeting in January 2009, aims to have a common vision of the region's defense based on mutual trust with emphasis on cooperation, training and equipment issues. It will also examine common threats and act as a forum for defusing potential conflicts in the region. In May, Colombia had expressed reservations, and its non-participation due to "the terrorist threat" it was facing at home. But according to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, UNASUR�s pro-tempore chair, the proposal for the formal establishment of the Defense Council was approved unanimously by all the presidents.
The South American Council of Health was first proposed by Chile in early December at a meeting of UNASUR delegates in Rio de Janeiro. Its overall aim is to promote common sanitary policies for all the countries of South America. But the main purpose of the extraordinary summit was to elect a secretary general to manage the day-to-day activities of the continental organization.
On the eve of an earlier special summit in Brasilia, on May 23, ex-Ecuadorian president Rodrigo Borja, the appointed secretary-general who was holding the position until his expected formal election, resigned, allegedly because the constituent treaty of the organization did not provide the post with as much autonomy and power as he wanted.
- Since then, the search for a viable candidate for the position was pursued and the name of Pablo Solon, the well-known Bolivian ambassador for trade affairs and integration, emerged. But after he failed to win the support of all the member states, Ecuador nominated Argentina's former president Nestor Kirchner for the post.
Argentina's Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana has since described Uruguay's opposition to Kirchner as an "insult to Argentines, to UNASUR and to the countries that support his candidacy."
At the extraordinary summit, Uruguay's President Tabare Ramon Vazquez reiterated his country's opposition to Kirchner. As a result, the twelve member countries could not reach a consensus and the election was postponed. Apparently, much time was spent on discussing the nomination and election mechanism for which Kirchner has majority support.
Argentina and Uruguay did not participate much in the debate, but the Uruguayan president hinted that his country could quit the organization if there was a departure from the consensus position for the choice of the secretary general. Some reports emanating from the summit indicated that this response from Uruguay came after Argentina and Ecuador suggested a change to majority choice instead of the consensus rule on election to leadership posts. In the end, the leaders agreed to conduct further consultations in order to finalize the election by April 30 next year, when Chile�s term as pro-tempore chair concludes.
It was also clear that the leaders re-confirmed that UNASUR should not depart from its consensus policy. This was emphasized by Bachelet, who told the media, at the end of the meeting, that all the presidents "want to have a permanent secretary general on broad consensus among all countries." She acknowledged that there was a discussion at the meeting about the scope of "consensus" and conceded that some countries "are in a hurry because they feel it is very important to have a permanent secretary general immediately."
While the election issue was paramount, there were also other matters that engaged the leaders' attention. They discussed "procedures and concepts" of UNASUR and also "deadlines" to ratify the treaty establishing the organization. They set the end of April 2009 as the deadline for all member countries to ratify the constituent treaty singed on May 23 last. Until now, only Bolivia and Venezuela have ratified the treaty; the remaining 10 countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam and Uruguay -- still have to do so.
- In addition, the leaders praised the impartial work of UNASUR's commission that investigated the massacre that occurred in the Bolivian province of Pando where approximately twenty persons were murdered during protests against the Evo Morales' administration in early September. They also expressed their support for Bolivia's democracy as well as for Colombia's fight against the FARC and other illegal armed groups.
Certainly, over the next four months as the member states attempt to resolve the administration issue within the alliance, they will be provided the opportunity to develop lasting guidelines in dealing with crucial issues which may prop up from time to time.
The acrid relations between Uruguay and Argentina resulting in the postponement of the secretary general's election have certainly slowed UNASUR�s momentum, but if there is a quick consensus in the acceptance of a candidate by all the member states, it surely will be viewed as a giant leap forward.
Dr. Odeen Oshmael
embguy@cantv.net
(The writer is Guyana's ambassador to Venezuela. The views expressed are solely those of the writer.)
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