PARAGUAY: Venezuela hits out at US, Nicaragua calls for Cuba's return at tense OAS summit

Record ID: 450891

  • Title: PARAGUAY: Venezuela hits out at US, Nicaragua calls for Cuba's return at tense OAS summit
  • Date: 5th June 2014
  • Summary: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3 LUQUE, PARAGUAY (JUNE 04, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE ORGANISATION OF AMERICAN STATES (OAS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OAS SECRETARY GENERAL, JOSE MIGUEL INSULZA, SAYING: "Seriously, I invite you all to go back to do what is necessary to fulfil the original proposals that motivated the San Salvador and Cochabamba process, to strengthen the system, widen the membership of the court, improve its funding and organise a better dialogue with member states, but reaffirming the autonomy of the commission and the court and leaving aside parallel efforts which only serve to weaken the main bodies of the OAS." VARIOUS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OAS SECRETARY GENERAL, JOSE MIGUEL INSULZA, SAYING: "The norms are all assigned in the OEA charter and the American Convention on Human Rights, which is modified by the assembly and given that it is made up of treaties, it should be ratified in each country." VARIOUS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER ELIAS JAUA, SAYING: "They want to generate permanent violence, economic sabotage, an assassination plan, encourage and finance from sectors of the United States that are an open violation of the principles of non-intervention in the internal happenings of this organisation." GENERAL VIEW OF ASSEMBLY U.S. DELEGATION AT ASSEMBLY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF BUREAU OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON, SAYING: "Yes, there is a bill in the United States. We have said that all possibilities (are on the table) to encourage and motivate dialogue between parties at the (negotiating) table. It will continue until there are results, we believe that the results should come very soon. Sanctions are a tool that is useful at times, but we don't believe that now is that moment. This is the position at the moment but we will see if we need to move." MORE OF ASSEMBLY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NICARAGUA'S DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER, DENIS RONALDO MONCADA, SAYING: "We call for the raising of the embargo and reiterate our brotherhood and permanent solidarity with the people and government of Cuba, with Fidel and Raul. We re-affirm our position that Cuba should be invited unconditionally and under a plan of equal sovereignty." ASSEMBLY AND NEWS CONFERENCE INSULZA LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 20th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Paraguay
  • Country: Paraguay
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAZ1HGGQHQ38OCBD9C9QFVV7HN
  • Story Text: Venezuela and the United States come to a head in Paraguay during the annual General Assembly of the Organisation of the American States, with the OPEC-nation accusing the American government of meddling in its internal affairs.

    Foreign ministers from across the Americas and the Caribbean converged on the Paraguayan city of Luque on Wednesday (June 04) for the 44th General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS) during a tense session where Venezuela and the U.S. came to a head over anti-government protests and member states called for changes to the body's human rights commission and Cuba's return to the group.
    Delegations from the 35 OAS member states are in Paraguay for the three-day summit which will focus on the theme of "Development and Socialist Inclusion."
    But the activities of the body's Inter-American Commission on Human Rights came under scrutiny with a proposal from Ecuador for the Commission to be moved from its Washington base.
    Speaking to member states, Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza called on countries to strengthen and not undermine the OAS's bodies.
    "Seriously, I invite you all to go back to do what is necessary to fulfil the original proposals that motivated the San Salvador and Cochabamba process, to strengthen the system, widen the membership of the court, improve its funding and organise a better dialogue with member states, but reaffirming the autonomy of the commission and the court and leaving aside parallel efforts which only serve to weaken the main bodies of the OAS," he said.
    Leftist leaders of Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela have long argued for changes to be made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, criticising the over reach of the commission for weighing in on disputes that are still being heard in domestic courts.
    But while the commission can investigate and observe human rights cases in OAS countries, some countries do not recognise its jurisdiction or power to enforce rulings.
    Insulza rejected criticism of the OAS body, putting pressure on member states to raise their own human rights records.
    "The norms are all assigned in the OEA charter and the American Convention on Human Rights, which is modified by the assembly and given that it is made up of treaties, it should be ratified in each country," he added.
    Venezuela withdrew from the OAS's regional human rights court in 2012 following a series of cases accusing the former Chavez government of authoritarianism and rights abuses during his rule, accusing the commission and court of being a pawn of Washington.
    With the OPEC nation wracked by anti-government protests in recent months that have killed 42 people, Venezuela's Foreign Minister Elias Jaua kept up his government's anti-American rhetoric by accusing the U.S. government of meddling in the South American country's affairs.
    "They want to generate permanent violence, economic sabotage, an assassination plan, encourage and finance from sectors of the United States that are an open violation of the principles of non-intervention in the internal happenings of this organisation," he said.
    Representing the United States at the OAS summit, Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson told the General Assembly that all options were on the table to get President Nicolas Maduro to negotiate with the Venezuelan opposition for a political end to the crisis, including sanctions.
    "Yes, there is a bill in the United States. We have said until now that all possibilities (are on the table) to encourage and motivate dialogue between parties at the (negotiating) table. It will continue until there are results, we believe that the results should come very soon. Sanctions are a tool that is useful at times, but we don't believe that now is that moment. This is the position at the moment but we will see if we need to move," she said.
    Speaking at the general assembly, Nicaragua's Deputy Foreign Minister Denis Ronaldo Moncada also hit out at the United States and its embargo on Cuba.
    The Communist country was expelled from the OAS at the height of the Cold War in 1962, but more than fifty years on leftist allies are campaigning for its return to the body.
    "We call for the raising of the embargo and reiterate our brotherhood and permanent solidarity with the people and government of Cuba, with Fidel and Raul. We re-affirm our position that Cuba should be invited unconditionally and under a plan of equal sovereignty," declared Moncada.
    The United States has insisted Cuba meet the organisation's democratic and human rights standards before reclaiming its membership.
    The OAS's 2014 General Assembly concludes in Paraguay on Thursday (June 05).
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