WASHINGTON – The Permanent Representative of the United States to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Carmen Lomellin, on Wednesday, April 7 assumed the Chairmanship of the OAS Permanent Council. Her predecessor, Ambassador José Enrique Castillo Barrantes, Costa Rica’s Permanent Representative, handed her the mallet that represents the authority of the second highest political entity of the hemispheric organization after the General Assembly.
During a brief ceremony held at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Representative of the United States said she welcomed the transfer of the Chairmanship and reiterated her commitment to contribute to promote the main issues on the organization’s agenda. She also said that during the following three months “Haiti will continue to be a priority for the Organization,” and made reference to a Special Session of the Council to take place by the end of April and focus on the situation of the Caribbean country.
Likewise, Ambassador Lomellin highlighted the “efficient work by the representation of Costa Rica” and affirmed that her country “will continue to work assiduously to achieve broad cooperation in preparation for the 40th OAS General Assembly” to take place in Lima, Peru, during the first week of June.
Ambassador Castillo Barrantes, for his part, briefly reviewed the work conducted by the Permanent Council under his leadership, and highlighted “having successfully fulfilled the process of electing the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General and having initiated the discussion for the procedural reforms to said elections. It makes me very happy to transfer the Chairmanship to the United States, a country that has actively participated in these activities.”
The Permanent Representative of Ecuador, Ambassador Francisco Proaño, will be Vice Chair of the Permanent Council for the next three months. According to the Council’s Statute, the chairmanship is held by each of the representatives, in turn, following the alphabetic order in Spanish of the names of their respective countries. The Vice Chair is filled in the same way, following reverse alphabetic order. The Chairmanship of the Council from April to June 2010 corresponded to Dominica, who abstained from occupying the position.
