*EPF205 11/07/00
Washington to Host Summit of Americas Meeting November 28-30
("Human potential" subject of SIRG meeting) (450)

Washington -- "Realizing human potential" in the Western Hemisphere will be the focus of the next meeting of a U.S.-created group that reports on activities connected to the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canada, announced Peter Boehm, chairman of a special regional committee set up to manage inter-American summits.

Boehm, who also serves as Canada's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), said the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) will meet November 28-30 at the Inter-American Development Bank to discuss how to maximize human potential in the hemisphere, including such issues as providing better education opportunities, improving health care, assuring gender equality, promoting the rights of indigenous populations, recognizing cultural diversity, and protecting children and youth.

Boehm told an all-day forum of the OAS Special Committee on Inter-American Summits Management on November 7 that human potential represents one of the three major "baskets" (themes) to be discussed at the Quebec City summit of the leaders of the region's 34 democracies. The other two baskets are "Strengthening Democracy" and "Creating Prosperity."

A "background paper" distributed at the OAS meeting listed issues that hemispheric leaders might discuss at the April 20-22 Quebec Summit. That paper, entitled "The Community of the Americas: Vital Connections," said the hemisphere's "collective commitment to democracy, human rights, and rule of law is central to the Summit of the Americas process and must be the focus of our ongoing efforts to provide a durable foundation for hemispheric integration. It is people and their ability to access and generate knowledge that will permit nations to consolidate democratic processes and institutions and exercise legitimate political power."

The paper also said Summit participants should develop an agenda of "Connectivity," which was defined as creating a "true hemispheric community by connecting the citizens of the Americas and promoting hemispheric integration through innovative uses of information and communications technologies." This connectivity, the paper said, "can help to promote equal opportunity for meaningful employment, greater prosperity, and social/civic benefits."

The SIRG holds about four regular meetings each year. From its inception in 1995 until March 1997, the SIRG was chaired by the United States because it had been the host of the first Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994. In 1997, Chile assumed the chair because it was to host the second Summit in Santiago the following year. Canada is now serving as chair, since it will host the third Summit in 2001.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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