June 1, 2009 Officials of the National Secretariat for the Fifth Summit of the Americas and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will be in Honduras this week for the 39th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

The General Assembly takes place from June 2-3, 2009 in the city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras and will focus on action Towards a Culture of Non-violence in the Hemisphere. The reintegration of Cuba in the inter-American community is also expected to be a major talking point at the General Assembly.

The General Assembly, which meets annually, is the maximum political institution within the OAS and its decisions serve as guidance to the activities and priorities of the hemispheric institution for the following year. Its agenda includes a wide array of issues such as promoting democratic governance, strengthening of Human Rights, spreading hemispheric security and paying attention to shared concerns.

Several meetings of OAS bodies will take place during the General Assembly. One such event is the Ministerial Level Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG). As host of the Fifth Summit of the Americas Trinidad and Tobago currently holds the position of Chair of the SIRG and will address the implementation and follow-up of the mandates and agreements emanating from the Summit. During the April meeting the Hemisphere’s leaders arrived at consensus to advance joint solutions to address the most pressing challenges facing the region, such as human prosperity, energy security and environmental sustainability. Foreign Affairs Minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon is expected to deliver an address on the way forward for the countries of the Americas to realise this vision together. The SIRG will also discuss which country will host the Sixth Summit of the Americas.


The upcoming OAS General Assembly will discuss its Declaration of San Pedro Sula, which makes reference to several of the initiatives identified in the Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain. They include the central role of human rights in building a culture of non violence; the importance of programmes to inculcate non-violence from the early years of education and the need for programmes for the prevention of drug use and abuse, alcohol abuse and associated violence.

The General Assembly will also consider the global economic crisis and its impact on smaller, more vulnerable national economies like those in Central America and the Caribbean.