General assembly thirty-seventh regular session panama, republic of panama

1. 
   To support member states in their efforts to strengthen democratic institutions, values, practices, and governance, to fight corruption, to enhance the rule of law, to bring about the full exercise of human rights, and to reduce poverty, inequity, and social exclusion.
   

2. 
   To reaffirm that the promotion and protection of human rights is a prerequisite for a democratic society, and that it is important to continue to develop and strengthen the inter-American human rights system.
   

3. 
   To recognize the importance of promoting the principles, values, and practices of a democratic culture; and to request the General Secretariat to continue supporting this objective through training programs to promote the principles, values, and practices of a democratic culture, on the basis of Articles 26 and 27 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. In this context, to instruct the Secretariat to continue supporting the Permanent Council and the member states in the execution of the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices and its Plan of Action.
   

4. 
   To recognize the important role of participation by civil society in the consolidation of representative democracy and that this participation constitutes one of the vital elements for the success of development policies; and, in that regard, to instruct the Permanent Council to convene a special meeting with civil society organizations, under the Guidelines for Participation by Civil Society Organizations in OAS Activities, adopted by the Permanent Council in resolution CP/RES. 759 (1217/99), to examine the contribution of these organizations to strengthening a democratic culture in the Hemisphere, pursuant to Article 26 of the Democratic Charter.
   

5. 
   To reaffirm as applicable the mandates contained in resolution AG/RES. 2154 (XXXV-O/05) and in resolution AG/RES. 2251 (XXXVI-O/06), “Promotion of Regional Cooperation for Implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter on the Occasion of Its Fifth Anniversary.”
   

6. 
   To request the Permanent Council to:
   

1. 
   Examine the principal challenges to democratic governance, especially those related to strengthening democratic institutions and promoting economic and social development; and
   

2. 
   Hold a meeting in the first half of each year to review activities undertaken by the Organization in the preceding calendar year to promote and strengthen democracy.
   

7. 
   To entrust the General Secretariat with coordinating the activities and programs of the various offices of the General Secretariat relating to the promotion of democracy, in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, so as to be more effective in fulfilling the mandates on the inter-American agenda.
   

8. 
   To recommend to the General Secretariat that it support the legislative branches of the member states in their efforts at modernization and institution-building, as well as interparliamentary cooperation and dialogue in the legislative treatment of priority topics on the inter-American agenda.
   

9. 
   To encourage member states, and to urge all bodies of the inter-American system, to continue to collaborate in eliminating obstacles to women’s full participation in democratic processes, pursuant to Article 28 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
   

10. 
    To request the Secretary General to present a report to the Permanent Council on all cases in which action on his part is envisaged in the Charter of the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
    

11. 
    To request the Secretariat to prepare a report, for consideration by the Permanent Council, setting forth the best practices developed by the OAS electoral observation missions during the three years prior to the adoption of this resolution.
    

12. 
    To reaffirm the mandate contained in resolution AG/RES. 2195 (XXXVI-O/06), “Strengthening Political Parties and Other Political Organizations for Democratic Governance.”
    

13. 
    To encourage the Joint Working Group of the Permanent Council and CEPCIDI on the Draft Social Charter of the Americas to continue its efforts, so that its work may serve effectively to strengthen existing OAS instruments on democracy, integral development, and the fight against poverty.
    

14. 
    To ensure that the actions and programs proposed in this resolution will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
    
15. 
    To request the Secretary General to report to the Permanent Council on the implementation of this resolution.
    

16. 
    To instruct the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth regular session on the implementation of this resolution.
    

AG/RES. 2328 (XXXVII-O/07)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

1. 
   To declare June 24, 2008, as the day commemorating the 80^th anniversary of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH); and to encourage member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to participate actively in its celebration.
   

2. 
   To that end, to invite the OAS member states and permanent observers to consider making voluntary and special contributions to the OAS, aimed at establishing a specific fund to finance PAIGH projects related to: (i) spatial data production, access, and use to improve disaster response; (ii) consolidation of territorial databases in each country as part of the infrastructure needed for adequate environmental, social, and economic development; and (iii) America: Contact and Independence, an initiative being prepared concurrently with the commemoration of the bicentennial of the founding of most nations of the Americas.
   

3. 
   To recommend to member states that, in the course of institution-building and development of related capacities, they strengthen the geographic identity of the respective existing agencies and, in particular, the maintenance and integrity of cartographic databases containing basic data for each country, in keeping with international parameters fostering their use in the formulation of regional projects.
   

4. 
   To call upon OAS member states that have not yet done so to consider establishing formal ties with the PAIGH, in order to further its development and its contribution to the inter-American system as a whole.
   

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

1. 
   To request the Secretary General to establish, once the Rules of Procedure have been adopted by the Permanent Council, a specific fund for voluntary contributions, to be called the “Oliver Jackman Voluntary Capital Fund,” hereinafter the “Oliver Jackman Fund.”
   

2. 
   To agree that:
   

1. 
   The purpose of the Oliver Jackman Fund shall be to finance, with income produced by capital contributions, the operations of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
   

2. 
   The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) shall be responsible for financial administration of the Oliver Jackman Fund. Financing shall be governed by the Rules of Procedure, to be adopted by the Permanent Council prior to January 31, 2008, which must establish clear accountability procedures. The determination of which expenditures are financed using the Fund’s resources shall be decided autonomously by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;
   

3. 
   The Oliver Jackman Fund shall administer capital contributions received from member states, permanent observers, and other donors who wish to collaborate in strengthening the inter-American human rights system; and
   

4. 
   The Oliver Jackman Fund shall have two separate accounts, named (i) the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and (ii) the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Capital contributions made in support of each of the organs in the system shall be deposited in that body’s account.
   

3. 
   To invite member states, permanent observers, and other donors, as defined in Article 74 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat, and other rules and regulations of the Organization, to contribute to the Oliver Jackman Fund, as an effective demonstration of the commitment to protecting human rights in the Hemisphere.
   

4. 
   To urge international financial agencies to contribute to the Oliver Jackman Fund as a demonstration of their commitment to democracy, development, and human rights in the Hemisphere.
   

5. 
   To recall that the operation of the Oliver Jackman Fund does not exonerate the OAS from its obligation to guarantee funding of the inter-American human rights system with Regular Fund resources.
   

6. 
   To specify that contributions to the Oliver Jackman Fund do not preclude other voluntary contributions, nor do they preclude the formation of other specific funds to finance the operations of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights or programs of these bodies.
   

7. 
   To request the General Secretariat to present an annual report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at each regular session.
   

1. 
   To take note of the report of the Permanent Council on the activities of the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belém do Pará” (MESECVI).
   

2. 
   To encourage the states parties to the Convention to meet the deadlines established in the annual work calendar of the Committee of Experts on Violence (CEVI) to ensure the MESECVI’s optimal functioning.
   

3. 
   To welcome the progress of the first multilateral evaluation round of the MESECVI; and to express its conviction that this exercise will contribute significantly to achievement of the objectives set forth in the Convention.
   

4. 
   To congratulate the states parties on their efforts to meet the objectives of the Convention; and again to urge those states that have not yet done so to designate their experts and competent national authorities, so as to ensure the full implementation and success of the Mechanism.
   

5. 
   To urge the states parties to the Convention as well as all member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to strengthen the MESECVI and hemispheric cooperation to combat violence against women, including the participation of experts in CEVI meetings.
   

6. 
   To reiterate its gratitude to the Permanent Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) for its support of the states parties in the process of implementation of the MESECVI; and to thank it for its important role, as secretariat of the Mechanism, in the fulfillment of the objectives of the Convention of Belém do Pará.
   

7. 
   To thank the Government of Mexico for its continuing contribution to the Mechanism, in both human and financial resources; and to invite all states parties and states not party to the Convention, permanent observers, international financial institutions, and civil society organizations to contribute to the Specific Fund established in the OAS to finance MESECVI’s operations.
   

8. 
   To take note of the offer by the Argentine Republic to host the Third Meeting of the Committee of Experts on Violence (CEVI), to be held in late June in Buenos Aires.
   

9. 
   To request the Secretary General to allocate more human, technical, and financial resources to enable the CIM to continue supporting the implementation of the MESECVI and the full application of the Convention of Belém do Pará by the states parties, as well as other initiatives by the member states to eliminate violence against women.
   

10. 
    To take note of the offer by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to host the Second Conference of States Parties to the Convention of Belém do Pará, to be held in late 2007.
    

11. 
    To request the Permanent Council to follow up on implementation of this resolution and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth regular session on MESECVI operations and on the outcome of the first multilateral evaluation round.
    

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,