Buenos días.
Bonjour.
Bom día.
Thank you, Secretary General Almagro, for standing up for the principles of democracy
and human rights at the core of this institution. And thanks to Foreign Minister Brolo for hosting.
The theme of this 51st General Assembly is “renewal” in our region – and that’s
an apt focus, given the challenges we face. I’d like to focus on three areas in particular
where renewal is crucial to meet the needs and aspirations of people in our hemisphere.
First, we have to show democracy can deliver for people in a crisis, like the current COVID-19
pandemic. Latin America and the Caribbean account for about 8 percent of the world’s
population, but the region has experienced 32 percent of the world’s COVID-19 related
deaths. The region’s economy contracted by nearly 8 percent last year, and more than
22 million additional people fell into poverty.
Our governments need to show that we’re there for our people when they need us most.
That means stopping the virus’s spread, which we can do primarily by getting vaccines
to everyone, everywhere. It means taking bold steps right now to save lives, from solving
for shortages in respirators, to ensuring all front-line health workers have PPE. And
it means helping those who are struggling to make ends meet after losing their livelihoods.
The United States recognizes that we have an important role to play here. We’ve sent
nearly 50 million doses of safe, effective vaccines to countries in the region – free
of charge and with no strings attached – and we’ve provided hundreds of millions of dollars
in emergency aid to communities.
Beyond addressing these immediate needs, this massive crisis is an opportunity to build
back better, especially for the underserved communities that have been hit hardest. We’ve
invested more than $10 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean through the International
Development Finance Corporation since 2020, which in turn is leveraging billions more
in private investment. We’ve persuaded multilateral banks to reinvest in the region, and made
an effective call to action on Special Drawing Rights. And we’re supporting programs across
the Americas aimed at promoting inclusive opportunity – from the Small Business Development
Centers empowering small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the Caribbean to the newly
launched Small and Less Populous Island Economies Initiative, which fosters sustainable livelihoods
in the places hardest hit by the climate crisis.
Second, we must renew our commitment to defending democracy in the region. Because 20 years
after we all signed the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a number of governments are flouting
its most basic principles.
Consider the undemocratic election held a few days ago in Nicaragua. In anticipation,
the Ortega-Murillo government banned opposition parties and arbitrarily locked up seven opposition
candidates, alongside scores of journalists, human rights defenders, and other civil society
leaders. An overwhelming majority of OAS member states supported a strong resolution that
condemned the Ortega-Murillo government’s abusive actions and committed to revisit this
issue at this General Assembly Session. The Inter-American Democratic Charter prescribes
concrete consequences for governments in the region that jettison democracy and crack down
violently on human rights. The OAS’s credibility as an institution that defends democracy depends
on living up to that charter.
Cuba is another example. We all saw the government’s violent crackdown when tens of thousands of
Cubans took to the streets last July to peacefully demand the government meet their basic needs
and to call for freedom and human rights. Many of the people unjustly detained in those
demonstrations are still languishing in Cuba’s prisons, including a 26-year-old named Yoan
de la Cruz, who is facing an eight-year prison sentence for livestreaming a protest. Cuban
civil society leaders have called for more demonstrations on November 15th. Every country
in the hemisphere should send a clear message that people across the Americas, including
in Cuba, have a right to peacefully assemble and express their opinions.
In Venezuela, the Maduro regime continues to deny people’s right to choose their own
leaders. The United States supports a negotiated solution that leads to free and fair elections,
as well as the restoration of the rule of law, respect for human rights, and addressing
people’s vital humanitarian needs. And we call for the immediate release of all U.S.
citizens wrongfully detained in Venezuela.
But it would be a mistake to think the only places we need to focus on renewal are in
the region’s closed governments. We have watched with alarm as some democratically
elected governments have used the powers of state to undermine democratic institutions
from within and curtail fundamental freedoms – arbitrarily removing judges and prosecutors
to evade accountability using tax authorities to intimidate journalists and political opponents
paying “troll farms” to drown out and threaten their critics on social media. And
we have seen, including in the United States, just how fragile democracy can be. That’s
why every democracy in the region must shore up its foundations. We can do that by bolstering
independent institutions, and the judges, prosecutors, journalists, and civil society
leaders who make them strong. We can invest in election monitoring, which not only ensures
the integrity of elections, but strengthens citizens’ trust in their outcomes.
The OAS Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation has played an essential role
in providing independent, credible monitoring across the region. We expect its monitors
to play that role in Honduras’s elections on November 28 and in Haiti, when a Haitian-led
process to restore the country’s democratic institutions makes elections possible. And
we can continue to strengthen the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. I’d be remiss
if I didn’t express my adamant support for the candidate we’ve nominated, Professor
Alexandra Huneeus, whose deep knowledge and experience would be a tremendous asset for
the Commission.
The third area where we can renew our commitment to democracy is by tackling the chronic economic
and social problems that people across the region face in their daily lives. Widespread
corruption. Rampant violence. Unequal access to social services and to opportunities.
On corruption, that means looking across the region to find the most effective anti-corruption
efforts and disseminate them closing the weak links in our interconnected system, which
corrupt actors are adept at exploiting and enhancing the capacity and tools of journalists,
anti-corruption campaigners, businesses, and other partners.
On strengthening civilian security, we must complement our long-standing investments in
training and equipping the security forces with more ambitious efforts to address the
root causes of the region’s rampant violence. That includes expanding economic opportunities
for underserved populations, who may be drawn to illicit activity because they feel they
have no other options reducing the demand in the United States that’s fueling much
of the region’s illicit activity and supporting community-based violence prevention programs.
We also have to invest in programs and policies that will make a real difference in the lives
of working and low-income families – whether that’s bolstering labor standards expanding
access to adequate education and health or providing more inclusive opportunities in
areas like building the next generation of sustainable infrastructure, which is crucial
to addressing the climate crisis. And we have to do it in way that’s transparent that
empowers local communities, rather than miring them in debt that’s sustainable, rather
than extractive and that respects human rights.
A few weeks ago, I traveled to Ecuador and Colombia. In Quito, I gave a speech on how
democracy can better deliver in the Americas. Afterward, a young woman named Fernanda Perugachi
rose to ask a question. She had made a long journey from her rural indigenous community
in Imbabura province to attend the speech. Fernanda talked about how she had benefitted
from opportunities that had been closed off to past generations – such as the chance
to study at a university – which had in turn made her a better advocate for her community.
And she wanted to know what governments like ours were going to do to close enduring gaps
in areas like education and opportunities for women.
She said: Quote “I’m a young person who believes that pursuing your dreams has no
limits, because dreams are yours alone and nobody can take them away.” End quote.
And this, as much as anything else, is why I’m optimistic about our capacity to renew
democracy in our hemisphere. Not only because we can deliver for people in times of crisis
strengthen our institutions and stand with people demanding democracy and human rights
and tackle enduring problems like corruption and violence. But because democracy has a
unique advantage: It will continue to empower committed young leaders like Fernanda, who
will demand we do better who will dedicate their lives to making our system stronger
and who are determined not let anyone stand in the way of their dreams.
Thank you.