Sesión extraordinaria

CONSEJO PERMANENTE DE LA ORGANIZACIÓN DE LOS ESTADOS AMERICANOS

ACTA DE LA SESIÓN EXTRAORDINARIA CELEBRADA EL

12 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2019

Nómina de los miembros que asistieron a la sesión

En la ciudad de Washington, D. C., a las cuatro y veintinueve minutos de la tarde del viernes 22 de noviembre de 2019, celebró sesión extraordinaria el Consejo Permanente de la Organización de los Estados Americanos con el objeto de recibir a la Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la CARICOM del Commonwealth de Dominica, S.E. Francine Baron. Presidió la sesión la Embajadora Rita Claverie de Sciolli, Representante Permanente de Guatemala y Presidenta del Consejo Permanente. Asistieron los siguientes miembros:

Embajador Fernando Simas Magalhães, Representante Permanente del Brasil y Vicepresidente del Consejo Permanente

Embajador Hugo Cayrús, Representante Permanente del Uruguay

Embajador Everson Hull, Representante Permanente de San Kitts y Nevis

Embajador Anthony Phillips-Spencer, Representante Permanente de Trinidad y Tobago

Embajador Riyad Insanally, Representante Permanente de Guyana

Embajador Vince Henderson, Representante Permanente de Dominica

Embajadora Lou-Anne Gilchrist, Representante Permanente de San Vicente y las Granadinas

Embajador Anton Edmunds, Representante Permanente de Santa Lucía

Embajador Daniel Gutierez, Representante Permanente de Belize

Embajador Sidney Collie, Representante Permanente del Commonwealth de las Bahamas

Embajador Carlos Trujillo, Representante Permanente de los Estados Unidos

Embajador Hernán Salinas Burgos, Representante Permanente de Chile

Embajador Alejandro Ordoñez Maldonado, Representante Permanente de Colombia

Embajador Carlos Alberto Játiva Naranjo, Representante Permanente del Ecuador

Embajador Noel Lynch, Representante Permanente de Barbados

Embajadora Montserrat Solano Carboni, Representante Permanente de Costa Rica

Embajadora Yolande Yvonne Smith, Representante Permanente de Grenada

Embajador José Manuel Boza Orozco, Representante Permanente del Perú

Embajador Gustavo Tarré Briceño, Representante Permanente de Venezuela

Embajadora Luz Elena Baños Riva, Representante Permanente de México

Embajadora Ruth Esperanza Tapia, Representante Permanente de Nicaragua

Embajador Hugh Adsett, Representante Permanente del Canadá

Embajadora María del Carmen Roquebert León, Representante Permanente de Panamá

Embajador Léon Charles, Representante Interino de Haití

Embajador Luis Cordero, Representante Interino de Honduras

Ministra Graciela Scarnati Almada, Representante Interina de la Argentina

Consejera Gillian Joseph, Representante Alterna de Antigua y Barbuda

Segunda Secretaria Juanita Lont, Representante Alterna de Suriname

Ministro Deon L. Williams, Representante Alterno de Jamaica

Consejera Ivanna Bracamonte, Representante Alterna de Bolivia

Consejero Raúl Martínez, Representante Alterno del Paraguay

Ministro Consejero Kennedy Reyes, Representante Alterno de El Salvador

Ministra Consejera Mónica Escobar, Representante Alterna de Guatemala

Estuvo también presente el Secretario General, señor Luis Almagro Lemes.

Aprobación del orden del día

La PRESIDENTA: Buenas tardes, distinguidos colegas. Tengo el honor de declarar abierta la presente sesión extraordinaria del Consejo Permanente que ha sido convocada a solicitud de la Misión Permanente del Commonwealth de Dominica, con el propósito de recibir a su Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la Comunidad del Caribe (CARICOM), Su Excelencia Francine Baron, de acuerdo con la nota CP/INF. 8443/19.

Antes de considerar el orden del día de la presente sesión extraordinaria, me permito recordar respetuosamente al público que nos acompaña el día de hoy que este Salón Simón Bolívar, lugar de sesión habitual del Consejo Permanente de la Organización de los Estados Americanos, es un lugar que merece el mayor respeto para todos nosotros y, en tal sentido, hago un cordial llamado para que, como es usual, nuestro diálogo político se lleve a cabo dentro de las normas de la diplomacia, del derecho internacional y aquellas que rigen las actividades de este Consejo Permanente.

[El proyecto de orden del día contiene los siguientes puntos:

1. Presentación de la Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la CARICOM del Commonwealth de Dominica, S.E. Francine Baron

2. Comentarios de las delegaciones de los Estados Miembros]

De no haber observaciones, damos por aproado el proyecto del orden del día para estar sesión, documento CP/OD-2261/19. Aprobado.

Presentación de la Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la CARICOM del Commonwealth de Dominica, S.E. Francine Baron

La PRESIDENTA: El primer punto del orden del día se refiere a la presentación de la Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la CARICOM de Dominica, Su Excelencia Francine Baron.

Ministra Baron, en nombre del Consejo Permanente de la Organización de los Estados Americanos, le brindamos a usted y a su ilustre comitiva una cordial bienvenida a la Casa de las Américas.

Tiene la palabra, Ministra Baron. Por favor.

La MINISTRA DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES Y ASUNTOS DE LA CARICOM DEL COMMONWEALTH DE DOMINICA: Thank you, Madam Chair. Secretary General Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS, ambassadors, colleagues, friends, good afternoon.

Secretary General, distinguished ambassadors, colleagues, I wish to express the appreciation of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica for the convening of this special meeting of the Permanent Council, and for allowing me to address you this afternoon.

Since the matter of our upcoming elections has been raised in this Chamber, we thought it prudent to meet with you and present our response. We crave your indulgence as I set out what may be a somewhat lengthy exposition of the steps that the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica has taken on the issue of electoral reform, but we think it is necessary to provide you with the facts.

I must say, at the Forty-ninth regular session of the OAS General Assembly in Colombia, in June this year, I spoke to the Assembly about concerns which we had in respect of statements that had been made by the Secretary General of the OAS, based on statements made to him by opposition elements from Dominica, which we thought sought to prejudge our electoral process, and call into question the freeness and fairness of our election.

I made the point then that we are also cognizant that the OAS can play an important role on issues of human rights and democracy. Central to that process is that member states must have confidence that the OAS Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, will act in an impartial manner with due regard for its role as representing the interests of all member states.

In recent times, we have had the occasion to be concerned about actions or decisions taken by the OAS on certain matters, which depart from what we consider to be an established practice and which we think calls into question whether the OAS Charter and the rules of the Organization have been breached.

We are equally concerned by public pronouncements that have been made by the Secretary General, which display bias, disregard for governments of member states and which calls into question his rule and, by extension, the Organization’s rule as an honest broker. We expect from this Organization that, when statements are made on behalf of the membership or by the directing mind of this Organization, that it would be fair and balanced, having regard to all of the facts.

Since attaining political independence in 1978, Dominica has conducted credible elections that have resulted in the peaceful transition of power from one political party to the next. The elections which will take place on December 6 in Dominica are being held under the same electoral laws, which have governed Dominica’s free and fair elections and democratic process for the last forty years.

Both, the current Labour Government, and the United Workers’ Party (UWP) opposition have been elected through this exact process and under the same laws. It is this same process and these same laws that saw the United Workers’ Party increased its seat count in the last general elections in Dominica, and also its share of the popular vote.

The Labour Party Government was the first government to invite electoral observers to the country. In 2009 and 2014, this included an invitation to the OAS. These elections were pronounced credible by all the election observers. Recommendations were also made for areas where the system could be strengthened. This included recommendations for the introduction of identification cards to be made mandatory for voting and the revision and updating of the Register of Electors. These recommendations were made not because there was fraudulent voting; in fact, the reports acknowledge that there has never been a recorded case of fraudulent voting in Dominica. These were merely a recommendation for strengthening the system.

We accepted the recommendation to enhance our electoral system, and since 2013 we have been working towards the implementation of recommended reforms to make it mandatory to use identification cards for voting and to ensure that we can have a more accurate Register of Electors.

All of the requirements set out and all of the funding requested by the Electoral Commission have been made available to it in a timely manner. The Commission has indicated to the public since 2016 that all it requires in order to move forward is the legislative authority. The attempts to bring this legislation to Parliament has been violently resisted by opposition elements.

The Electoral Commission requested and received the support of an expert from the Commonwealth Secretariat to guide them on electoral matters. That expert reviewed the draft legislation and, apart from reservations expressed on provisions of the Bills, which have since been removed, found that the process for confirmation of electors and revision of the Register met the standards of international best practice.

We have not been able to move forward because of misinformation and half-truths being circulated by the opposition on this matter, and their encouragement to others to engage in civil disturbance. The Government is of the view that what has been proposed is the best course of action to achieve the reforms that have been recommended.

In the absence of achieving consensus and in the interest of ensuring that citizens got the widest possible opportunity to discuss the issues and to have the benefit of the input from persons who can bring an outside perspective to bear on the issues, the Government took the decision to invite a joint mission to Dominica to meet with the Government, the Electoral Commission, political parties, and other stakeholders to discuss these issues.

They were asked to make recommendations on the best way to implement the reforms to introduce identification cards for the purpose of voting and to revise the Register of Electors, to ensure that the confidence of the general public could be reposed in the decisions taken to move the electoral process forward. This was a continued expression of the Government’s efforts to ensure that on a sensitive matter like this one, that there was complete transparency and that every opportunity was given to the public to discuss the issues in a mature and rational manner.

Despite our reservations then on the objectivity and impartiality of the OAS, we invited the OAS to be part of a good offices joint mission, along with CARICOM and the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Joint Mission produced a report in August this year to which I shall return later.

It bears noting that the purpose of election observation is to ensure that the will of the people has been respected and that the elected government is legitimate. Other notable and welcomed purposes of election observation to which the Commonwealth of Dominica subscribes is to support the strengthening of the electoral and governance systems through the consideration, where appropriate and reasonably possible, of election observation recommendations. These recommendations are in no way binding on a country nor, I dare say, are they intended to be. Notwithstanding this, the government signaled its intention as far back as 2013 to implement recommendations for the introduction of identification cards to be used for voting.

The Government of Dominica was decisively elected on the December 8, 2014 —five years ago—, winning 15 of the 21 seats in Parliament. Members will recall that during this one electoral cycle (2014-2019), Dominica suffered the devastating and debilitating impact of two natural disasters —in 2015 and then again in 2017— that caused the loss of life of 85 people, wiped out the equivalent of 90% and 226% of our GDP respectively, and brought the country to a grinding halt: 300% loss of GDP in less than two years.

Notwithstanding the significant challenges of the displacement of two entire villages, the destruction and damage to schools, health centers, government buildings, businesses, damage to 90% of our housing stock, the wipe out of our agriculture sector, damage to tourism sites and infrastructure, the island-wide loss of all electricity, water and other utilities, this Government remained committed to implementing the introduction of ID cards and the consequent revision of the Register of Electors or Voters List, as its interchangeably called. This is at a time when any reasonable person would have understood the need to reprioritize and direct all financial resources and energies to the rebuilding process.

In 2016, the Government had proposed draft legislation to enhance and strengthen the legal framework to enable the issuance of voter ID cards and the revision of the Register of Electors. This legislation, having received the comments from the Electoral Commission, was submitted to the Parliament for consideration. Parliamentary debate is the primary and key platform for elected political actors to discuss matters in a transparent manner.

The draft legislation consisting of the Registration of Elector’s Amendment Act 2017 and the House of Assembly (Elections) Amendment Act 2017 were due to be debated by the Parliament when persons called to protest outside Parliament by the opposition, breached the Police barricades and attempted to storm the Parliament. The Police had to intervene to control the situation. This resulted in the bills not being debated and the premature adjournment of the Parliament.

At the time, the objection that the opposition expressed was with the provisions in the bills that dealt with the issue of bribery and treating. These provisions sought to codify what the courts, in numerous decisions in the Commonwealth Caribbean, had pronounced constituted and did not constitute bribery and treating. Since there was such violent opposition to those provisions, the bills were revised and those provisions removed, at which time, the leader of the opposition is on public record saying:

“The news now is that the Government will no longer pursue the amendments to the House of Assembly (Elections) Act that involved tampering with the provisions for criminalizing bribery and treating in elections, so they have taken out those amendments. But they are coming back with some other things, which, as far as I am concerned are good, and will work for the benefit of upgrading the legislation to the new environment we will be voting with ID cards on”.

The leader of the opposition subsequently reversed his position on this and renewed his opposition to the bills.

It is worth pointing out that in 2017, the Electoral Commission requested technical assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat. This is in accordance with the practice that the Commonwealth employs in engaging member countries and their citizens in respectful discussions about providing support to implement recommendations from election observations.

A delegation from the Commonwealth Secretariat visited Dominica twice in 2017 and met with all stakeholders, including the opposition. The Commonwealth assigned an independent expert, one of the best in the English-speaking Caribbean who has been instrumental in best practice developed in Jamaica, to examine among other things the Government’s proposed legislation, taking into account international best practice and the position of all stakeholders, including the opposition.

The independent electoral legal expert delivered her report entitled “Report on Review of Election Law in the Commonwealth of Dominica.” The proposals to enable the issuance of voter ID cards were deemed acceptable by the legal expert. Noting the advice from the expert that were critical of the same proposals objected to by the opposition, those proposals were removed from the bills. The independent expert subsequently reviewed the amended draft bills and submitted an addendum to that report.

In her addendum to the report, the election expert/consultant highlighted the fact that the confirmation of electors and the process for issuance and use of national ID cards, as set out in the bills, provides for a full reverification/confirmation process, which gave effect to recommendations of observers, and reflected international best practices.

There ought to be no doubt therefore, that under the draft bills put forward by the Government, that if a person fails to apply to be confirmed or is not able to satisfy the Electoral Office that he or she in fact has been present in Dominica for any period in the immediate preceding five years, that person will not be confirmed. Consequently, that person’s name, as well as everyone who fails to apply to be confirmed, will not appear in the new Register, on the new Voter’s List, following the confirmation process.

The election expert reviewed the proposed new sections 30 and 31 of the Registration of Electors Act. At pages 22 and 23 of her addendum report, this is what she wrote:

“The insertion of this new section 30 is critical to the achievement of a voter’s register, which reflects the voting population with some degree of accuracy and correctness. Coupled with proper administrative and other guidelines from the Commission, the achievement of the creation of an acceptable voter’s register can become a short to medium term objective of the Commission.

This amendment fulfills one of the important recommendations made in the earlier report for a full re-verification/reconfirmation exercise. The amendment requires verification of the electors living overseas, at embassies, missions and at other places as designated by the Commission. In order to achieve this overseas verification, wide-scale logistic planning will be required.

There are several countries that have successfully implemented similar programs from which the Commission may seek to adopt best practices and lessons learned. Case in point, the Dominican Republic employed voting coordinators to operate overseas to effect registration. Mexico adopted a similar approach as is being suggested. It means therefore that there are several international cases best practices that the Commission may rely on in order to inform itself how best to give effect to section 31.

Such an exercise, if not managed and administered properly, can become a logistic nightmare. There are examples of jurisdiction where overseas registration was poorly managed and the exercise had to be eventually abandoned. The Electoral Commission may wish to seek further assistance in this regard from the breadth of existing Commonwealth expertise.”

Significantly, and it is worth repeating, the consultant also said in her addendum report: “This amendment (for the confirmation process) fulfills one of the important recommendations made in the earlier report for a full re-verification exercise.”

The revised bills provide for a confirmation process for registered electors, which would be conducted locally and in major population centers to allow for as wide a cross-section of Dominican citizens as possible to participate in the confirmation process. The opposition insisted that confirmation should only be done locally, which would have disenfranchised thousands of Dominicans who, for one reason or the other, would not have been able to return to Dominica to be confirmed.

Alternatively, they proposed a re-registration process, which would involve scrapping the existing list and re-registering every voter again. Apart from this being in contravention of section 7 of the Registration of Electors Act, this also would have had the effect of disenfranchising legitimate citizens who, once removed from the list in this manner, could only get back on by returning to Dominica and residing in a constituency for a minimum period of three months, as the requirement for registration. These options were not acceptable to the Government and could never be supported. The right to vote is such a fundamental right; this is a right that should not be interfered with unless proper provisions are made to give people the right to be heard.

In 2018, these revised bills were resubmitted to the Parliament for consideration, and the Government simultaneously continued with its consultations. Calls for electoral reform continued with a stubborn refusal to recognize that legislative changes had to be made and that the draft legislation proposed by the Government would have achieved exactly what the opposition said that it wanted.

In September 2018, the bills as amended were submitted to Parliament for the second time. Before the Parliament sat to deliberate on the bills, an application was also filed in the court, alleging that the bills were unlawful and/or in breach of the Constitution and seeking an injunction to prevent the bills being debated in Parliament.

The Government had a majority in Parliament and, in effect, it could have pushed through the Legislation. However, with continued threats of violence and resistance to all overtures to progress the legislation that would allow for the issuance of voter ID cards and a revision of the Register and the filing of the court matter, the Government took the responsible decision to continue the process of dialogue and consultations and withdrew the bills from Parliament a second time. The Government further decided to invite to Dominica the Joint Special Mission consisting of CARICOM, the OAS, and the Commonwealth of Dominica, to use its good offices in an attempt to resolve the impasse.

I will come to the recommendations of the Joint Mission Report, but I pause here to say that it was unfortunately and erroneously stated in the OAS Permanent Council two days ago that the Prime Minister of Dominica has “moved forward the election date”. One cannot move forward a date that has not yet been set. The Prime Minister announced last October that he would be calling elections within 100 days. The Constitution of Dominica empowers the Prime Minister to call elections at any time, subject to a five-year limitation. This power is recognized by all parties in Dominica, and I believe that it is the situation that exists in most, if not all, of the Commonwealth Caribbean.

I should explain for those members not familiar with our parliamentary system of democracy that our election cycle is a period of five years. There is no fixed date for elections, and the Prime Minister is empowered by the Constitution to call elections at any time, but he must not exceed the time limit specified in the Constitution.

The last elections in Dominica were held on December 8, 2014. While this years’ election will be two days short of five years since the last election, our Constitution provides that the effective date for counting five years is the first sitting of Parliament, which in this case took place in February 2015. If elections were not previously called, our Parliament would have in any case, by law, been dissolved in February 2020, and elections would then have to be held within three months of the dissolution of Parliament.

Now, as pertains to the Joint Mission Report. On the matter of updating the Voter’s List or the Register of Electors, the Joint Mission recommended that the authorities consider conducting a house-to-house re-verification exercise across the entire island. They urged the Electoral Commission to determine a schedule and assess the resources required to complete such an exercise, including the human and financial resources and other actions that may be necessary, such as the collection of photographs, fingerprints, and other data as may be agreed.

This point is significant because the Joint Mission also said that it “notes the difference of opinion as to whether new legislation is required to facilitate the production and issuance of photo identification cards.” It stated: “In keeping with what has been done in other jurisdictions, it is recommended that the legislation be amended to broaden the authority of the Electoral Commission to collect and use electors’ biometric data and thereafter to issue photo identification cards.” The Mission also concluded that persons who were not verified would have to remain on the List in order not to disenfranchise voters. The complete recommendations are contained in the joint report, which has been circulated and made available to the public.

One should note that the report states that the three areas identified for reform, even though viewed separately, are interconnected. The completion of the re-verification exercise is a necessary undertaking which must precede the production and issuing of identification cards.

I point out to you that the Joint Mission also said: “The timing of electoral reform is critical and that best practice and international experience show that the earlier in the electoral cycle that electoral reform is considered and implemented, the better”. The Mission also said: “An unsuccessful attempt at reform could have serious consequences.”

Since 2017, the required legislation has been stymied through real violence and threats of violence.

The recommendations of the Mission were properly considered, and the Attorney General provided a response to it that explained in detail what the Government’s concerns were with the recommendations. This included that a house-to-house verification is not permissible under our election laws. Even if that house-to-house verification exercise was conducted, the Joint Mission indicated that anybody not verified would have to remain on the list, which means at the end of a massive and costly exercise, we would still have had a list that was not properly updated.

The Joint Mission further acknowledged that, in order for bio data to be collected from electors for the production of ID cards, legislative amendment was necessary. This has always been the position of the Government, and so if the house-to-house verification had been able to be conducted without the legislation, it would mean a duplication of efforts and costs, and the Electoral Commission would then have to go back to all voters a second time to collect their bio data for ID cards, once the legislation was passed.

Ignoring for the moment the right of the Prime Minister to call elections at any time, the recommendations for a verification exercise were being made six months before the Constitution provided that the Parliament would, in any event, have to be dissolved for an election to be held.

I have thought it necessary to restate the facts here, because sometimes it appears that facts do not matter. However, the facts must be stated for the record, so that when some may be prone to rush to judgment, and where there is the circulation of fake news, and where there is the sensationalization of innocuous events, it is important that the facts, and not conjecture, half-truths, and downright lies, are accepted. We have circulated documents which speak to those facts. All of these facts can be independently verified by you. I repeat those facts for you:

1. The Government is in favor of the revision of the Voter’s List/Register of Electors and the introduction of voter ID cards.

2. Without this, the same system that exist today has returned credible elections in every election over the last 40 years, and no reason has been advanced why it cannot again do so.

3. There is no reported case of fraudulent voting in Dominica.

4. The Government has put forward legislation that has been independently confirmed as meeting international best practice, and if it is implemented, would result in a full revision of the Voter’s List and the introduction of voter’s ID cards.

5. That the Opposition in Dominica has refused to accept that Legislation on what we consider to be spurious and unjustifiable grounds.

6. That the Electoral Commission has been provided —at great expense I might add— with everything that it has requested to implement the legislation.

I inform this Permanent Council that the Government of Dominica has no legal obligation to invite electoral observers to Dominica to observe its elections. However, it has chosen nevertheless, in the interest of transparency and good governance, to extend invitations to CARICOM, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, and the Carter Center to observe and to participate in its electoral process.

We note the suggestion that the OAS should be invited to observe the election, and we also note that there are countries in this Hemisphere that have chosen not to invite the OAS to observe its elections, including some of the most recent concluded elections of some of our member states around this table. We trust that members are not impugning the ability of these esteemed bodies to carry out their mission capably and fairly, impartially, and competently.

Notwithstanding our reservations and having conversed with the Secretary General and some of the member states, we remain open to dialog with the OAS in respect of its participation in the next general elections.

We, therefore, call on the Organization of American States, having regard to all the facts that have been presented to it, to denounce acts of violence in these and any elections and to call on those who seek to take power through violence and civil disorder to cease their undemocratic practices. We also call on the OAS to urge countries and organizations to refrain from making statements that can be viewed as attempts to interfere in the electoral process of our country.

We also register our concern that there would be a suggestion to member states of this Organization that if a country does not implement recommendations that are made to it by the OAS, that that country cannot have free and fair elections. Unfortunately, maybe all member states around this table would be caught by that statement, and maybe perhaps it is time for some introspection. We have a saying in the Caribbean that before you try to take out the speck in your neighbors’ eye you should take out the speck in your eye first.

Friends, colleagues, there is much more that I could say on this matter. Unfortunately, I fear that I have already taken up too much of your time. In speaking to you today I have tried to contain my sense of outrage and incredulity at what I consider are completely unjustified attempts by the opposition and opposition elements in Dominica to provoke civil disturbance and the breakdown of law and order in the country; a country that the Labour Party Government has worked very hard, especially over these last two years, to bring back from the brink of despair and desolation after that monster category five Hurricane Maria tried to rip us apart. People are building back their lives and businesses and the country is moving forward with its resilience agenda, to serve as a model for the Caribbean and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Since the storm, with the help of our many friends and partners, many of you around this table have helped us to get back on our feet, assisting us with relief and recovery, with establishing our climate resilience agency, our agriculture, our human resource development, committed to assist with rebuilding schools, worked to rehouse and repair homes and in so many other areas. The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica has rebuilt roads and bridges, we have put hundreds of families in climate resilient homes, we have improved our health systems, we have repaired and renovated schools, we have maintained our social programs that provide support to the needy and vulnerable. The country is on the road to see growth of 9% this year —above the region’s average. This is a record that the Government will stand on to face the electorate of Dominica, and on which the Labour Party will be judged.

So, we appeal to members of this Permanent Council to have regard to all of the facts that we have laid on this table, to continue to uphold the proud principles that we all espouse of respect for the sovereignty of nations, respect of the rule of law and non-interference in the internal affairs of states, and to uphold the tenets of the Charter of these OAS states.

There is no perfect system for elections, but we give you every assurance that this Government has been and remains committed to the strengthening of the electoral process in Dominica, and we will continue to act in a prudent and reasonable manner, and we ask for your indulgence in that regard.

Thank you.

La PRESIDENTA: Muchas gracias por su presentación, señora Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la CARICOM del Commonwealth de Dominica.

Comentarios de las delegaciones de los Estados Miembros

La PRESIDENTA: A continuación, me permito ofrecer la palabra a las delegaciones. Santa Lucía, el Embajador tiene la palabra.

El REPRESENTANTE PERMANENTE DE SANTA LUCÍA: Thank you, Chair. I deliver this intervention on behalf of the member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

We thank Her Excellency Francine Baron, Minister of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica for her informative explanation of the political situation in her country. All electoral reforms are complex. We welcome efforts at electoral reform within the framework of the governing principles and processes provided for, in the constitution of any member state.

The framework for democracy and the practices of its principles exist in Dominica, including freedom of assembly and expression. We expect that all parties will act within the rule of law and respect for the constitutional order. We note that there is no deadly or widespread violence, as Dominica prepares to hold elections within the current provisions of its constitution.

Chair, the Caribbean has always had a strong tradition of democracy, notably free and fair elections. Considering previous electoral observation missions in the region, we know and are confident that the Organization of American States as an institution understands this. We encourage impartiality.

Chair, there must be the recognition that there are a number of highly credible bodies that observe elections, and the Commonwealth of Dominica —as you have heard— has invited four of them to observe its own elections. There is no obligation for any member state to invite the OAS.

Thank you.

La PRESIDENTA: Gracias, Embajador de Santa Lucía.

Tiene la palabra el Embajador de los Estados Unidos.

El REPRESENTANTE PERMANENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS: Thank you, Madam Chair and OAS ambassadors.

The United States welcomes Minister of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Her Excellency Francine Baron to the Permanent Council, and thanks for addressing these important issues.

All OAS member states should be very proud of the role the OAS has played promoting and protecting democracy and free and fair elections throughout the Hemisphere. We strongly believe, as stated in the OAS Charter, that democracy is the foundation of peace and stability on the region. In addition, all member states, no matter their relative size or location in the Hemisphere, should seek to uphold the same democratic standards and principles and ideals enshrined in the Democratic Charter. The link between democracy and good governance is clear: this is an equal opportunity issue, with no division or classes or levels among us.

It is important to note that the United States supports democracy and free and fair elections that reflect the will of the people, not any particular candidate. If the election is fraudulent, such as was the case in Venezuela and recently in Bolivia, we press for a free and fair election. If the election is legitimate, even if the OAS member state elects new leaders critical of the United States, we support the election and recognize the new leaders.

We appreciate Minister of Foreign Affairs Baron’s explanation of the Government’s reasons for calling elections, and the reason why various election reforms have not been implemented. We have also heard from the opposition leaders in Dominica, who have had much different explanations for why the election reforms have not been implemented. In any case, free and fair elections that reflect the will of the people.

In our view, it is critical that the people of Dominica have full confidence that the December 6 elections are free and fair. Free and fair elections can ensure that the people choose their leaders, contribute to peace and stability, and provide legitimacy to the government.

The Government of Dominica previously invited OAS Electoral Observation Missions to observe presidential elections in 2009 and again in 2014. Just this last August, Dominica invited a Joint Mission of the OAS, CARICOM, and the Commonwealth to make recommendations for electoral reform. The report recommends specific election reforms, and it is unfortunate, not matter who is at fault, that these reforms have not been implemented. In any case, we understand that Dominica has invited CARICOM and some other observers for the December 6 election. We encourage them to also consider the OAS.

The OAS Electoral Observation Missions are the international gold standard. They consist of technicians with vast experience observing elections and rooting out fraud. These are not political people; they simply use their expertise to ensure free and fair elections. The electoral observation missions and the follow-up election integrity and analysis teams provide their worth, just in the last two months in the election in Bolivia. They found serious election irregularities; a rogue server was submitting fake ballots into the system, and through handwriting analysis they determined that party officials —not voters— were certifying numerous fraudulent ballots.

Indeed, the OAS is now sending its election experts to Bolivia to conduct the free and fair election, so that the Bolivian people can choose their next president. Moreover, the OAS member states just endorse the key role of the OAS and the Electoral Observation Mission in protecting democracy in Bolivia when just yesterday we voted 26 to 3 in favor of the OAS support to the next Bolivian election.

We recognize that the sovereign Government of Dominica has the right to call elections at any time, the right to decide whether to implement election reforms, and the right to decide to request OAS election observers. However, given the sensitivities around the election process, we urge both sides to refrain from actions that can be perceived as detrimental to the integrity of the democratic process, such as facilitating the participation of those who may not meet the residency requirements of Dominica’s law, particularly in the absence of a process to verify their eligibility to vote.

Given the failure to implement recommended election reforms and opposition complaints about the process, the OAS urges Dominica to consider inviting the OAS Electoral Observation Mission to observe Dominican elections.

This is Dominica’s choice, but an OAS Electoral Observation Mission can provide greater confidence in the legitimacy of the election and the winner of the election.

Thank you.

La PRESIDENTA: Gracias al Embajador de los Estados Unidos. Tiene la palabra la Embajadora de Nicaragua.

La REPRESENTANTE PERMANENTE DE NICARAGUA: Muchas gracias, señora Presidenta. Antes que todo, le queremos dar la bienvenida a Su Excelencia Francine Baron.

La Delegación de la República de Nicaragua agradece las palabras de Su Excelencia Francine Baron, Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Asuntos de la CARICOM de la Mancomunidad de Dominica, por su clara y contundente exposición sobre la situación política de este hermano país caribeño y aprovechamos para expresarle nuestra más firme solidaridad y cariño.

La República de Nicaragua reconoce los importantes logros del Gobierno del Commonwealth de Dominica que, bajo el liderazgo de la administración del Primer Ministro Roosevelt Skerrit, ha llevado a cabo profundas transformaciones económicas, políticas y sociales con un enfoque prioritario hacia los sectores más vulnerables de la sociedad, en especial reconocemos los avances en la reconstrucción de Dominica después de que el huracán María devastó por completo al país en 2017 hasta llegar a constituirse el primer país a prueba de huracanes.

La Delegación de Nicaragua condena de manera firme los esfuerzos que se realizan desde el exterior por intervenir en los asuntos políticos internos del Commonwealth de Dominica, perturbando la paz e instigando a la violencia para desestabilizar el proceso electoral que históricamente se han llevado a cabo de manera pacífica y participativa en ese hermano país caribeño, lo que ha sido reconocido por distintos organismos internacionales y regionales.

La República de Nicaragua expresa también su firme condena a los intentos de algunos países por seguir el guion utilizado por la Organización de los Estados Americanos como un instrumento de intervención en los asuntos políticos internos y electorales de Estados Miembros, asumiendo atribuciones que no le han sido conferidas.

Reiteramos nuestra solidaridad y total convicción en la capacidad de las instituciones electorales del Commonwealth de Dominica por llevar a cabo el proceso electoral del próximo 6 de diciembre de manera libre, justa y transparente, así como lo ha sido históricamente.

Muchas gracias, señora Presidenta.

La PRESIDENTA: Gracias, Embajadora de Nicaragua.

Tiene la palabra el Secretario General, doctor Luis Almagro.

El SECRETARIO GENERAL: Welcome, Minister of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Affairs, Her Excellency Francine Baron, to the OAS this afternoon to discuss what we consider to be an issue of critical importance for her country and for our region.

The Inter-American Democratic Charter recognizes that the representative democracy is indispensable for the stability, peace, and development of the region, and that one of the purposes of the OAS is to promote and consolidate representative democracy with due respect for the principle of non-intervention.

The Charter also emphasizes that considering that solidarity among and cooperation between American states require the political organization of those states based on defective exercise of representative democracy and that the economic growth and social development based on justice, equity, and democracy are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

I fully recognize that the interdependence among these imperatives is particularly challenging for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Dominica, which are socially, economically, and environmentally vulnerable. This vulnerability in turn presents challenges to representative democracy. The governments in Small Island Developing States require sustained economic growth in order to generate adequate national income to invest in the requisite infrastructure for representative democracy. While the links between vulnerability and economic growth are well established, the impact of vulnerability on representative democracy cannot be understated.

That notwithstanding, we recognize the tremendous values in ensuring that every citizen can actively participate in democratic process in their country. It is clear that this is also the desire of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Dominica. While the need for reform is widely recognized, these reforms must take place in a climate of transparency, public participation, public education, and adherence by all parties to the rule of law.

This is what the OAS seeks to promote in all of our member states. We continue to urge the Government of Dominica to use the best endeavors to bring about free and fair elections. We call upon all parties to exercise their democratic rights in the spirit of peace and good will, especially at this critical moment in Dominica’s development.

At the same time, we recognize the importance of ensuring that from an organizational standpoint, we need to be better positioned and financially resourced to play the vital role that member states expect of us in this context. These very issues dominated our dialog with permanent observers just yesterday, who continue to be steadfast partners in our efforts in this critical area.

The OAS renews its commitment to the people of the Commonwealth of Dominica to continue to be fully engaged in advancing towards our shared goal of realizing the core tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

La PRESIDENTA: Gracias, señor Secretario General.

Ofrezco la palabra a la señora Canciller.

La MINISTRA DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES Y ASUNTOS DE LA CARICOM DEL COMMONWEALTH DE DOMINICA: Thank you, Madam Chair.

I just want to express the thanks of the Government and people of Dominica for allowing us to participate in this special meeting of the Permanent Council this afternoon, following us to express and to place on the record the facts as we know them on this important matter.

We wish to thank member states who have intervened on the floor today, and we take account of the comments that have been made, and I wish to assure all member states that the Government of Dominica remains committed to issues of transparency, good governance, the issue of free and fair elections, that the Government has taken all steps that it thinks reasonably that it could take in these circumstances for the implementation of the reforms in relation to the updating of the list and the introduction of ID cards, as had been suggested.

We expect, as I have said, that notwithstanding the non-implementation of these reforms, the system that we are going to elections with this time around is the same system that has existed in the past.

We note with thanks the offer of the Secretary General to continue to offer the services of the Organization of American States. We also note the acknowledgement that the Government of Dominica in its sovereign right can determine if and who it invites to participate in the electoral observation process. We all recognize the need for there to be confidence of the public in the electoral process that is why we have, over the last few years, have attempted to use all means possible to seek to achieve consensus on the way forward on this electoral reform issue.

That is why the Government of Dominica has reached out others; that is why it invited a joint mission to look at the issue and try to help the parties to resolve the impasse. That is why the Government of Dominica has had numerous consultations on this issue with the public, with the members of Parliament and has sought at each and every occasion to seek to have a bipartisan approach to something that is of fundamental importance; the right of a citizen to vote.

And so, we thank members for their comments and just to give the assurance that the Government of Dominica will make every effort to ensure that the people of Dominica can freely exercise their franchise that the system of elections will be free and fair and will also be seen to be free and fair.

So, I thank you for your attention this afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to be able to address you.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

La PRESIDENTA: Muchas gracias, señora Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores de Dominica.

Recuerdo a las delegaciones que las presentaciones realizadas esta tarde estarán incluidas en el acta correspondiente de esta sesión extraordinaria del Consejo Permanente.

No habiendo más solicitudes de la palabra, y agradeciendo a todos por su participación, se levanta la sesión.

[Se levanta la sesión a las 5:20 p.m.]

AC03604T01

CP43574T01

ISBN 978-0-8270-7178-0