Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Albert Ramdin believes that a change in the relationship between countries in the Americas and Cuba is necessary, but acknowledged that this was a process that would take time.
Speaking at a recent press conference at the Pegasus Hotel, Ramdin emphatically declared that “the time for grandstanding is over”. He said that it was essential to build on the momentum of the Fifth Summit of the Americas where almost all the nations represented called for a change in relations with Cuba.
He said the consensus seems to be that Cuba should become part of the Inter-American institutions and part of the OAS. The Secretary-General, however, disclosed that there were many issues that complicated the matter.
Ramdin identified a critical issue being the revoking of Resolution Six, which was adopted in 1962 by Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the then members of the OAS. When this decision was made most of the Caricom countries, except for Haiti, were not members.
Another major issue, which he identified as an even more important, was that of Cuba’s readmission into the OAS. Ramdin stated that “since 1962, so many instruments have been developed, in terms of basic criteria, which apply to governments in terms of the democratic status, the elections and so on.”
He explained that “the Inter-American Democratic Charter provides some guidelines on what needs to be done, how to relate that to the situation in Cuba and how that will play out in terms of Cuba’s re-entry to the Inter America system.” He said that this needed to be discussed.
Referring to the US embargo, the Assistant Secretary-General said that it was an important issue that needed to be resolved, even as he acknowledged that negotiations are ongoing in this regard.
He also said that there was “a multilateral track of discussion on Cuba and you have a bilateral track between the US and Cuba”.
He indicated that some resolutions are being presented by some countries and said that these are looking into an ongoing negotiating process.
The Assistant Secretary-General said “ultimately, the most critical question is what is the view of Cuba itself?” He added that “many speak for Cuba but this time also we want Cuba to speak on its own and indicate what its plans are and how it looks at all of this.”
Meanwhile, Ramdin said that Haiti will also come up for major discussion at the upcoming OAS General Assembly in June.
He explained that one of the major issues would be seeing how the Inter-American system and the OAS could help the country get back on track in terms of socio-economic development. He stated that there was a unique momentum at this junction developing in Haiti which can be used in terms of creating jobs and promoting investments which could help in socio-economic development.
The Assistant Secretary-General said there was relative political stability and a relatively secure environment, and expressed hope that the prevailing attitude towards democracy continues even as the country prepares for elections next year.
