2010 South American Summit

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2010 South American Summit
Emblem of the Union of South American Nations.svg
Host countryGuyana
DateNovember 26, 2010

The 2010 South American summit (officially the 4th Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of the Union of South American Nations), took place in Georgetown, Guyana on November 26, 2010. Eight heads of state and four foreign ministers of the Union of South American Nations attended the summit. During the summit, the leaders signed an additional protocol to the Constitutive Treaty, adding a democratic clause to the charter of the organization. [1] The Georgetown summit ended with the Ecuadorian president handing the UNASUR pro-tempore presidency for the next twelve months to his Guyanese counterpart, Bharrat Jagdeo. [2]

Contents

Leaders at the summit

Heads of State and Government

Leaders at the 2010 Unasur summit. From left are: President Cristina Fernandez of Argentina; President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil; President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, and President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay. 2010 Unasur summit.JPG
Leaders at the 2010 Unasur summit. From left are: President Cristina Fernández of Argentina; President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil; President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, and President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay.

The heads of state and heads of government of eight countries participated. [3] The heads of state from Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Bolivia could not attend. [4]

Foreign ministers

The foreign ministers of Bolivia (David Choquehuanca), Chile (Alfredo Moreno), Peru (José Antonio García Belaúnde) and Uruguay (Luis Almagro) represented their respective governments. [2]

Issues

Regional integration

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva advocated for the elimination of the asymmetries stopping the integration of South America, in his speech during the summit. "None of our countries will really be prosperous, without all of us being also prosperous," said the Brazilian president. [5]

Secretary-General

The name of the new secretary-general of the organization will remain unknown until the next presidential meeting in Mar del Plata, Argentina. [6]

Guyanese presidency

Guyana, which took over the Unasur rotating presidency from Ecuador, is one of South America's poorest countries and for this reason, President Lula has already announced that Brazil will provide assistance for Georgetown's efforts in presiding over the regional bloc. [1]

Falklands/Malvinas

The summit addressed the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Several articles of the final declaration state that all Unasur ports will be closed to vessels operating under the "illegal flag of Malvinas (Falkland Islands)". [7]

Accomplishments

Democratic clause

The leaders adopted an additional protocol to the organization's Constitutive Treaty, which added a democratic clause to the charter. [8] The democratic clause imposes sanctions on any member country of UNASUR that breaks or attempts to break constitutional rule or the democratic system. [7] The clause establishes sanctions, such as shutting down borders and the suspension of trade, against the country that suffers an attempted coup. The decision to include a democratic clause was made after the recent upheaval in Ecuador that briefly threatened the administration of President, Rafael Correa. [9]

Georgetown Declaration

At the end of the summit, the heads of state and foreign ministers issued the "Georgetown Declaration". In the declaration, the leaders reiterated their commitment expressed in the “Declaration of Bariloche” of August 28, 2009, to strengthen South America as a zone of peace, upholding the decision to refrain from resorting to the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of another UNASUR State. [10] The leaders expressed their willingness to continue working toward the consolidation of a common space for the political, economic, social, cultural, energy, environmental and infrastructure integration of the region, in order to achieve sustainable development. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Guyana</span>

The politics of Guyana takes place in a framework of a representative democratic assembly-independent republic, whereby the President of Guyana is the head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President, advised by a cabinet. Legislative power is vested in both the President and the National Assembly of Guyana. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bharrat Jagdeo</span> President and Prime Minister of Guyana

Bharrat Jagdeo is a Guyanese politician who has been serving as Vice President of Guyana since 2020, in the administration of President Irfaan Ali. He had previously also held the office from 1997 until 1999, during the presidency of Janet Jagan. Jagdeo subsequently served as the President of Guyana from 11 August 1999 to 3 December 2011. He also holds a number of global leadership positions in the areas of sustainable development, green growth and climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Jagan</span> President of Guyana, Prime Minister of Guyana, nurse

Janet Rosenberg Jagan was a U.S.-born Guyanese politician who served as the President of Guyana, serving from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. She was the first female President of Guyana. She previously served as the first female Prime Minister of Guyana from March 17, 1997, to December 19, 1997. The wife of Cheddi Jagan, whom she succeeded as president, she was awarded Guyana's highest national award, the Order of Excellence, in 1993, and the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal for Women's Rights in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 South American Summit</span>

The 2004 South American Summit – the third of its kind, after earlier events in Brasília and Guayaquil – was held in Cuzco and Ayacucho, Peru, on 7 –9 December 2004. Officially it constituted the Extraordinary Meeting of the Andean Presidential Council and was also billed as the Third Meeting of Presidents of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union of South American Nations</span> Intergovernmental regional organization

The Union of South American Nations and sometimes referred to as the South American Union) is an intergovernmental regional organization set up by Hugo Chavez to counteract the influence of the United States in the region. It once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ALBA</span> Intergovernmental organization of Latin American and Caribbean states

ALBA or ALBA–TCP, formally the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America or the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty, is an intergovernmental organization based on the idea of political and economic integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil–Guyana relations</span> Bilateral relations

Brazil–Guyana relations have traditionally been close. Brazil has provided military assistance to Guyana in the form of warfare training and logistics. Bilateral relations between the countries have recently increased, as a result of Brazil's new South-South foreign policy aimed to strengthen South American integration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina–Brazil relations</span> Bilateral relations

The Argentina–Brazil relationship is both close and historical, and encompasses the economy, trade, culture, education, and tourism. From war and rivalry to friendship and alliance, this complex relationship has spanned more than two centuries. The countries also share a system of government, a federal republic with a presidential system.

The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty, officially the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations, was signed on May 23, 2008 during the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held in Brasília, Brazil. It officially established the Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental continental union of all twelve South American nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South American Parliament</span>

The South American Parliament is a proposed body of the Union of South American Nations (USAN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Member states of the Union of South American Nations</span>

There are four active member states of the Union of South American Nations after six member states suspended their participation in the organization in April 2018, while Ecuador and Uruguay announced their withdrawals in March 2019 and March 2020 respectively.

The Summit of South American-Arab Countries is a bi-regional mechanism for cooperation and political coordination, which gathers the 22 member-States of the League of Arab States and the 12 countries of South America. Better known by its Portuguese and Spanish acronym ASPA, the bi-regional forum was created upon proposal of the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during the I ASPA Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Brasilia, Brazil, in May 2005. Since its inception, a second ASPA Summit happened in Doha, Qatar, in March 2009, and a third Summit was held in Lima, Peru, in October 2012, after being postponed, from February 2011, due to the Arab Spring uprisings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community of Latin American and Caribbean States</span> Regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states thought out on February 23, 2010, at the Rio Group–Caribbean Community Unity Summit, and created on December 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, with the signature of The Declaration of Caracas. It consists of 33 sovereign countries in the Americas. Due to the focus of the organization on Latin American and Caribbean countries, other countries and territories in the Americas, Canada and the United States, as well as the overseas territories in the Americas of France, the Netherlands, Denmark (Greenland) and the United Kingdom are not included.

The Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations is the legal representative of the Secretariat of the Union of South American Nations (USAN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Ecuador crisis</span>

The 2010 Ecuador crisis took place on 30 September 2010, when the National Police operatives blockaded highways, occupied the National Parliament, blocked the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito and the José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, and controlled the TV Ecuador's station, in what they claimed was a strike to oppose a government-sponsored law that supposedly reduced their benefits. Unrest and looting were reported in seven provinces of the country because of the lack of law enforcement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Member states of Mercosur</span>

Currently, Mercosur is composed of five full members, five associated countries and two observer countries:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impeachment of Fernando Lugo</span> 2012 removal of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo by the Congress of Paraguay

Fernando Lugo, elected President of Paraguay in 2008, was impeached and removed from office by the Congress of Paraguay in June 2012. On 21 June the Chamber of Deputies voted 76 to 1 to impeach Lugo, and the Senate removed him from office the following day, by 39 votes to 4, resulting in Vice President Federico Franco, who had broken with Lugo, becoming President. Lugo contends he was denied due process because he did not have enough time to prepare a defense. A number of Latin American governments declared the proceeding was effectively a coup d'état. Lugo himself formally accepted the impeachment, but called it a "parliamentary coup".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th BRICS summit</span>

The 6th BRICS summit was the sixth annual diplomatic meeting of the BRICS, a grouping of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was hosted by Brazil, as the first host country of the current five-year summit cycle; the host city was Fortaleza. Though Brazil had previously hosted a four-member BRIC summit in April 2010, 2014 marked its first full BRICS summit; the 2010 summit in Brasília did not officially include South Africa, who were only invited as guests as a prelude to their gaining full membership in December 2010. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was a special guest of the summit, and the BRICS leaders met with their UNASUR counterparts shortly after. The 6th BRICS summit resulted in the official inauguration of the New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank intended as an alternative to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyana–Mexico relations</span> Bilateral relations

Guyana–Mexico relations are the diplomatic relations between Guyana and Mexico. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Caribbean Community, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America</span> Intergovernmental regional organization

The Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America is an initiative by Sebastián Piñera and Iván Duque, for the creation of an integration body to replace the Union of South American Nations.

References

  1. 1 2 LatAm leaders seek mechanisms to avoid coups Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Fox News. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  2. 1 2 Guyana takes office as Unasur president Xinhua. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  3. Incumbent UNASUR Chairman optimistic of a better South America Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine Guyana: Government Information Agency. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  4. ‘Kirchner will always be a source of inspiration to the region,’ Lula says at Unasur Summit Buenos Aires Herald. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  5. Brazilian President Advocates for Regional Unity Inside Costa Rica. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  6. UNASUR Begins New Integrating Stage Archived 2010-12-01 at the Wayback Machine Escambray. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  7. 1 2 Unasur unable to agree on secretary; closes all ports to ‘illegal’ Malvinas flagged vessels Mercopress. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  8. Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations on Commitment to Democracy Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine Guyana: Government Information Agency. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  9. UNASUR Summit condemned attempt of coup d´etat in Ecuador and reasserted commitment to democratic institutions Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine Telam. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  10. South American Heads pledge ‘unwavering respect for human rights’ Stabroek News. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
  11. UNASUR Summit close with historic ‘Georgetown Declaration’ Kaieteur News. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.