Guyana formally hands over UNASUR chairmanship to Paraguay

TIMES INT'L

The government of Guyana formally handed over the pro tempore chairmanship of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to the Republic of Paraguay at the fifth meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of UNASUR in Asuncion, Paraguay on October 29.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds represented President Bharrat Jagdeo at the event, a release from UNASUR said. The pro tempore chairmanship of UNASUR rotates on a yearly basis in alphabetical order. Guyana assumed the chairmanship on November 26, 2010 at the Fourth Summit of the Council of Heads of State and Government held in Georgetown, Guyana.

During the period of Guyana’s chairmanship, several advances were made. The Constitutive Treaty, which was signed in May 2008, entered into force on March 11, 2011 and the organisation attained international legal status with the registration of the treaty at the United Nations on May 3.

Guyana in its capacity as pro tempore chair has since made a formal application for observer status at the UN General Assembly. The eventual acceptance of UNASUR’s observer status will place its future engagement with the UN on a firm and sustainable footing, allowing for an enhanced profile of the integration movement in the international community.

At the Georgetown Summit, the heads of state and government signed an additional protocol to the Constitutive Treaty on the commitment to democracy as a demonstration of their commitment to the promotion, defence, and protection of democratic order and the rule of law and its institutions.

Guyana, Bolivia and Peru have since ratified that protocol.

On May 9, 2011, Maria Emma Mejia was formally installed as secretary general of UNASUR by Jagdeo in his capacity as pro tempore chair.

The secretary general has since commenced operations at a temporary location provided by the government of Ecuador in Quito.

Considerable achievements have also been made in the various councils and working groups of UNASUR in keeping with the mandates of the Council of Heads and in accordance with the objectives established in the Constitutive Treaty.

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