Designed and initiated by the Clinton administration in 1994, The Summit of the Americas was first held in Miami with 34 high level leaders from North America, South America and the Caribbean, with hopes of fostering discussion on a variety of issues affecting the Western Hemisphere.

The Miami Summit marked the first time since 1967 that a forum was attended by 34 leaders of the 35 nations in the Western hemisphere – with Cuba being the only country in the region that is not a member of the Summit. Since 1994, Summits have been held irregularly throughout the hemisphere from Quebec to Santiago. While themes have varied over the years, the common thread of all summits is the overall objective to improve the quality of life of people in the region through multilateral cooperation on the political, economic, environmental, social and security challenges affecting the region today.

The upcoming 5th Summit of the Americas will be held on April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago, under the theme “Securing our Citizens Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security, and Environmental Sustainability”. Unlike previous summits which focused on contentious issues such as trade and migration, the 5th Summit Agenda will instead address common problems affecting the hemisphere, and will work to combat criticisms of ineffective mandates and a lack of transparency at past Summits.

Such issues to be discussed include social equity, energy cooperation, environmental sustainability and the strengthening of public security, and it is expected that there should be more consensus among the Summit participants, given these more feasible themes. Additionally, this Summit is particularly interesting as it will be the first time many newly-elected leaders will meet to discuss current situations facing the region, and it is hoped that this will cultivate new, stronger partnerships between nations to achieve human prosperity related to equity, inclusion, and social development.

Moreover, considering the recent developments in the Obama administration’s reassessment of Cuban policy and the increasing level of publicity surrounding nations wishing Cuba to participate in the Summit as a member of the Organization of the Americas (OAS), this Summit will most likely be a rather productive forum in this regard. Indeed, damaging policies can be discussed and possibly reversed only if leaders are willing to attend the forum as equals, and partners with a shared sense of responsibility for current affairs.

Criticisms of prior Summits

Past Summits have been criticized for designing inefficient mandates and lacking transparency. Observers, for example, have long questioned the effectiveness of the Summits, noting that a majority of Summit goals have never been met. Summits have also blamed for producing overly ambitious documents that mandate new initiatives, yet which ignore the status of the implementation of over six hundred initiatives previously introduced at the previous Summits.

While past Summits have not followed up on the implementation of all initiatives, there has however been a number of successful initiatives to the region, including a reduction in the cost of remittances, the creation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, increased provisions of anti-retroviral therapy to HIV/AIDS patients, support for democracy in Haiti and reductions in child labor. While it is unrealistic to think that all of the designed initiatives would be effective measures for the region, the OAS must do more to ensure the initiatives designed at this Summit are achievable, measurable and enforceable. Additionally, as many countries lack the organizational capacity, political will or financial resources to implement the mandates, it is integral that countries work together and support each other to achieve human prosperity.

In the past, the Summit has fallen short of its own ideals, but this does not mean that we should give up on the possibility of achieving successful mandates at this Summit. These criticisms should instead serve as motivation to hemispheric leaders to make this Summit better than its predecessors by  addressing these weaknesses directly.

The issue of transparency also needs to be address within this Summit, as many have criticised previous Summits’ closed-door meetings with top level leaders, an issue which raises questions about clouded secrecy through exclusivity. Many civil society and anti-globalization organizations contend that they should have more of a role in the Summit to ensure greater transparency, even though some of the sixty-five proposed commitments under the Draft Declaration of the Summit are meant to encourage countries to increase participation of civil society and business groups in the Summit process. Still, it is integral that transparency is seen to be a main feature of the 5th Summit, especially since its mandates will affect the welfare of all people in the hemisphere.

Why this summit is different

The 5th Summit of the Americas holds incredible potential given the number of new leaders representing their countries for the first time. Eleven new leaders, namely, Cristina Fernandez-Kirchmer of Argentina, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Álvaro Colom of Guatemala, Jose Rosales of Honduras, Felipe Calderon of Mexico, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and USA’s Barack Obama will all be meeting many of their counterparts in the region for the first time.

For Obama, the opportunities to hold informal meetings will prove to be invaluable early in his administration, especially as Cuban policy is currently being reassessed. Additionally, for many sub-regions, this Summit presents an invaluable opportunity to be heard.

Cuba Inclusion

The battle of ideologies in the context of the Cold War led to the exclusion of Cuba from OAS in 1962, following Fidel Castro’s rise to power. While all of Latin America and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have bridged their differences with Cuba, the U.S. still maintains a strict policy of isolation under a trade and travel embargo, which has endured nearly five decades. As the new administration assesses the failed embargo and recognizes how it is only hurting America and Cuba, Obama has responded by loosening travel restrictions and remittances to Cuba. New legislation is already being proposed in Congress and we are ultimately witnessing a tipping towards a trend of lifting the U.S. embargo against Cuba altogether. Much of the world is against the outdated embargo, and Congress is finally listening. As a majority of Americans support lifting the embargo, the U.S. now has the obligation to reestablish a new relationship with Cuba through a reevaluation of old Cold War policies.

Judging from recent announcements made by leaders in Latin America, CARICOM, and the world in general, there is a growing momentum in favor of reincorporating Cuba as a member of OAS. Although Cuban inclusion does present some challenges to the integrity of OAS and its commitment to promote and defend democracy and human rights, most countries share a vision that Cuba’s readmission would begin the healing process and allow for a normalization of relations. The exclusion of Cuba is not helpful in achieving improved respect for human rights in Cuba, and likewise, Cuba should also do its part to help end the embargo by working to align its laws and polices with obligations under the American Concentrations on Human Rights.

In the latter respect, Cuba seems to be making progress. On March 18, Cuban foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez and European Union (EU) Development & Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Louis Michel, jointly announced Cuba’s willingness to discuss human rights (with respect to its prisons) with the EU. This is a great advancement for Cuba and the EU, given the fact that there has been ongoing political rife between them for the past five years. Additionally, U.S. Congressional delegations have met separately with Raul Castro and Fidel Castro hoping to improve relations between the U.S.A and Cuba by opening dialogue and discussion.

The Summit is meant for discussing the most serious challenges facing the region and advancing an agenda for the promotion of human prosperity, environmental sustainability and energy security. Since Cuba is a part of the region, and ultimately affected by the same common problems, it is therefore logical for Cuba to become a member of the OAS. As a result, it is only natural for hemispheric leaders to lobby for policies that are beneficial to all people in the region, and any advancement should also provide economic and social security to the people of Cuba as well.

Importance of the Summit

I believe this summit can effectively address the need to help those less fortunate in the region. There are still too many people living in abject poverty and the development of effective initiatives must be secured and enforced at the 5th Summit.

Leaders can come together as peacemakers, as the representatives and messengers of the people. However, this is no time for polite banter; hopefully leaders sense the urgency of taking bold action and working collaboratively to design effective initiatives that address the growing inequalities in our political, economic, environmental and social life.

It is also essential that each leader attends the Summit with a shared sense of responsibility for our current affairs, with a willingness to work collectively to combat the worst economic crisis in generations, increasing climate temperatures and our dependence on outdated sources of energy. Bringing the leaders together to discuss common concerns, to seek solutions and to develop a shared vision for the future of the western hemisphere, whether it be economic, social, or political in nature, will – at the very least – foster a sense of equality that has been missing in the many of the regions’ policies for nearly five decades.

Now is the time to put the gloves down and work together to brainstorm and design effective initiatives that will benefit the lives of all people in the western hemisphere.

Related articles:

1. While Latin American leaders bite, Obama keeps his cool at Fifth Summit
2. Cuba, Chavez-Obama showdown shaping Summit headlines on opening day
3. 5th Summit of the Americas: What’s not making the news on day two
4. To OAS or not to OAS: That is the question
5. Regional: Trinidadians unimpressed with Summit of Americas $500m bill

Delaney Brown · California, USA

Currently residing north of San Francisco, CA, Delaney writes on issues that promote awareness of working to achieve peace, equality and sustainability. After graduating from USCB with a dual major in Law and Linguistics, Delaney is now involved in numerous professional and social causes as these underlying themes are embedded in countless world issues today.

delaney@antillean.org