Brasília, June 8, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - In Ecuador, the Minister of Foreign Relations, Ambassador Celso Amorim, called for engagement by Latin America and the Caribbean to find a peaceful solution to the civil war in Haiti. The Minister is heading the Brazilian delegation at the 34th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Quito. Brazil and other Latin American countries have already dispatched troops to Haiti to join the UN Peace Mission.

Amorim said that the solution will come in the long run, but the Brazilian government is paying attention to the opinions of neighboring countries and is counting on the efforts of the international community.

The Minister also met with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jesús Pérez, to whom he reiterated his confidence in that country's ability to see the electoral process through in a peaceful manner. Amorim asserted that the fact that the Venezuelan authorities decided to hold a referendum to shorten or maintain the President's mandate is a demonstration of commitment by President Hugo Chávez, other government leaders, and the country's political forces to discover a democratic, peaceful, constitutional, and electoral way out of that country's institutional plight.

Amorim also conversed with the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, about Iraq, since Brazil is a member of the UN Security Council. Brazil will present the OAS General Assembly with some proposals for resolutions on preventing racism and dealing with extreme poverty, inequality, social exclusion, and technology.

The Assembly, which ends today, has as its theme "Social Development and Democracy face-to-face with the Incidence of Corruption" and will also debate topics such as human rights, hemispheric security, terrorism, cooperation, and democracy. The choice of corruption as the central theme was announced in January by President Lucio Gutiérrez at the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico.

Equador wants corruption to be aligned with international organized crime, the illegal trafficking of human beings, arms, and explosives, sexual exploitation, extortion, drugs, and terrorism.

The conclusion of the meeting will be marked by the endorsement of the Quito Declaration, in which the representatives will highlight corruption as an obstacle to development, governability, and democracy.

Translator: David Silberstein