The Constitutive Treaty defines the functions, duties and obligations that Guyana will be required to perform during its tenure of the presidency. The meeting dealt also with planning for Guyana’s stewardship in August this year for the coming year. The Proprietary Committee is the mechanism for the transfer of UNASUR’s presidency from Ecuador to Guyana.
Established on 23 May 2008 when the Constitutive Treaty was signed by the presidents of 12 South American states – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela – during the third Summit of Heads of State in Brasilia, UNASUR has been embroiled in turmoil from the start. Tenure of the presidency will not be a ceremonial formality. It will require visionary leadership if it is to serve the Union’s strategic purposes.
UNASUR’s pro tempore Presidency, according to the Constitutive Treaty is to be held successively by each of the member states, in alphabetical order, for periods of one year. Its responsibilities are to prepare, summon and preside over the meetings of the bodies of UNASUR; present UNASUR’s annual programme of activities, with dates, venues and agenda of the meetings of its bodies in coordination with the General Secretariat, to the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and to the Council of Delegates; represent UNASUR in international events, with the prior authorization of the member states and to undertake commitments and to sign declarations with third parties, with prior consent of the appropriate bodies of UNASUR.
Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Chile’s Michelle Bachelet and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa have already held the presidency. Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe, however, declined to accept the position owing to the continuing controversy that has been smouldering among Andean states. It is now Guyana’s turn.
UNASUR, according to the Constitutive Treaty, aims specifically at strengthening the political dialogue among member states. This is expected to guarantee a space for consultation in order to reinforce South American integration and UNASUR’s participation in the international arena. It will also bring about coordination among specialised bodies of the member states, taking into account international norms, in order to strengthen the fight against corruption, the global drug problem, trafficking in persons, trafficking in small and light weapons, terrorism, transnational organised crime and other threats as well as for disarmament, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, and elimination of landmines.
The Treaty provides for the establishment of a permanent headquarters which will be located in Quito, Ecuador; a Parliament which will be housed in Cochabamba, Bolivia and the Bank of the South to be located in Venezuela.
UNASUR was conceived in crisis and its importance to the security and stability of the South American continent is not in doubt. The trigger might have been the grave military and diplomatic confrontation that fractured diplomatic relations between Colombia, on one hand, and Venezuela and Ecuador on the other. This occurred after the National Army of Colombia entered the territory of Ecuador to raid elements of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia without the permission of the national government. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil – the state on the continent with the highest prestige and greatest power to act – masterminded the establishment of UNASUR to create space for diplomatic dialogue and a forum to discuss a common, continental security strategy.
That particular crisis ended only after the summit of the Rio Group in the Dominican Republic in which participants emphasised the importance of multilateralism in foreign policy. UNASUR promises to be an institution capable of working for peace and improving political relationships among South American states. It can create space for diplomatic dialogue and establish a forum to discuss a common, continental security strategy.
Another crisis soon erupted. Controversy this time surrounded the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the USA and Colombia in August 2009. The Agreement, which will allow the USA to utilise five air and two naval bases in Colombia, aggravated tensions mainly between Colombia and Venezuela.
The Agreement also had the effect of dividing the continent into three camps. One camp which criticised the Agreement outright comprised Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. The second which supported the Agreement comprised Colombia and Peru. The third, led by Brazil and including Chile and Argentina, expressed apprehensions but took a moderate position and promised to promote constructive dialogue with the United States to resolve the crisis. Guyana and Suriname – the minnows of the continent which enjoyed traditionally cordial relations with Brazil – stuck cautiously to the centre.
The controversy was still unsettled when President Jagdeo attended President Rafael Correa’s inauguration in Quito that coincided with UNASUR’s third regular presidential summit on 10 August last year. On that occasion, Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Cristina Fernandez of Argentina, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela expressed their concerns about the USA-Colombia Defence Cooperation Agreemen which they felt would pose a grave threat to the continent’s security. Most South American states are still wary of the deployment of US troops on the continent. They are uncomfortable with large US military units on the continent and want guarantees that the bases will not be used for military actions.
In light of this continent’s complex and unsettled security scenario, what will Guyana’s assumption of the rotating presidency mean? Is the administration really ready for this monumental continental commitment? Which Guyana Government agency has been monitoring the unfolding crisis? The Union has had a whirlwind experience and, to be effective, Guyana must ensure that its administrative, foreign, defence and security services are kept sufficiently abreast of the continent’s evolving strategic and political situation. It must ensure, equally, that the public is better informed about this important dimension of the country’s ‘continental destiny’ about which there has been so much talk and so little action.
It is with this background that the groundwork being laid by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds for Guyana’s assumption of the rotating presidency must be examined. For example, when UNASUR’s Defence and Foreign Policy Ministers met in Quito on 15 September 2009 to discuss security issues including the USA-Colombia Agreement, among other things, it was Minister of Labour, Human Services and Social Security Manzoor Nadir who was selected to represent Guyana. Will he have a role to play during Guyana’s presidency?
South American states have high hopes for UNASUR. It is expected to fill a need none of the existing organisations do − that of providing a space for political argument and a place to discuss and analyse a common defence strategy. UNASUR has already started to develop policies for military cooperation, humanitarian action, peace-keeping operations, education and training. The Union is still in its formative stages and visionary leadership could contribute to enhancing its role as an integrative institution.
Guyana’s forthcoming presidency of UNASUR is one of great possibilities. Guyana’s officials must to have a sound understanding of the profound security issues and respond energetically to events in the continent if its tenure is to be effective.
