Alliance for the Development of Democracy. The Presidents of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and the Vice President of Panama met at the VI Meeting of the Alliance for Development of Democracy in Quito, Ecuador on March 6, 2023. At the conclusion, they signed and issued a joint statement, published by the Cancilleria de Ecuador and shared below:
VI MEETING OF THE ALLIANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT of DEMOCRACY DECLARATION
The Presidents of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and the Dominican Republic, meeting within the framework of the Alliance for Development in Democracy, in the city of Quito, Ecuador, on March 6, 2023, reiterate our willingness to continue promoting the objectives proposed in this forum, aimed at strengthening the rule of law, democratic institutions and respect for and protection of human rights, therefore:
1. We ratify our commitment to work hard for the economic and sustainable development of our countries, strengthening actions within the framework of a common agenda.
2. We commit our efforts to deepen actions in favor of post-pandemic recovery and to face the multifactorial economic crisis by sharing experiences, exchanging strategies and fostering the resilience and sustainable development of our countries.
3. We reaffirm our willingness to address the pre-existing gender gaps, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its differentiated impact due to gender, inequalities in the labor market, the decisive role of paid and unpaid domestic and care work for the sustainability of life, society and the economy.
POLITICAL DIALOGUE
4. We reiterate our commitment to the defense and promotion of democracy and the preservation of the constitutional order, and we reject all those attempts that seek to destabilize democratic institutions in the region.
5. We are pleased with the approval of the Guidelines and the Operational Structure of the ADD, whose objective is to articulate the functions and dynamics of the alliance’s work.
6. We welcome the start of the dialogue between the ADD and Spain, aimed at exploring possibilities of cooperation on different issues of common interest and promoting alliances that contribute to the generation of investments and sustainable growth of member countries.
7. We welcome the message from the representative of the Secretary of State of the United States of America, and in this sense we call on the US to redouble support for the region, particularly for countries that share values in Democracy, Rule of Law, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development, and actively cooperate with our countries in the promotion of democratic public policies and improvement in foreign direct investment and development in our economies.
8. We welcome the beginning of the presidential term of Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, and we express our willingness to strengthen relations between brother countries, deepen cooperation, and work together for economic recovery and consolidation democracy in the countries of the region.
9. We reaffirm our commitment to energetically face the challenges of corruption, transnational organized crime, the world drug problem and terrorism, which forces us to divert resources that should be allocated to development, and we call on the International Community to provide technical and financial cooperation to face these challenges.
10. We welcome the results of the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Andean Community (CAN), held on November 8, 2022, under the Pro Tempore Presidencies of Dominican Republic and Peru, respectively, whose meeting highlighted the will of the two blocks to work together to improve the lives of the citizens of the region.
11. We highlight the celebration of the VII Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), on January 24 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and we welcome the return of Brazil to the mechanism, as well as as the designation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as Pro Tempore Presidency 2023.
12. We express our deep concern over the recent decisions adopted by the Government of Nicaragua in violation of the civil and political rights of its citizens. The expulsion, deprivation of nationality and expropriation of the assets of hundreds of Nicaraguans for the mere fact of dissenting or opposing the government, is a serious action, contrary to the most elementary international principles on human rights.
Likewise, we take note of the Report of the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council. We call on the government to return to the path of democracy, reverse the decisions adopted, allow the free exercise of democracy in the country and release all political prisoners immediately.
13. We call on the International Community to consider with extreme urgency the request of the Haitian Government to the United Nations, for the sending of an international specialized force to face the humanitarian crisis and to assist the Haitian National Police, and thus achieve the necessary pacification of that sister country. This step is an essential requirement for the holding of free, fair and transparent general elections.
14. We celebrate the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on the social and humanitarian impact of autonomous weapons held in Costa Rica on February 23 and 24, 2023, in which the need to have an international instrument establishing prohibitions and regulations to ensure meaningful human control.
15. We reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and we adhere to the voices of the international community calling for a just and lasting peace that guarantees Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
16. We call to end the war, to safeguard the life and well-being of the civilian population and to refrain from the use of cluster munitions and the nuclear threat. Restoring peace is essential to overcome the many challenges on the global agenda, including food security.
17. We reiterate our determination to continue searching for viable, immediate, and sustainable alternatives to address the challenge of the growing irregular migratory flows, guaranteeing respect for human rights and in favor of regular, safe, orderly, and humane migration, and focused on the principle of shared responsibility.
18. We reiterate our heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Türkiye, in the face of the irreparable loss of thousands of human lives; as well as the effects on infrastructure caused by the devastating earthquake of February 6 and its aftershocks, which we extend to the Syrian people.
COOPERATION
19. We highlight the promotion and strengthening of International Cooperation, its principles, values and instruments, as an effective and innovative tool for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in
in order to promote the prosperity of our towns and their economic reactivation.
20. We reiterate the will of the countries that are part of the ADD to develop South-South, triangular, decentralized and multi-stakeholder Cooperation initiatives, as well as the incorporation of partners for the implementation of projects and programs that favor our countries. The participation and support of external partners, as well as the United Nations system, facilitate the matching between the needs of its members and the possibilities and interests of international cooperation providers.
21. In this sense, we welcome the South-South cooperation projects, approved by those responsible for cooperation, to be developed among the ADD countries, namely “Governance of Triangular Cooperation” and the Registry of Family and Peasant Agriculture.”
22. We are also pleased with the progress made by those responsible for cooperation in exploring high-impact project initiatives in ocean security, governance and conservation, of interest to the ADD countries and the region, seeking solutions to problems such as the invasion of the Sargassum in the Greater Caribbean.
23. We hope to promote a space for coordination between universities in our countries, including our diplomatic academies, following the example of the high-level Business Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY
24. We express our satisfaction for the incorporation of the pillar of environmental sustainability and circular economy to the structure of the ADD, the same one that responds to the priority that our countries grant to the subject as a transversal measure to economic growth, sustainable development and economic and social reactivation and post pandemic.
25. We congratulate ourselves on the successful holding, in Panama, of the “Our Ocean” Conference 2023, on March 2 and 3. The participation of the countries that make up the Alliance for Development in Democracy in such an important international conclave, joined efforts to establish 341 commitments volunteers who will ensure the effective protection and preservation of the ocean and the conservation and sustainable use of its biodiversity, promoting blue economic development, including responsible fishing, important purposes that we urge you to fulfill from this space.
26. Pleased with the designation of Costa Rica together with France as co-hosts of the Third United Nations Conference on the Ocean in 2025, and the holding of the High Level Event in Costa Rica in 2024.
27. We enthusiastically welcome the successful conclusion of the negotiations of the Implementation Agreement for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity from Areas Outside National Jurisdictions (BBNJ), on Saturday, March 4, 2023, and we welcome the leadership and contributions of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly the CLAM negotiating group, where representatives of the ADD countries actively participated.
28. We reiterate our emphatic call for the precautionary principle to be applied in relation to the start of seabed mining, so that the International Seabed Authority cannot approve any request for mining activities in the deep sea, in both there is not enough scientific information to make decisions based on evidence, as well as an environmentally robust regulatory framework.
29. We highlight our commitment to strengthen participation in national, regional and global initiatives and platforms in the fight against plastic pollution that facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences in this matter, and in this sense, we highlight the importance to coordinate common positions and mutual support, in multilateral forums, including within the framework of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee of a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, established by Resolution 5/14 of the United Nations Assembly on Environment (UNEA5.2).
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
30. We reaffirm the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding that frames the public-private consultative dialogue between the member countries of the ADD and the United States, regarding the promotion of safer, more diversified and transparent supply chains, as well as the ongoing analysis aimed at detecting opportunities and developing strategies to reduce barriers to trade and investment, which serve as vehicles to promote greater participation in these chains, contributing to the promotion of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. We are pleased to have, in this work, valuable feedback from relevant actors such as the United States Business Council – ADD.
31. We welcome the rapprochement with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, the United States Department of State, and the United States Chamber of Commerce, with whom we hope to identify ways to achieve the goals we pursue with this regional initiative.
32. We trust that joint efforts will help to attract investment and support our productive sectors in their integration into global markets and in their ability to generate formal jobs that contribute to social and economic recovery, accompanied by public policies appropriate for it.
The statement was signed in Quito, on March 6, 2023 by Rodrigo Chaves Robles, President of the Republic of Costa Rica; Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, President of the Republic of Ecuador; Luis Abinader Corona, President of the Dominican Republic; and José Gabriel Carrizo, Vice President of the Republic of Panama.
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Cancilleria, Gobierno de Ecuador
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