May 29, 1998 No. 138

AXWORTHY TO ATTEND

28th OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN CARACAS

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced that he will attend the first day of the 28th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Caracas, Venezuela, to be held June 1 to 3, 1998.

"I believe that Canada's commitment and leadership in many crucial areas such as good governance, rule of law, human rights, and security have helped improve the functioning of the OAS," said Minister Axworthy. "The OAS has become an effective forum for members to pursue global priorities and offers Canada an opportunity to strengthen ties with our neighbours in the hemisphere."

Canada's objectives for this year's OAS meeting are to:

Underscore and advance key hemispheric security issues including ratification of the Ottawa Treaty to Ban Landmines.

Highlight Canadian involvement in anti-drug activities in the region.

Promote civil society participation in the OAS.

Encourage reform of the OAS in keeping with mandates and priorities expressed at the Santiago Summit.

While in Caracas, Mr. Axworthy will co-chair a Foreign Affairs Ministers Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) meeting, a follow-up to the Santiago Summit held last April in Chile. He will also pursue discussions on the new dialogue group, which hemispheric leaders have asked Canada to launch, and whose purpose is to address narcotics trafficking in the Americas.

The General Assembly of the OAS is an annual meeting of Foreign Ministers from 34 member states of Latin America and the Caribbean. Canada will host the OAS General Assembly in 2000, which will mark Canada's 10th year of membership.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca