2010 South American Summit

International meeting in Georgetown, Guyana 2010 South American Summit Emblem of the Union of South American Nations.svg Guyana November 26, 2010 The 2010 South American summit (officially the 4th Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of the Union of South American Nations), took place in Georgetown, Guyana on November 26, 2010. Eight heads of state and four foreign ministers of the Union of South American Nations attended the summit. During the summit, the leaders signed an additional protocol to the Constitutive Treaty, adding a democratic clause to the charter of the organization.LatAm leaders seek mechanisms to avoid coups https://web.archive.org/web/20110726103015/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2010/11/26/latam-leaders-seek-mechanisms-avoid-coups/ 2011-07-26 Fox News. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. The Georgetown summit ended with the Ecuadorian president handing the UNASUR pro-tempore presidency for the next twelve months to his Guyanese counterpart, Bharrat Jagdeo.Guyana takes office as Unasur president Xinhua. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. Leaders at the summit Heads of State and Government thumb|right|250px|Leaders at the 2010 Unasur summit. From left are: President Cristina Fernández of Argentina; President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil; President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, and President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay. The heads of state and heads of government of eight countries participated.Incumbent UNASUR Chairman optimistic of a better South America https://web.archive.org/web/20110716103314/http://www.gina.gov.gy/archive/daily/b101126.html#1 2011-07-16 Guyana: Government Information Agency. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. The heads of state from Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Bolivia could not attend.‘Kirchner will always be a source of inspiration to the region,’ Lula says at Unasur Summit Buenos Aires Herald. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. Foreign ministers The foreign ministers of Bolivia (David Choquehuanca), Chile (Alfredo Moreno), Peru (José Antonio García Belaúnde) and Uruguay (Luis Almagro) represented their respective governments. Issues Regional integration Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva advocated for the elimination of the asymmetries stopping the integration of South America, in his speech during the summit. "None of our countries will really be prosperous, without all of us being also prosperous," said the Brazilian president.Brazilian President Advocates for Regional Unity Inside Costa Rica. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. Secretary-General The name of the new secretary-general of the organization will remain unknown until the next presidential meeting in Mar del Plata, Argentina.UNASUR Begins New Integrating Stage https://web.archive.org/web/20101201060348/http://www.escambray.cu/Eng/world/unasur1011271031 2010-12-01 Escambray. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. Guyanese presidency Guyana, which took over the Unasur rotating presidency from Ecuador, is one of South America's poorest countries and for this reason, President Lula has already announced that Brazil will provide assistance for Georgetown's efforts in presiding over the regional bloc. Falklands/Malvinas The summit addressed the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Several articles of the final declaration state that all Unasur ports will be closed to vessels operating under the "illegal flag of Malvinas (Falkland Islands)".Unasur unable to agree on secretary; closes all ports to ‘illegal’ Malvinas flagged vessels Mercopress. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. Accomplishments Democratic clause The leaders adopted an additional protocol to the organization's Constitutive Treaty, which added a democratic clause to the charter.Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations on Commitment to Democracy https://web.archive.org/web/20110716103257/http://www.gina.gov.gy/unasurdocs/protocol.html 2011-07-16 Guyana: Government Information Agency. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. The democratic clause imposes sanctions on any member country of UNASUR that breaks or attempts to break constitutional rule or the democratic system. The clause establishes sanctions, such as shutting down borders and the suspension of trade, against the country that suffers an attempted coup. The decision to include a democratic clause was made after the recent upheaval in Ecuador that briefly threatened the administration of President, Rafael Correa.UNASUR Summit condemned attempt of coup d´etat in Ecuador and reasserted commitment to democratic institutions https://web.archive.org/web/20110706082439/http://english.telam.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10270:unasur-summit-condemned-attempt-of-coup-daetat-in-ecuador-and-reasserted-commitment-to-democratic-institutions&catid=42:politics 2011-07-06 Telam. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. Georgetown Declaration At the end of the summit, the heads of state and foreign ministers issued the "Georgetown Declaration". In the declaration, the leaders reiterated their commitment expressed in the “Declaration of Bariloche” of August 28, 2009, to strengthen South America as a zone of peace, upholding the decision to refrain from resorting to the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of another UNASUR State.South American Heads pledge ‘unwavering respect for human rights’ Stabroek News. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. The leaders expressed their willingness to continue working toward the consolidation of a common space for the political, economic, social, cultural, energy, environmental and infrastructure integration of the region, in order to achieve sustainable development.UNASUR Summit close with historic ‘Georgetown Declaration’ Kaieteur News. Retrieved on 2010-11-27. References 2 South American Summit, 2010 South American Summit, 2010 Category:Summits of the Union of South American Nations Category:21st century in Georgetown, Guyana Category:Diplomatic conferences in Guyana Category:2010 in Guyana Category:November 2010 in South America