GFDD to Greet H.E. Ambassador Argueta, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the OAS at its December Session of GFDD Global Roundtables

For the December edition of its online broadcast program “GFDD Global Roundtables,” Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) is honored to invite H. E. Ambassador Jose María Argueta, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the OAS.

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador of Guatemala to the Organization of American States (OAS) on February 6, 2014, Ambassador Argueta served as Secretary of Strategic Intelligence under
President Perez Molina’s first two years in office. He has also served his country as ambassador to Peru and Japan; and previously as the first civilian National Security Advisor under President Ramiro de Leon Carpio, where he authored and implemented the “Crisis Committee” an entity designed to institutionalize the Presidential Decision Making Process.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s he coauthored and implemented the widely recognized
ESTNA Methodology, a conflict resolution method that was instrumental in the peace processes of Guatemala and El Salvador. While serving as ambassador to Japan, he authored the Central America-Japan Initiative, which resulted in the August 2005 “Tokyo Declaration”. He has served as a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank, Harvard University’s Center for Conflict Resolution, and to the National Endowment of Democracy. He sits on the International
Advisory Board of  “Beyond Conflict”, an entity dedicated to assisting leaders in divided societies struggling with conflict; and has served as an Scholar/Practitioner in Residence at Tufts University Institute for Global Leadership (IGL).

Ambassador Argueta has authored “The Enlightened Dissent Methodology” (A leadership methodology for peace building) and is featured in the book “Beyond Conflict” (Putting
experience to work for Peace) he has written extensively on the root causes of social conflict.

During this edition of the GFDD Global Roundtables, Ambassador Argueta will provide his insight on the issue of child migration, looking particularly at the economic and security situations in countries such as Guatemala, to understand what possible solutions are available to remedy this growing issue. Ambassador Argueta will also comment on the recent outcomes of the
OAS’s 46th forty-sixth special session of the General Assembly of the OAS, which was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala on September 19, 2014.

About the OAS
The Organization of American States (OAS) is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to April 1890. That meeting approved the establishment of the
International Union of American Republics, and the stage was set for the weaving of a web of provisions and institutions that came to be known as the inter-American system, the oldest international institutional system.The OAS came into being in 1948 with the signing in Bogotá, Colombia, of the Charter of the OAS, which entered into force in December 1951. It was subsequently amended by the Protocol of Buenos Aires, signed in 1967, which entered into force in February 1970; by the Protocol of Cartagena de Indias, signed in 1985, which entered into force in November 1988; by the Protocol of Managua, signed in
1993, which entered into force in January 1996; and by the Protocol of Washington, signed in 1992, which entered into force in September 1997.

The Organization was established in order to achieve among its member states—as stipulated in Article 1 of the Charter—"an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend
their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence.

Today, the OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent
observer status to 69 states, as well as to the European Union (EU).

The Organization uses a four-pronged approach to effectively implement its essential purposes, based on its main pillars: democracy, human rights, security, and development.

About GFDD Global Roundtables
In close association with the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of
the Dominican Republic to the UN, GFDD organizes regular meetings with UN Ambassadors and other prominent figures in the international community in an effort to spread the news, knowledge and understanding of other countries, global issues and work of different UN bodies to its audience in the Dominican Republic, the US and around the world.

The regular series,”GFDD Global Roundtables” is also a part of GFDD’s program to support the work of
the United Nations and, as a non-governmental institution affiliated to it, contribute to the visibility and understanding of its work.

Related links:
http://www.oas.org
www.gfddglobalroundtable.org