[hedgetrimmer]

INTER-AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC CHARTER

Signed by all OAS members except Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Commonwealth of Dominica

The charter text was actually approved by the OAS Permanent Council yesterday, and it has been obviously referred for ratification by the foreign ministers at a Special General Assembly, which will be held in Lima September 10th and 11th. Secretary Powell will head the U.S. delegation.
Roger Francisco Noriega , Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States

Remarks on the First Anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic Charter the Organization of American States
The Honourable Barbara McDougall, September 16, 2002

The first step in this project was to convene a conference on the Charter at the University of British Columbia in November 2002, with financial support from the Human Security Program in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. From this conference there arose three recommendations: The creation of a virtual policy network to bring together experts and civil society to evaluation the Charter and its application; a research center to commission thematic and country reports to evaluate compliance with the Charter; and to convene a group of "Friends of the Charter," composed of former leaders, eminent persons, and distinguished experts to ensure the Charter is used in a flexible, proactive, and preventive manner.
Canadian political scientists evaluate compliance with the charter.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Just because some U.S. official was dumb enough to sign this accord doesn't mean that the U.S. Senate was dumb enough to ratify it. At least I hope the U.S. Senate wasn't dumb enough to ratify it (oh, who am I kidding?).