7 June 2011: The 41st regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), which met on 5-7 June 2011, in San Salvador, has adopted the Declaration of San Salvador on Citizen Security in the Americas and 82 resolutions on a broad range of issues, including climate change, sustainable development, drug abuse, terrorism, security, illegal weapons trade, human rights, women rights, and poverty eradication.

On climate change, OAS member States resolve to, among other commitments: strengthen the resilience of the OAS member States to the adverse impacts of climate change; support the development of climate change adaptation activities; support OAS members’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and promote capacity building and information exchange, related to climate change.

The resolution also urges member States to agree upon ambitious equitable, effective and efficient results of an inclusive and transparent negotiation process, building on the decisions adopted at UNFCCC COPs 13 and 16, in order to ensure the success of climate change meetings to be held at the end of 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

On sustainable development, the Assembly endorsed the Declaration of Santo Domingo, which was adopted at the Second Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development within the Framework of Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), held on 17-19 November 2010 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Through this outcome, OAS members had decided to extend the Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development (PIDS) for the period 2010-2014 and adopted a number of “action initiatives” aiming to promote sustainable development in the hemisphere.

The resolution also welcomes the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio +20) and reiterates the full commitment of all the countries in the region to its success. [OAS 41st General Assembly Website][GA41 Declarations and Resolutions][Declaration of San Salvador]