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Summit Implementation Review Group |
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BACKGROUND |
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The Summit Implementation Review Group, known by its acronym SIRG, is the core management body of the Summits Process and is comprised of the 34 democratically elected governments of the hemisphere, which are represented in the SIRG by their appointed National Coordinators. The SIRG was created in 1995 and is presided by the Chair of the Summit of the Americas Process. Trinidad and Tobago, as the host of the next Summit, is the present Chair of the SIRG. The Summit coordination has two central advisory bodies: Initially, the SIRG was composed of members representing the various sub-regions of the Hemisphere, later it was composed of representatives from all of the countries in the Hemisphere. In order to follow up on Summit mandates, countries were designated as Responsible Coordinators for each issue. This mechanism was used until the Quebec City Summit, where the mandate for follow up was modified, the system of Responsible Coordinators was abandoned and the SIRG, and its Executive Council were charged with the responsibility of follow-up, together with the support of the OAS Office of Summit Follow Up, which became the Secretariat of the Summit Process. The Second Summit of the Americas laid the basis for the institutionalization of the Summit as a process, which has subsequently been established and consolidated in the Quebec City Summit. The SIRG is responsible for reporting annually on the progress achieved in the fulfillment of the Plan of Action to the Foreign Ministers. The Ministers, then review the information on the occasion of the Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly. The Executive Council of the SIRG was created in the Quebec City Plan of Action as a regionally representative body whose role is to assess, strengthen and support the follow-up of Summit initiatives. The members of the Executive Committee include Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Argentina, the United States, a country designated on behalf of CARICOM, a country designated on behalf of Andean Community, a country designated on behalf of Central America, and a country designated on behalf of the Rio Group. For the first time on April 2, 2003 the SIRG was opened to civil society organization, to discuss and exchange information on the Summit of the Americas, Education, Hemispheric Security and Good Governance. Deepening partnerships and coordination between the Summit process and its partner institutions, the OAS, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the International Organization for Migrations (IOM), the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA), is yet another focus of the Council. The Permanent Steering Committee is composed of past, current and future Summit hosts. The Steering Committee’s role is to assist the Summit Chair in preparing for SIRG meetings as well as the preparations for future Summits. The SIRG meets on average 3 times a year, with at least one of their meetings held at the Ministerial level. |
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