August 29, 2005
OAS Meeting on Social Charter held in Venezuela

(Prensa Latina) -"The Ministerial Meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) took place in Caracas on August 28 to 29 , with the aim to approve the Social Charter of the Americas (SCA).

In the opening ceremony Venezuelan President Hugo Ch á vez said his country respects people´s sovereignty in building a truly new and democratic order.

This is the time, said Chávez, to debate and analyze ideas, and called for changing the capitalist model of perversion for a 21st century´s socialism of equality and justice.

The leader also announced Venezuela is going to start legal actions in the United States, following the assassination calls against him made by US Reverend Pat Robertson.

Participants focussed on enriching the document presented by Venezuela at the OAS, whose guideline and objectives are the inclusion and universalization of human rights.

The Social Charter is a document made up of 129 articles divided in five charters. It intends to unify criteria on society, communities, economy, culture and indigenous peoples.

Among the reasons to propose the SCA is the need of fostering the integration process in Latin America, meeting the basic needs of people, fighting social debt and creating conditions to fulfill the Goals of the Millennium".