Washington, DC, December 13…. The Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the Organisation of American States (OAS), Sir Ronald Sanders, announced that he has submitted the formal nomination of former UN General Assembly President, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, for the post of Secretary-General of the OAS.
Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa. Photo courtesy Antigua & Barbuda government
Ambassador Sanders advised that he submitted the nomination to the current President of the OAS Permanent Council on behalf of Prime Ministers Gaston Browne and Dr Ralph Gonsalves, the heads of Government of Antigua and Barbuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines jointly. He disclosed that in their collaborative letter, nominating Ecuadorian-born Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the two Prime Ministers described her as “a distinguished citizen of our Americas”. Recalling that Espinosa has “served in several capacities of high office, including several portfolios as Minister of Government, Ambassador to international organizations and President of the United Nations General Assembly”, the two Prime Ministers declared that their governments are convinced that she has a clear understanding” of the purposes of the OAS and that she will act to strengthen the Organisation “in the collective interests of all its member states”.
The election for the post of Secretary-General will be held in March 2020. The declared contestants are now the incumbent, Luis Almagro; the present Ambassador of Peru to the United States, Hugo de Zela; and Maria Fernanda Espinosa.
Commenting on support for Maria Espinosa, Ambassador Sanders said that: “The broad support for her from countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean is encouraging; it makes her a formidable candidate who can deliver a new pathway to make the OAS fit for purpose in delivering on the expectations of the peoples of the Americas for peace, progress and development”.
Sir Ronald Sanders is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own
