REG/Support to OAS

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The support to the Organization of American States (OAS) is allocated instead of the core funding to the projects which are in line with the Finnish development policy and specialized priority objectives in the territory. The financed projects will be selected based on the project documents provided by the OAS yearly. Finland´s funding to the OAS will be based on the quality of the provided project documents and the progress of the previously financed projects. Finland has been permanent observer of the OAS since 1988. Since then Finland has been supporting the work of the OAS in the field of human rights, democracy and environmental issues. In the last years Finland has supported for example the preparation of the Inter-American Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People, the Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Women and also projects targeting improvement of the rights of women who have encountered sexual violence and the protection of cross-boundary aquifers in Mesoamerica. Overall objective of the Finland´s support is to enhance equality and participatory development. In 2012 the OAS has presented the project called "Strenghtening Freedom of Expression in the Americas" to be financed by Finland. The project´s duration is five years during 2010-2014 and it is implemented by the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression which is co-operating with the Inter-American Comission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the OAS. The overall objective of the project is to improve the democracy and human rights through the enhancement of the freedom of expression in the Americas. The project purpose is to improve the defense, guarantee and protection of the right to freedom of expression in the Americas with emphasis on the issues like protection of journalists and the struggle against impunity, decrimilization of the laws and punishments against freedom of expression, elimination of the censorship and enhancement of the access to the information and the diversification of the communication processes. The project supports Finland´s new development policy and its objectives.