Previous Summits

The First Summit of the Americas

Miami, Florida, United States
December 9-11, 1994

President Clinton first proposed the idea of a summit of American states in January of 1994. The proposed goals of this meeting were to address regional democratic, economic, and social concerns. Prior to the summit, the United States developed, through bilateral negotiations with various American states, a declaration of principles and plan of action to be discussed and approved at the summit. This declaration and plan of action also included input from the Organization of American States, inter-governmental meetings, international organizations, and the Rio Group. The First Summit of the Americas was the first summit in all of history to bring together all the democratically elected leaders of the region, including the leaders of Canada and the island States of the Caribbean.

The Declaration of Principles signed at the First Summit of the Americas reaffirmed the four major priorities of the summit process:

Strengthening democratic governance
Promoting economic integration and free trade
Eradicating poverty and discrimination
Promoting sustainable development and protecting the environment

Relevant Documents

Declaration of Principles (in English or Spanish)
Plan of Action (in English or Spanish)

The Second Summit of the Americas

Santiago, Chile
April 18-19, 1998

While the United States was the primary country organizing, preparing for, and hosting discussions prior to the First Summit of the Americas, all of the participating countries were active in preparations for the Second Summit. In the months leading up to the Summit, multi-lateral negotiations were carried out in Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) meetings. The focus of these meetings was social policies, and the resulting Declaration and Plan of Action focused of four different subjects:

Education;
Preserving and Strengthening Democracy, Justice and Human Rights;
Economic Integration and Free Trade;
Eradication of Poverty and discrimination.

Of these four themes, the Second Summit especially highlighted education. As the Declaration states, "Education is the determining factor for the political, social, cultural, and economic development of our peoples. We undertake to facilitate access of all inhabitants of the Americas to preschool, primary, secondary, and higher education, and we will make learning a lifelong process." (Declaration of Principles, II Summit of the Americas) The Plan of Action contained 26 initiatives grouped according to the four different subjects with an additional initiative to create measures for ensuring that the governments involved in the Summit are cooperating with the first 26 initiatives. This additional follow-up initiative is crucial because it established and institutionalized the Summit of the Americas as a process that includes initiatives for evaluation after the Summits themselves. The specific responsibility for following-up on the progress of each nation was designated to Summit Implementation Review Groups (SIRGs).

Relevant Documents

Declaration of Principles (in English or Spanish)
Plan of Action (in English or Spanish)

The Third Summit of the Americas

Quebec City, Canada
April 20-22, 2001

By the time preparations for the Third Summit of the Americas began, the Summit process had finally been institutionalized. The SIRG continued its tradition of drafting the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action prior to the Summit, and the "troika" (later named the Steering Committee), comprised of the past and present hosts of the Summit, led the negotiations. The most important result of the Quebec Summit was the Inter-American Democratic Charter that strengthens the tools by which the OAS defends representative democracy in the region.

The Declaration of Principles set forth the following eighteen themes for the Summit:

Making Democracy Work Better
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Justice, Rule of Law and Security of the Individual
Hemispheric Security
Civil Society
Trade, Investment and Financial Stability
Infrastructure and Regulatory Environment
Disaster Management
Environmental Foundation for Sustainable Development
Agriculture Management and Rural Development
Labor and Employment
Growth with Equity
Education
Health
Gender Equality
Indigenous Peoples
Cultural Diversity
Children and Youth

The Third Summit also produced three other noteworthy documents:

Declaration in Support of the Peace Process in Columbia (in English or Spanish)
Connecting the Americas (in English or Spanish)
The Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (in English or Spanish)

Relevant Documents

Declaration of Principles (in English or Spanish)
Plan of Action (in English or Spanish)