on Friday signed an addendum to their agreement on multidimensional security, establishing a mechanism to strengthen coordination, assess the results achieved, and plan new initiatives in accordance with national priorities and the organization's mandates.
OAS Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin said it is crucial for the Hemisphere to stand united in confronting transnational organized crime, "because it is not only national, it is not only regional, it is also international."
He warned that its effects extend beyond illicit drug trafficking and include illegal mining, illicit financial flows, human trafficking, and threats to cybersecurity and electoral processes, including through the use of tools such as artificial intelligence.
In this context, Secretary General Ramdin underscored the importance of the hemispheric conference on transnational crime that will take place in Panama in the coming weeks.
"We have to put these mechanisms for strengthening security coordination into practice so that our people can see that we are taking concrete action against these criminal organizations that prey on the most vulnerable through extortion, contract killings, and illegal mining," Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Espa stated.
The addendum provides for annual meetings known as Programmatic Follow-up and Planning Sessions, which will make it possible to assess activities carried out and propose new cooperation initiatives.
Its main instrument will be the "Peru–OAS Security Action Plan," preferably with a term of at least three years, which may be updated by mutual agreement and in writing.
Coordination will be led by the OAS Secretariat for Multidimensional Security and the Peruvian Foreign Ministry's Directorate General for Multilateral and Global Affairs, through its Directorate of Security and Defense.
The instrument complements the agreement signed on December 1, 2021.