WASHINGTON,
DC, January 16, 2011 (OAS) - The Secretary General of the Organization of American
States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, today received the King Legacy Award for
International Service at the 20thAnnual International Salute to Martin Luther
King Jr. in Washington, DC, and in his acceptance speech remembered the tragedy
of the people in Haiti who fight to triumph over the consequences of the
earthquake of January 2010.
Insulza praised the integrity and willpower of the Haitian
people in overcoming the socio-economic impact of the earthquake. When talking
about the complexity of the world’s reality, Insulza said that “if there is one
message that this award has, it is that the independent world in which we now
live requires a doubling of efforts to solve our problems peacefully.” This is
why the OAS exists, he added, to fight for “justice, freedom and equality, and
the elimination of every form of discrimination in the Americas.”
The Director for International Programs at the University
of the District of Columbia, Ambassador Dr. Denis Antoine of Grenada,
introduced the Secretary General as man who is a “bridge-builder and leader by
consensus," and he underscored the commitment of the OAS in its objective
of “strengthening democratic regions in the world.”
Other honorees at the event included: United States
Representative Diane Watson; World Buddhist Leader and International Arts
Master Dorje Chang Buddha III; Honorary Chair Dr. Klaus Scharioth; and the
Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Resources, Howard Koh, MD, MPH.
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