By Mark Green

Earlier this week, I was unable to attend the Civil Society and Social Actors meeting at the Summit of the Americas, an amazing gathering of representatives from over 30 organizations working to promote democracy, human rights and citizen-responsive governance in Latin America. Their work is important, and I am sorry I was not able to join them. To show my support, I wanted to share the remarks I prepared to deliver to the group.

Peru is a particularly appropriate venue for this summit, and for civil society to gather. I’ve been in this business long enough to remember 25 years ago, when the Sendero Luminoso seemed to be on the verge of overrunning much of the countryside.

It’s hard to think of a better contrast to their vision of Maoist totalitarianism than this event.

We have before us delegations from more than 30 countries, members of dozens of civil society coalitions, and representatives of youth, indigenous, and labor organizations here today, taking advantage of the opportunity to make their voices heard.

The United States remains deeply committed to promoting human rights and democracy, as well as helping reduce corruption, in all of the Americas.

Read Administrator Green's full prepared remarks on Medium