On October 29, last, the Government of Guyana, which assumed the position on November 26, 2010, at the IV Summit of the Council of Heads of State and Government held here, handed over the chairmanship to that country at the V Meeting of the Council of Heads of State and Government of UNASUR which was held in Asuncion, Paraguay.
President Bharrat Jagdeo was represented at the event by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, according to a release from the UNASUR Secretariat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Pro Tempore Chairmanship of UNASUR, the release noted, rotates on a yearly basis in alphabetical order and during the period of Guyana’s Chairmanship, several advances were made.
The Constitutive Treaty which was signed in May 2008 entered into force on March 11, 2011 and the organisation attained international legal status with the registration of the Treaty at the United Nations on May 3.
Guyana in its capacity as Pro Tempore Chair has since made a formal application for Observer Status at the UN General Assembly, and an eventual acceptance will place its future engagement with the UN on a firm and sustainable footing allowing for an enhanced profile of our integration movement in the international community.
At the Georgetown Summit, the Heads of State and Government signed an Additional Protocol to the Constitutive Treaty on the commitment to democracy as a demonstration of their commitment to the promotion, defence, and protection of democratic order and the rule of law and its institutions.  Guyana, Bolivia and Peru have since ratified that Protocol.
And, President Jagdeo in his capacity as Pro Tempore Chair of UNASUR on May 09, 2011 formally installed Mrs. Maria Emma Mejia as Secretary General of UNASUR.
The Secretary General has since commenced operations at a temporary location provided by the Government of Ecuador in Quito.
Considerable achievements have also been made in the various Councils and Working Groups of UNASUR in keeping with the mandates of the Council of Heads and in accordance with the objectives established in the Constitutive Treaty.
Noteworthy among these were, the conclusion of the Headquarters Agreement for the Centre of Strategic Studies on May 27, last, and the inauguration of the South American Government Institute on Health (ISAGS) on July 25, last, in Rio de Janeiro.
Upon the completion of Paraguay’s one year term, Peru will take over the Pro Tempore Chairmanship of UNASUR, the release added.