Former Colombian Attorney Alejandro Ordóñez, known for his strong religious and conservative views, was named Colombian ambassador at OAS

On Friday, August 24, the decree was issued through which the President of the Republic of Colombia, Iván Duque, announced the appointment of the new ambassador of Colombia to the Organization of American States (OAS).

Leer en español: ¿Quién es Alejandro Ordóñez, el nuevo embajador de Colombia ante la OEA?

The trajectory of the new ambassador

This is the former prosecutor Alejandro Ordóñez, who resigned his post as an attorney after his election was declared null by the State Council for having offered the appointment of relatives and friends to magistrates who participated in his election.

Alejandro Ordóñez was a prosecutor of the nation until he resigned his position because the State Council declared his election null. The argument of the entity was that Ordóñez had offered the appointment of relatives and close friends to magistrates who participated in his election.

Despite being criticized by many due to his strong religious and conservative positions on issues such as the adoption of same-sex couples or abortion and the abrupt departure from office, Ordóñez decided to launch himself IGNORE INTO the Presidency of the Republic through the collection of signatures.

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Subsequently, he withdrew his candidacy to participate in the so-called "Consulta de la Derecha", through which the presidential candidate of the right was decided. In this consultation, held on March 11, 2018, participated the now president Iván Duque, the current vice president of the country, Marta Lucia Ramírez and Alejandro Ordóñez, who occupied the third position. The result for the former prosecutor was not positive: he obtained 384,342 votes, that is, 6.45%, highlights El Espectador.

What is the OAS?

The Organization of American States (OAS) is the oldest regional body in the world. It was created with the aim of being a political forum for the States of the Americas. In 1948, the OAS Charter was signed in Bogotá (Colombia) and entered IGNORE INTO force in December 1951.

Currently, the organization is constituted by the 35 independent States of the Americas and constitutes the main political, legal and social governmental forum of the region. This organization has four fundamental pillars: democracy, human rights, security, and development.

What does it mean to be an ambassador to the OAS?

The ambassador to the OAS represents the country before international bodies attached to the organization, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. There goes to play another controversy of the ex-attorney Ordóñez: it was this commission that granted precautionary measures to the ex-mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro when Ordóñez dismissed him from his post. At that time, Ordóñez showed his discrepancies.

Negative reactions

The Colombian academic and political scientist Sandra Borda regrets this appointment and expressed in her twitter account: "Thus, one of those Fridays that are lost in the information agenda of this country, it is decided that part to represent us the cradle of rights that are not respect, our beloved ex-solicitor. "

Así, uno de esos viernes que se pierden en la agenda informativa de este país, se decide que parte a representarnos a la cuna de los derechos que no respeta, nuestro entrañable exprocurador.

— Sandra Borda(@sandraborda) 24 de agosto de 2018

Likewise, former presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, dismissed from the city hall by the then attorney Alejandro Ordóñez, wrote on his Twitter account: "Duque has named as our ambassador in the OAS a homophobe, anti-Semitic and fascist. From there he will have to defend the Colombian State of his violations of Human Rights in the IACHR, which he himself did not accept. "

Duque ha nombrado como nuestro embajador en la OEA a un homófobo, antisemita y fascista. Desde allí tendrá que defender el Estado colombiano de sus violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en la CIDH, que él mismo no aceptaba. @Almagro_OEA2015 @CIDH https://t.co/tE81pUu4aY

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) 24 de agosto de 2018

Despite the support of Alejandro Ordóñez for the presidential campaign of Iván Duque, it had been speculated that the elected president would not give him any position within the government. However, this appointment represents a very important position at the level of foreign policy.

LatinAmerican Post | Natalia Gómez

Translated from: '¿Quién es Alejandro Ordóñez, el nuevo embajador de Colombia ante la OEA? '