Organization of American States(OAS)

Regional organization (American nations)Four main pillars

DemocracyHuman rightsSecurityDevelopment

Cooperation between American member states on international conflicts

What the OAS is:

Began with Simón Bolívar (Columbia)

1824: invited Mexico, Peru, Chila, Buenos Aires, and later on, other nations

Aim: to unite Latin American nations that received independence from Spain

Origin of the OAS:

Assembly would:Supervise conflictsInterpret treatiesDeal with common dangers

Based on the Monroe DoctrineGrew out of the Pan-American Union, 1989Began in 1889 with the First International

Conference of American States

Development of OAS

Article 2Essential purposes: •“To strengthen the peace and security of the continent”•“To provide for common action…in the event of aggression”•“To eradicate extreme poverty”•“To achieve the effective limitation of conventional weapons”

The Charter of the OAS/ Purpose

Protocol of Buenos Aires (1967): created the General Assemblynew Inter-American Council for Education, Science,

and Culture (CIECC)Protocol of Cartagena de Indias (1985)

Protocol of Managua (1993)focus on elimination of poverty

Protocol of Washington (1992)

Amendments to the Charter

35 independent countries Includes many countries in Caribbean, Latin

America, Mexico, USA and Canada

Countries Involved

2009: Honduras suspended unanimously after expulsion of President Manuel ZelayaOAS did not recognize the de facto

government as legitimate21 original member stateLater added Canada and newly

independent Caribbean nations

Membership

The OAS and CubaBecause of Cold War, excluded Cuba (1962)

Eighth meeting of Consultation, 1962 Still a member

2009: the U.S. supports including Cuba againstill a member, readmitted in 2009

General SecretariatGeneral AssemblyPermanent CouncilCollective action: 2/3 majority vote of

foreign ministers presentGeneral Secretariat and Permanent Council

in Washington D.C.States take turns hosting the General

Assembly each year

Structure

Headquarters of the OAS: Washington D.C.

General Secretariat: Administration

Secretary-general: elected five-year term, leads the General Secretariat

Currently: José Miguel Insulza (Chile)

Assistant secretary-general elected, five-year term

Chosen with consideration for geographic representation

General Assembly: makes policiesHolds annual meetings with members statesControls OAS budgetSupervises specialized organizations

Permanent Council: consultationAmbassadors from each stateDeals with immediate disputes between states

until ministers of foreign affairs can meet

Structure

Permanent Council Meetings

Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN)Inter-American Indian Institute (IAII)Pan American Institute of Geography and

History (PAIGH)Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on

Agriculture (IICA)Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Specialized Organizations

Resolves conflicts between countriesDone through the Permanent Council and

consultation of foreign ministersPromotes free trade and mutually beneficial

economic agreements Addresses corruption in governments, human

rights issues (women and indigenous people), increasing health standards and fair legal systems

Benefits

Increased U.S. interference with politics of Latin America

Debated whether the US controls the OAS

Disadvantages of OAS

Mexico’s drug tradeOAS helped research effects of legalizing

marijuana on drug trade (2012)OAS capable of addressing root causes of drug

tradeReducing drug consumption/ supply, violence and

corruption

International Impact

International Impact: Anti-terrorism

first international organization to formally condemn the attacks of Sept. 11

Sept. 19: created a resolution calling Sept. 11 an “attack against all States of the Americas”

Rio Treaty: collective security pact of Western Hemisphere

Works CitedBelt, Guillermo. Educoas.org. Organization of American

States, June 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.educoas.org/portal/docs/belt_paper_rev.pdf>.

Meyer, Peter. "Organization of American States: Background and Issues for Congress." FAS.org. Congressional Research Service, 31 July 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. <http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42639.pdf>.

"Organization of American States (OAS)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013." N.p., n.d. Web.

Smith, S.E., and Bronwyn Harris. WiseGeek. Conjecture, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-organization-of-american-states-oas.htm>.

"United States Permanent Mission to the OAS." Usoas.org. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.usoas.usmission.gov/organization.html>.

"Who We Are." OAS.com. Organization of American States, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.oas.org/en/about/who_we_are.asp>.