Organization of American States

Organization of American States
Organisation des États Américains
Organização dos Estados Americanos
Organización de los Estados Americanos
Seal of the Organization of American States
Location of the Organization of American States
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Official languages English, Spanish, Portuguese, French
Membership 35 countries
Leaders
 -  Secretary General José Miguel Insulza
Flag of Chile.svg Chile (since 26 May 2005)
Establishment
 -  Charter first signed 30 April 1948
in effect 1 December 1951 
Website
http://www.oas.org/

The Organization of American States (OAS, or, as it is known in the three other official languages, OEA) is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.[1] Its members are the thirty-five independent states of the Americas. It is the world's oldest regional organization.

Contents

[hide]

History

The notion of closer hemispheric union in the Americas was first put forward by Simón Bolívar who, at the 1826 Congress of Panama, proposed creating a league of American republics, with a common military, a mutual defense pact, and a supranational parliamentary assembly. This meeting was attended by representatives of Gran Colombia (comprising the modern-day nations of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela), Peru, the United Provinces of Central America, and Mexico, but the grandly titled "Treaty of Union, League, and Perpetual Confederation" was ultimately only ratified by Gran Colombia. Bolívar's dream soon floundered with civil war in Gran Colombia, the disintegration of Central America, and the emergence of national rather than continental outlooks in the newly independent American republics. Bolívar's dream of American unity was meant to unify Latin American nations against imperial domination by external power.

The pursuit of regional solidarity and cooperation again came to the forefront in 1889–90, at the First International Conference of American States. Gathered together in Washington, D.C., 18 nations resolved to found the International Union of American Republics, served by a permanent secretariat called the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics (renamed the "International Commercial Bureau" at the Second International Conference in 1901–02). These two bodies, in existence as of 14 April 1890, represent the point of inception to which today's OAS and its General Secretariat trace their origins.

At the Fourth International Conference of American States (Buenos Aires, 1910), the name of the organization was changed to the "Union of American Republics" and the Bureau became the "Pan American Union".

Pan American Union headquarters building in Washington, D.C., 1943

The experience of World War II convinced hemispheric governments that unilateral action could not ensure the territorial integrity of the American nations in the event of extra-continental aggression. To meet the challenges of global conflict in the postwar world and to contain conflicts within the hemisphere, they adopted a system of collective security, the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) signed in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro.

The Ninth International Conference of American States was held in Bogotá between March and May 1948 and led by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall, a meeting which led to a pledge by members to fight communism in America. This was the event that saw the birth of the OAS as it stands today, with the signature by 21 American countries of the Charter of the Organization of American States on 30 April 1948 (in effect since December 1951). The meeting also adopted the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the world's first general human rights instrument.

The transition from the Pan American Union to OAS was smooth. The Director General of the former, Alberto Lleras Camargo, became the Organization's first Secretary General. The current Secretary General is former Chilean foreign minister José Miguel Insulza.

Significant milestones in the history of the OAS since the signing of the Charter have included the following:

Goals and purpose

Pan American Union (building)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
OAS headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
OAS headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
Location: 17th St. between C St. and Constitution Ave., NW.
Washington, D.C.
Architect: Paul P. Cret
Added to NRHP: June 4, 1969
NRHP Reference#: 69000298

In the words of Article 1 of the Charter, the goal of the member nations in creating the OAS was "to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence." Article 2 then defines eight essential purposes:

Over the course of the 1990s, with the end of the Cold War, the return to democracy in Latin America, and the thrust toward globalization, the OAS made major efforts to reinvent itself to fit the new context. Its stated priorities now include the following:

Article 19 of the OAS Charter prohibits any State from interferring with the internal or external affairs of a member state. Article 21 prohibits any State from the military occupation — even temporarily — of a Member State's territory. The Charter subscribes to international law but goes further, saying that Charter rights depend not on power but follow from the existence of the state. The United States is signatory to the OAS Charter, meaning that the U.S. (like other Members) is legally bound by Article 19, 21, and other Charter provisions. {See Membership].

General Assembly

Thirty-fifth General Assembly session in Fort Lauderdale,United States of America, June 2005
Main article: General Assembly of the Organization of American States

Membership and adhesions

All 35 independent (excludes French Guiana and Puerto Rico) nations of the Americas are members of the OAS. Upon foundation on 5 May 1948 there were 21 members:

     founding member      subsequent member      suspended member

The later expansion of the OAS was mostly among the newly independent nations of the Caribbean (most of whom gained independence only after World War II. Members with later admission dates (sorted chronologically):

Canada and the OAS

Although Canada obtained independence in its foreign policy from Great Britain in 1931, it chose not to join the OAS when it was first formed. Canada became a Permanent Observer in the OAS in 1972 and a full member in 1990. In 2004-2005, Canada was the second largest contributor to the OAS, with annual assessed contribution representing 12.36% of OAS Regular Budget (US$ 9.2 million) and an additional CAD$9 million in voluntary contributions to specific projects.[2][3]

Status of Cuba

Further information: Cuban relations with the Organization of American States

The current government of Cuba is excluded from participation in the Organization under a decision adopted by the Eighth Meeting of Consultation in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 31 January 1962. The vote was passed by 14 in favor, with one against (Cuba) and six abstentions (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico). The operative part of the resolution reads as follows:

  1. That adherence by any member of the Organization of American States to Marxism-Leninism is incompatible with the inter-American system and the alignment of such a government with the communist bloc breaks the unity and solidarity of the hemisphere.
  2. That the present Government of Cuba, which has officially identified itself as a Marxist-Leninist government, is incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system.
  3. That this incompatibility excludes the present Government of Cuba from participation in the inter-American system. [1]

This means that the Cuban nation is still technically a member state, but that the current government is denied the right of representation and attendance at meetings and of participation in activities. The OAS's position is that although Cuba's participation is suspended, its obligations under the Charter, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, etc. still hold: for instance, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights continues to publish reports on Cuba's human rights situation and to hear individual cases involving Cuban nationals. However, this stance is occasionally questioned by other individual member states.

Cuba's position was stated in an official note sent to the Organization "merely as a courtesy" by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Raúl Roa on 4 November 1964: "Cuba was arbitrarily excluded... The Organization of American States has no juridical, factual, or moral jurisdiction, nor competence, over a state which it has illegally deprived of its rights." [2]

The reincorporation of Cuba as an active member regularly arises as a topic within the inter-American system (e.g., it was intimated by the outgoing ambassador of Mexico in 1998) [3] but most observers do not see it as a serious possibility while the present government remains in power. Since 1960, the Cuban administration has repeatedly characterized the OAS as the "Ministry of Colonies" of the United States of America.[4] On 6 May 2005, President Fidel Castro reiterated that the island nation would not "be part of a disgraceful institution that has only humiliated the honor of Latin American nations". [4] It is unclear what will happen in light of Fidel Castro's recent retirement and the ascent of his brother Raúl to power.

Observer countries

As of 2008, there are 61 permanent observer countries, including the international body European Union[5]

Official languages of the OAS

The Organization's official languages are Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French, the national languages of the majority of its member nations. The Charter, the basic instrument governing OAS, makes no reference to the use of official languages. These references are to be found in the Rules of Procedure governing the various OAS bodies. Article 51 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly,[6] the supreme body of the OAS, which meets once a year, states that English, French, Portuguese and Spanish are the four official languages. Article 28 stipulates that a Style Committee shall be set up with representatives of the four official languages to review the General Assembly resolutions and declarations. Article 53 states that proposals shall be presented in the four official languages. The Rules of Procedure and Statutes of other bodies, such as the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI), the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI), technical bodies of the OAS, also mention the four official languages in which their meetings are to be conducted. Policy is therefore dictated through these instruments that require use of the four official languages at meetings.[7]

Although a number of other languages have official status in one or more member states of OAS (Dutch in Suriname, Haitian Creole in Haiti, Quechua and Aymara in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, Guarani in Paraguay), they are not official languages of the Organization.

References

  1. Coordinates of OAS headquarters:
  2. Canada and the Organization of American States (OAS), Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), 2005.
  3. Canada and the Organization of American States by Dr. Ludwil J. Kos-Rabcewicz-Zubkowski, Air University Review, September-October 1967.
  4. Time Magazine, 22 August 1960; Castro admits problems in education, Siempre (newspaper), Mexico City, 1972.
  5. Department of International Affairs
  6. General Assembly of the OAS, Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, June 5, 2000
  7. Marguerite Groves (Coordinator, Division of Language Services, OAS), Information on the use of language at the OAS: multilingualism, Inter-American Languages Management Seminar, Conseil supérieur de la langue française (Quebec), Quebec City, August 20 to 22, 2002

See also

External links