Organization of American States (OAS)

1. Organization of American States(OAS)

2. What the OAS is: • Regional organization (American nations) • Four main pillars • Democracy • Human rights • Security • Development • Cooperation between American member states on international conflicts

3. Origin of the OAS: • 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

4. Development of OAS • Assembly would: • Supervise conflicts • Interpret treaties • Deal with common dangers • Based on the Monroe Doctrine • Grew out of the Pan-American Union, 1989 • Began in 1889 with the First International Conference of American States

5. The Charter of the OAS/ Purpose Article 2 Essential 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”

6. Amendments to the Charter • Protocol of Buenos Aires (1967): • created the General Assembly • new 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)

7. Countries Involved • 35 independent countries • Includes many countries in Caribbean, Latin America, Mexico, USA and Canada

8. Membership • 2009: Honduras suspended unanimously after expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya • OAS did not recognize the de facto government as legitimate • 21 original member state • Later added Canada and newly independent Caribbean nations

9. The OAS and Cuba • Because of Cold War, excluded Cuba (1962) • Eighth meeting of Consultation, 1962 • Still a member • 2009: the U.S. supports including Cuba again • still a member, readmitted in 2009

10. Structure • General Secretariat • General Assembly • Permanent Council • Collective action: 2/3 majority vote of foreign ministers present • General Secretariat and Permanent Council in Washington D.C. • States take turns hosting the General Assembly each year

11. Headquarters of the OAS: Washington D.C.

12. 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

13. Structure • General Assembly: makes policies • Holds annual meetings with members states • Controls OAS budget • Supervises specialized organizations • Permanent Council: consultation • Ambassadors from each state • Deals with immediate disputes between states until ministers of foreign affairs can meet

14. Permanent Council Meetings

15. Specialized Organizations • 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).

16. Benefits • Resolves conflicts between countries • Done through the Permanent Council and consultation of foreign ministers • Promotes 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

17. Disadvantages of OAS • Increased U.S. interference with politics of Latin America • Debated whether the US controls the OAS

18. International Impact • Mexico’s drug trade • OAS helped research effects of legalizing marijuana on drug trade (2012) • OAS capable of addressing root causes of drug trade • Reducing drug consumption/ supply, violence and corruption

19. 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

20. Works Cited Belt, 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>.