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About OAS

Formation of OAS

The Charter establishing the Organization of American States was signed in 1948 by 21 states and has now expanded to have 35 signatories. The first section outlines the principles and fundamental rights and duties of the member states. The second describes the internal structure of the organisation and lastly, the third section refers to miscellaneous matters and ratification of the Charter.

Current member states of the OAS are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vicent and the Grenadinas, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Uruguay and Venezuela. Cuba signed the charter but has been barred from participation since 1962.

Objectives

Article 1 of the Charter states the organisation was developed "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". Further, it states that the OAS is a regional agency of the United Nations.

Article 2 provides that in order to fulfil its obligations under the UN Charter, the following points must be prioritised:

a) To strengthen the peace and security of the continent;

b) To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of non-intervention;

c) To prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the Member States;

d) To provide for common action on the part of those States in the event of aggression;

e) To seek the solution of political, juridical, and economic problems that may arise among them;

f) To promote, by cooperative action, their economic, social, and cultural development;

g) To eradicate extreme poverty, which constitutes an obstacle to the full democratic development of the peoples of the hemisphere; and

h) To achieve an effective limitation of conventional weapons that will make it possible to devote the largest amount of resources to the economic and social development of the Member States.

Strengthening security has been an ongoing objective of the OAS and one that deals with a number of issues, for example the OAS co-ordinates efforts to remove landmines in the affected member states. In 2003, the member countries reviewed their security structure 'in light of new threats and priorities' and signed the Declaration on Security in the Americas . This document is examined in further detail in General Assembly Resolutions.

Organisational Structure

Article 53 of the Charter of the OAS describes the organisational structure which in brief constitutes:

a) The General Assembly;

b) The Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs;

c) The Councils;

d) The Inter-American Juridical Committee;

e) The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights;

f) The General Secretariat;

g) The Specialized Conferences; and

h) The Specialized Organizations.

The General Assembly, which meets annually and is composed of the foreign ministers, is the central arm of the Organisation as it exercises the principal powers and most importantly, it affirms the policies of the Organisation.

Also of importance is the Permanent Council, which constitutes appointed ambassadors, one from each member state, who meet more regularly at the OAS headquarters in Washington 'to guide ongoing policies and actions'. The OAS Charter additionally provides that the Permanent Council, unless otherwise stated by the General Assembly, acts as the Preparatory Committee to the latter and therefore prepares the draft agenda for each meeting. The Council also carries out some of the decisions of the GA and the Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and acts as an organ of consultation.

External Relations

The OAS maintains an 'Office of External Relations' whose role it is to build awareness and establish support for activities of the OAS. Such relations allow for the increase of information and experience sharing with other organisations and private institutions.

The Organisation entertains a lengthy list of 'permanent observers' (59 states and the EU) who may attend the public meetings of the General Assembly, the Permanent Council and of their principal committees and, when invited by the corresponding presiding officer, the closed meetings of those bodies and other specialised conferences and meetings. They may also speak at meetings if agreed by the corresponding presiding officer.

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