THE Organization of American States (OAS) is a regional organization officially created in 1948, with Washington headquarters, in the United States. It currently comprises 35 countries, including Brazil. In its entire history, only two members have gone through the suspension process: Cuba and Honduras, who are now once again part of the organization's staff.
Between the objectives of the OAS are the cooperation among its members, the consolidation and promotion of representative democracy, as well as the development of the member countries, and the guarantee of sovereignty, peace and justice among the American States, as described in the OAS Charter. For this, it rests on four pillars:
democracy;
Human rights;
safety;
development.
Read too: Mercosur – important economic bloc in South America
Who is part of the OAS?
The Organization of American States is currently formed by 35 nations, which are listed alphabetically in the table below.
Member countries of the Organization of American States | ||||
Antigua and Barbuda |
Canada |
Ecuador |
Jamaica |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Argentina |
Chile |
U.S |
Mexico |
Saint Lucia |
Bahamas |
Colombia |
Grenade |
Nicaragua |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Barbados |
Costa Rica |
Guatemala |
Panama |
Suriname |
Belize |
Cuba |
Guyana |
Paraguay |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Bolivia |
Dominica |
Haiti |
Peru |
Uruguay |
Brazil |
El Salvador |
Honduras |
Dominican Republic |
Venezuela |
It should be noted that Cuba, which today is part of the organization's staff, has been suspended of the OAS on January 31, 1962, as a result of the adoption of the communist regime by the country after the Cuban revolution (1959) and the consequent pressure imposed by the United States for its withdrawal. The Central American country had its suspension revoked on June 3, 2009.
In the same year that Cuba rejoined the OAS, another country of Central America Suspended: Honduras. The reason was the coup d'état that removed then President Manuel Zelaya from power. The country was readmitted to the OAS in 2011, upon Zelaya's return to Honduran territory, from which he had been expelled in 2009.
In 2017, Nicolás Maduro announced Venezuela's withdrawal from the OAS, and the organization approved, the following year, a resolution to suspend the country. However, in 2019, Venezuela's withdrawal from the OAS was cancelled.
The OAS also has nations of others continents, who perform the function of Permanent Observers.
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What is the role of the OAS?
As established by the Charter of the Organization of American States, a document dating from 1948, the OAS has various assignments, ranging from guaranteeing the national sovereignty of countries and promoting democracy to mediating possible conflicts of different natures among its members. In order to fulfill its objectives, the OAS is supported by four pillars: a democracy, Human Rights, Security and Development.
In this sense, eight essential purposes in Article 2 of the OAS Charter|1|:
guaranteeing peace and security on the continent;
promotion and consolidation of representative democracy;
solving impasses between members and preventing causes of difficulties that may arise between them;
organization of solidarity action by member countries in case of aggression;
solution of political, legal and economic problems among its members;
promoting economic, cultural and social development through cooperation;
eradication of critical poverty, considered an obstacle to democratic development;
scope of effective limitation of conventional weapons for the dedication of resources to the economic and social development of the Member States.
It is noteworthy that the OAS may send, at the request of its members, electoral observation missions for the purpose of monitor the conditions under which elections are held. in the states. At the end, a report with data and information about the process is prepared and disseminated, also containing comments about the elections, criticisms and, when necessary, recommendations.
![The OAS promotes election follow-up through Election Observation Missions, carried out at the request of member countries. [1]](/f/52cc3e5a37d41e5fbab0e931725adb6c.jpg)
The weightings are made by the representatives of the OAS, in view of the objective of guaranteeing free and fair elections. However, they are not exempt from criticism and challenges, as was the case with the 2019 elections in Bolivia and the troubled electoral process that took place in the United States in the second half of 2020.
See too: How are presidential elections conducted in the United States?
OAS history
The OAS was founded on April 30, 1948, in Bogotá, capital of Colombia, within the framework of the Ninth International American Conference. At the time, 21 countries on the continent signed the Charter of the Organization of American States, which established the main guidelines to be followed by its members and its way of acting as an organism regional. the official document entered into force in the year 1951. The OAS headquarters are in the US capital, Washington.
The first meeting of the countries of the American continent took place much earlier, between October 1889 and April of 1890, in Washington, USA. In this conference, in which 18 States participated, the International Union of American Republics.
The international conferences, which did not have a certain frequency, gave place to the General Assembly in 1970, becoming annual. The first session of the OAS General Assembly brought together 22 countries in 1971.
It is noteworthy that two years earlier, in 1969, OAS members established the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), also referred to as the Pact of San José, Costa Rica, during the Inter-American Specialized Conference on Human Rights. The treaty entered into force in July 1978 and is one of the most important documents aimed at guaranteeing and respecting Human Rights.
In 2011, member countries of the OAS signsfrogm the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which aims to promote and defend representative democracy, describing it as essential for the political, economic and social development of nations|2|.
OAS Structure
The OAS is made up of the following bodies.
general meeting: main organ of the OAS and that promotes annual meetings in which representatives of the member states as well as permanent observers are present.
Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs: described as a consultative body and also responsible for resolving urgent issues of common interest.
two pieces of advice: Permanent and Inter-American Integral Development.
two commissions: Inter-American Juridical Committee and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The organization is also made up of specialized organizations and conferences dedicated to more specific issues.
The bodies deal with matters such as health policies, childhood, women's rights and gender equity, research in the fields of geography and history, and agricultural cooperation. Conferences, in turn, are meetings defined by one of the other bodies or by their own determination.
OAS symbol
The OAS symbol is formed by a white circle, inside which are represented all the flags of the 35 countries that are currently part of the organization.
The organization's logo bears, in addition to its name, its motto: “More rights for more people”.
solved exercises
Question 1 - (Fuvest 2010) The Organization of American States (OAS) revoked, by means of a Resolution of 03/06/2009, the decision, taken in 1962, which excluded Cuba from that organization. In relation to this topic, it is correct to state that:
A) The member countries imposed, as a condition for Cuba's return to the OAS, compliance with the agreement to close the Guantanamo prison.
B) Cuba's return to the OAS must result from a process of dialogue at the request of the Cuban government itself.
C) the current OAS decision was criticized by countries in South America that are not part of this organization, such as Venezuela and Bolivia.
D) Brazil did not participate in the OAS decision, in June 2009, remaining aloof from the process of dialogue and negotiation with Cuba.
E) the US withdrew from the process of discussing the aforementioned resolution for disagreeing with Cuba's readmission to the OAS.
Resolution
Alternative B. The repeal of Cuba's suspension from the OAS, decided by the then 34 countries of the organization, was one of the first steps in a period that extends to the present in Cuba's reintegration into the political arena International. In 2014, the Central American country participated in the Summit of the Americas, promoted by the OAS, a year that also marked the resumption of dialogue between Cuba and the United States.
Question 2 - The Organization of American States (OAS) is a regional body made up of 35 countries on the continent. Its foundation dates back to 1948, when member countries signed the OAS Charter, a document that establishes the main objectives of this organization.
Check which alternative does not correspond to the objectives described in the document below:
A) development of member countries.
B) cooperation in the political, economic and social spheres among the American States.
C) regulation of a free trade zone that integrates member countries.
D) defense and guarantee of representative democracy.
E) peaceful solution of impasses between member countries.
Resolution
Alternative C. Although the OAS values economic cooperation as essential for the development of its member states, the creation of a free trade zone is not part of the organization's purposes.
Grades
|1| Text (topics) adapted from the official document: Charter of the Organization of American States (A-41). Available on here.
|2| Inter-American Democratic Charter. Available on here.
Image credit
[1] Joa Souza / Shutterstock
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography teacher
