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BACKGROUND NOTES:  ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

August 1993

Official Name:  Organization of American States

PROFILE
Headquarters:  Washington, D.C.

Established:  April 14, 1890, as the "International Union of
American Republics."  Became the Pan American Union in 1910, then
the Organization of American States in 1948 with the adoption of
the OAS Charter in Bogota, Colombia.

Purposes:  To strengthen peace and security in the hemisphere,
promote representative democracy, ensure the peaceful settlement
of disputes among members, provide for common action in the event
of aggression, and to promote economic, social, and cultural
development.

Members:  35--Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, The Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and
Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela1.

_________________
1With the entry of Canada (1990), Belize (1991), and Guyana
(1991), all sovereign states of the Western Hemisphere are OAS
members.  Cuba is a member, although its present government has
been excluded from participation since 1962 for incompatibility
with the principles of the OAS Charter.

Permanent Observers:  30--Algeria, Angola, Austria, Belgium,
Cyprus, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, European Community, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, the Holy See, Hungary, India, Israel,
Italy, Japan,  Korea, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Russia,  Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, and
Tunisia.

Official Languages:  English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Principal Organs:  General Assembly; Meeting of Consultation of
Foreign Ministers; Permanent Council; Inter-American Economic and
Social Council; Inter-American Council for Education, Science,
and Culture; Inter-American Juridical Committee; Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights; and the General Secretariat.

Specialized Organizations:  Inter-American Commission of Women
(CIM); Inter-American Children's Institute )IACI); Inter-American
Indian Institute (IAII); Pan American Institute of Geography and
History (PIAGH), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA); and the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO).

Other Entities:  Inter-American Court of Human Rights;
Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD);
Inter-American Defense Board; Inter-American Defense College;
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and the Pan American
Development Foundation (PADF).

Budget (1993):  Regular fund (operations): $64 million, financed
by assessed contributions from all members.  The U.S. share,
originally 66%, will drop to 59% by 1994.  Voluntary funds
(technical cooperation and assistance): $23 million, financed by
contributions from all member states (the U.S. provided $11
million), some permanent observers, international financial
institutions, and development agencies.


HISTORY
The Organization of American States, the oldest international
organization in the world, traces its origins to the Congress of
Panama, convoked by Simon Bolivar in 1826 and attended by
representatives from Central and South America.  That Congress
drafted a "Treaty of Perpetual Union, League and Confederation,"
signed by the delegates but ratified only by Gran Colombia
(today's Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela).

Hemispheric countries continued the discussion of an
inter-American system, and the first concrete step was taken in
1889, when the First International Conference of American States
convened in Washington, D.C.  Delegates agreed to create, on
April 14, 1890, the International Union of American Republics,
"for the prompt collection and distribution of commercial
information."  The agreement also established the Commercial
Bureau of the American Republics in Washington as the Union's
secretariat, with the participation of 18 Western Hemisphere
nations, including the United States.  In 1910, the Commercial
Bureau became the Pan American Union, and American philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie donated $5 million to construct a permanent
headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Despite progress toward regional solidarity, it became clear that
unilateral action could not ensure the territorial integrity of
the American nations in the event of extra-continental
aggression, such as occurred in World War II.  To meet the
challenges of global conflict in the post-war world, nations of
the hemisphere adopted a system of collective security, the
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty)
signed in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro.  This served as a model for the
1948 North Atlantic Treaty.

The OAS Charter was adopted at the Ninth International Conference
of American states in Bogota, Colombia, in 1948.  It reaffirmed
the fundamental rights and duties of states, proclaimed the goals
of the new organization, and established its organs and agencies.
That conference also approved the American Treaty on Pacific
Settlement (Pact of Bogota) and the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man.  The OAS Charter proclaims it to be a
regional agency within the UN system.

Concern over slow economic development led the United States and
19 other OAS members to establish the Inter-American Development
Bank in 1959.  This reflected concern that the World Bank (which
included Latin American countries in its list of eligible
borrowers) was preoccupied with infrastructure and not
sufficiently attuned to the need for "social" lending as well as
industrial and agricultural aid.  In 1960, an OAS "Committee of
21" produced the Act of Bogota, which called for a
hemisphere-wide commitment to economic and social development.
That set the stage for OAS support for the Alliance for Progress.

The 1948 OAS Charter has been amended twice:  by the 1967
Protocol of Buenos Aires, which went into effect in February 1970
and by the 1985 Protocol of Cartagena, which took effect in
November 1988.  Further amendments, incorporated in the Protocol
of Washington (December 1992) and the Protocol of Managua (June
1993), have not yet taken effect.

The first protocol created the annual General Assembly and gave
equal status to the Permanent Council, the Economic and Social
Council, and the Council for Education, Science, and Culture.
The second group of amendments strengthened the role of the
Secretary General, provided procedures for facilitating peaceful
settlement of disputes, removed obstacles to the entry of Belize
and Guyana, and called for strengthening economic and social
development by measures to increase trade, enhance international
financial cooperation, diversify exports, and promote export
opportunities.

The third set of  amendments (Washington Protocol), when ratified
by two-thirds of the member states, will add a new article
permitting the suspension of a member whose democratically
constituted government was overthrown by force.  It will also
amend existing articles to include the eradication of extreme
poverty as one of the organization's essential purposes.  The
fourth set of amendments, when ratified, will create an
Inter-American Council for Integral Development to replace the
Economic and Social Council and the Council for Education,
Science, and Culture.  The new council is intended to improve
delivery of technical cooperation, thereby helping eliminate
extreme poverty.

The basic objectives of the OAS, as laid out in its charter, are
to strengthen peace and security; to promote the effective
exercise of representative democracy; to ensure the peaceful
settlement of disputes among members; to provide for common
action in the event of aggression; to seek solutions to
political, juridical, and economic problems that may arise; to
promote by cooperative action, economic, social, educational,
scientific, and cultural development; and to limit conventional
weapons so as to devote greater resources to economic and social
development.

Peace and democracy are thus core OAS concerns.  To demonstrate
their importance, OAS election observers traveled to Nicaragua in
1989-90, to Haiti in 1990-91, to El Salvador, Paraguay, and
Suriname in 1991, to Peru in 1992-93, and to Paraguay in 1993.
In  Nicaragua, the OAS took primary responsibility for the
voluntary repatriation and resettlement of the former Nicaraguan
Resistance, in accordance with the terms of the verification
commission established by Central American presidents.  OAS
contributions in the fields of international law, juridical
cooperation, legal development, and facilitation of regional
trade have been substantial and have provided the basis for
effective observance of a host of regional treaties concluded
since 1889.

As it enters its second century, the OAS has deepened its efforts
to promote and consolidate democracy.  The  Democracy Development
Unit and highly successful election observation missions set the
stage for broadened human rights work, a regional program to
fight drug abuse and trafficking, and the first hemisphere-wide
environmental action plan.  The OAS is also playing a supportive
role in trade expansion and hemispheric development.

U.S. Policy Toward the OAS
The U.S. is committed to the OAS as the pre-eminent hemispheric
institution.  This reflects the U.S. Government's determination
to make optimal use of multilateral diplomacy to resolve regional
problems and to engage our neighbors on topics of hemispheric
concern.  President-elect Clinton told the Washington diplomatic
corps on January 18, 1993:

My administration's foreign policy will be rooted in the
democratic principles  and institutions which unite our own
country and to which so many now around the world aspire:
Democracies do not wage war against one another; they make better
partners in trade and diplomacy; and, despite their inherent
problems, they offer the best guarantee for the protection of
human rights.  As President, I will work closely with the
international community to resolve contentious disputes and to
meet the challenges of the next century.

The most elemental and historic U.S. interest in the Western
Hemisphere--shared by virtually all hemisphere states--is to
prevent military, political, or other intervention by states
outside the hemisphere.  A second fundamental interest shared by
the U.S. and other nations is the maintenance of peace among the
states of the hemisphere.  The OAS provides a means to promote
the consolidation of democracy with due regard for the charter
principle of non-intervention.

All OAS members share a common concern for democracy, economic
development, and human rights.  Major U.S. interests and
objectives in the hemisphere coincide with the goals and work of
the OAS:  the promotion and strengthening of democracy and human
rights, drug control, environmental protection, legal
development, economic assistance and technical cooperation,
trade, and economic integration and development.

Deputy Secretary of State Clifton R. Wharton, delivering
Secretary Christopher's May 3 address to the Council of the
Americas, said:

The Organization of American States, like no other international
body, has taken on a formal collective responsibility to defend
the right of all Americans to be governed by the representatives
they freely elect.  The OAS remains the premier forum in the
Americas for dialogue and inter-American cooperation.

Since  1990, the U.S. has paid its full assessed quota to the
OAS.  For FY 1994, the Administration seeks not only full funding
of the U.S. quota assessment to the OAS but also funds to
continue  paying  the balance of U.S. arrears.


OAS AND U.S. OFFICIALS
Secretary General:  Joao Clemente Baena Soares (Brazil), elected
to second 5-year term in 1990.
Assistant Secretary General:  Christopher R. Thomas (Trinidad and
Tobago), elected to 5-year term in 1990.

Address:  Organization of American States, 17th St. and
Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006.  Tel. (202)
458-3000.

U.S. Permanent Representative to the OAS:  Ambassador Harriet C.
Babbitt sworn in April 12, 1993.

Address:  U.S. Permanent Mission to the OAS, ARA/USOAS, Rm. 6494,
U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520.  Tel. (202)
647-9376.


STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY
In his confirmation hearings, Secretary Christopher noted that:

Nowhere has the march against dictators and toward democracy been
more dramatic than in our own hemisphere. . . . We also need to
make the Organization of American States a more effective forum
for addressing our region's problems.  In Haiti, we strongly
support the international effort by the UN and the OAS to restore
democracy.

The 1991 General Assembly created an unprecedented automatic
mechanism, known as Resolution 1080, to deter illegal action
against democratically elected governments.  The resolution
authorizes the Secretary General to convene the Permanent Council
and then hemispheric foreign ministers within 10 days after a
coup or other interruption of a legitimate, elected government.

This was followed by the December 1992 adoption of a charter
amendment which, when it takes effect upon ratification by
two-thirds of the OAS members, allows for suspension from
participation in OAS policy bodies of any member country in which
a democratically elected government is overthrown by force.

OAS monitoring of the election process in Nicaragua contributed
decisively to the outcome of the February 1990 elections and
enhanced the prospects for a just and lasting peace in Central
America.  While the OAS, at the request of the host government
concerned, has sent small teams of elections observers throughout
the hemisphere, the magnitude and scope of the mission in
Nicaragua--433 observers and an OAS presence 6 months before the
elections and for weeks afterward--suggested the need to
institutionalize OAS support for democracy.

To develop lessons learned in these observations, the OAS set up
a  democracy unit in the OAS Secretariat.  Although its resources
are limited, the unit has made an enviable start toward building
peace and democracy in some of the region's most difficult
circumstances.  For election observation, the OAS creates an
infrastructure which provides communications, housing,
transportation, data-handling capabilities, and a parallel voting
tabulation system, with observers in all election districts.
This network also serves observers sent by the UN and other
groups.

In El Salvador's March 1991 assembly elections, the UN declined
to send observers because of its mediating role, and the OAS was
the only inter- governmental organization present.  OAS officers
worked with the electoral commission and the competing political
parties to prepare the elections, and 160 observers from OAS
member states helped assure equitable treatment  for  all.

The day after Peruvian President Fujimori's April 5, 1992,
announcement  of extra-constitutional measures, the OAS Permanent
Council called for the immediate "reinstatement of democratic
institutions and respect for human rights under the rule of law."
In the second use of the anti-coup mechanism, the hemisphere's
foreign ministers met April 13, 1992, called for the
reestablishment of democratic institutional order in Peru, and
asked the Secretary General to head a small mission of foreign
ministers to travel to Peru to bring about a dialogue between the
authorities and the other political forces in that country.

In May 1992, President Fujimori traveled to Nassau, Bahamas, to
attend the second session of the OAS foreign ministers meeting on
Peru, where he told them he would call elections for  a
constituent congress to exercise legislative powers and to draft
a new constitution.  The OAS sent over 200 observers to monitor
those elections, held November 22, as well as a small team for
the municipal elections on January 29, 1993.  The OAS closely
monitored the elections and, although there were occasional
irregularities as well as some violence aimed at disrupting the
electoral process, they were considered generally free and fair.
Following election of the constituent congress and in view of
expected continued OAS assistance to modernize electoral
procedures in Peru, OAS Foreign Ministers decided in December
1992 to close their meeting on Peru.

In the third use of the anti-coup mechanism, a May 26, 1993,
Permanent Council session convoked an ad hoc meeting of foreign
ministers  (MFM) on Guatemala in Washington on June 3, in
response to then-President Serrano's suspension of constitutional
democracy on May 25.  The MFM strongly condemned Serrano's
actions, called for the immediate re-establishment of
constitutional democracy in Guatemala, and sent Secretary General
Baena Soares to Guatemala.  The MFM was to reconvene in Managua
on June 7 to consider what further action to take.  Instead,
Baena Soares reported on the Guatemalan Congress's election of
Ramiro de Leon Carpio as President, replacing Serrano.  President
de Leon flew to Managua June 8 to address the General Assembly to
express appreciation for the forthright OAS action that had been
a major factor in bringing about the prompt restoration  of
constitutional democracy in Guatemala.


PEACE-KEEPING  AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Peaceful settlement of disputes is central to the OAS under its
own mandate and is consistent with the UN Charter.  In border
conflict situations, beyond actual intervention, the very
existence of the OAS and the possibility that it might take
action tends to have a chilling effect on any unilateral resort
to force.  For example,

--  In 1981, Peru and Ecuador announced a cessation of their
border conflict at an OAS meeting convened for the purpose of
considering that conflict;

--  In 1988, a naval incident between Colombia and Venezuela was
defused following a public appeal by the OAS Secretary General
and special sessions of the Permanent Council; and

--  In 1989, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago died in a shooting
incident between a Trinidadian fishing trawler and a Venezuelan
National Guard patrol boat.  At the request of the two
governments, the OAS Secretary General appointed three experts,
whose recom-mendations led to a solution accepted by both sides.

In the 1960s and 1970s, OAS peace-keeping took several forms:

--  In 1964, in response to proof of Cuban support for
revolutionary groups in Venezuela, the OAS voted that members
should break diplomatic relations with Cuba;

--  In the Dominican Republic in May 1965, the OAS played the
central peace-keeping role, creating an Inter-American peace
force for the first time.  After successful elections in June
1966, the force was withdrawn;

--  The OAS provided the framework and impetus for  resolution of
a 1969 border conflict (called the "Soccer War") between Honduras
and El Salvador, including border-inspection forces in 1969-70
and for the 4 years following a recurrence of tensions in 1976;
and

--  In 1978, the OAS responded to Costa Rican allegations of
border violations by Nicaragua by creating a committee of
civilian observers to monitor the border.  In 1978, the OAS also
sought to arrange the peaceful departure of dictator Anastasio
Somoza from Nicaragua and his replacement by a democratic
government, but the effort failed in the face of Somoza's
determination to stay in power.  The following year, however, as
armed resistance against Somoza mounted, an OAS resolution called
for replacement of the Somoza regime by a democratic government.

Panama
Although the OAS did not obtain Manuel Noriega's departure from
power after the general annulled Panama's May 1989 elections, a
meeting of foreign ministers did provide a forum in which member
governments voiced their collective concerns.  Three months
later, the Permanent Council heard Acting U.S. Secretary of State
Lawrence Eagleburger's detailed account of Noriega's
anti-democratic activities and intimidation of the population.
That statement, along with a sharply critical report by the
Inter-American Commission on Human rights characterizing the
Noriega regime as "devoid of constitutional legitimacy,"
contributed to the international isolation of the Noriega regime
prior to its removal in December 1989.

Nicaragua
During the tense pre-election period in 1989, OAS monitoring in
Nicaragua contributed decisively to the fairness of the February
25, 1990, elections.  The presence of impartial OAS observers
gave voters confidence and made it impossible for the results to
be ignored.

The success of the OAS observation program was due to a number of
factors, including the trust extended it by the people of
Nicaragua, the high standards of the technical infrastructure the
OAS put in place with support from other members of the OAS
family of organizations--the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA)--and the support of OAS member states in
providing observers, technical experts, and advisers.  The United
States contributed $3.5 million and technical advice.  Members of
the U.S. Congress joined legislators from other hemisphere
countries as observers.

In response to requests from incoming President Violeta Chamorro
and outgoing President Daniel Ortega, Secretary General Baena
Soares kept OAS observers in Nicaragua after the election.
Meanwhile, he and UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar
negotiated terms of reference for their organizations to
implement the joint verification and support commission (CIAV)
called for by the Central American presidents to verify
compliance with the Tela and subsequent agreements.  Under CIAV
auspices, the OAS stayed on to assist 23,000 former combatants
(with about 70,000 dependents) and to protect their human rights.
All sides often call upon OAS representatives to resolve local
disputes.

In 1992, more than 1,230 families received materials and
technical support from OAS-CIAV to construct their own small
houses, and about 40 communities received help in building
one-room schools.  In response to a Nicaraguan Government
request, the June 1993 General Assembly extended OAS-CIAV
activities for 2 more years and expanded its mandate to include
displaced persons and former members of the Nicaraguan army.

Haiti
The OAS has been deeply engaged in seeking a peaceful solution to
the crisis in Haiti since the September 30, 1991, coup that sent
President Aristide into exile.  In the first application of the
anti-coup mechanism adopted in June 1991, OAS Foreign Ministers
met on October 2 and 8, 1991, and called for the political and
economic isolation of the de facto regime.  The ministers asked
Secretary General Baena Soares to lead what became several
high-level missions to Haiti to bring both sides together in a
dialogue to resolve the crisis.

One such round of talks produced the February 23, 1992,
Washington Protocol that recognized the legitimacy of President
Aristide and called for the deployment of an OAS presence in
Haiti. That protocol was never ratified by the Haitian Parliament
but provided the basis for another round of talks in September
1992, which resulted in agreement for the deployment of a small
OAS civilian presence in Haiti.  This small mission demonstrated
the importance of international observers  to help guarantee
human rights and improve the climate for negotiation.

That presence was greatly expanded when former Argentine Foreign
Minister Dante Caputo, serving as a special envoy of both the OAS
and UN Secretaries  General,  attained agreement for a joint
OAS/UN international  civilian mission.  Since January 1993, the
OAS has deployed over 100 observers throughout Haiti, with
permanent offices in each of Haiti's nine provinces.  They,
together with a small number of UN observers, monitor human
rights conditions, and report any incidents.  Their very presence
has had the effect of easing tensions.  The OAS and the UN are
also cooperating to implement a joint plan to strengthen
democracy in Haiti once a political solution is reach.


HUMAN RIGHTS:  THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION
Located in Washington, D.C., the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR) is distinguished from other multilateral
organizations' human rights entities by its political autonomy.
Its seven commission members are elected in their own right, not
as representatives of governments.  IACHR autonomy is further
enhanced by its prerogative to initiate human rights
investigations without the approval of the Secretary General or
the Permanent Council.

Human rights in the inter-American system are based on the 1948
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the 1969
American Convention on Human Rights.  The United States signed
the American Convention on Human Rights in 1977; ratification is
under study.

The IACHR and Inter-American Court of Human Rights--located in
San Jose, Costa Rica--give the OAS an active and at times
forceful role in promoting and protecting human rights.  Through
both private persuasion and published reports on human rights
infringements, the IACHR has been instrumental in improving OAS
members' human rights practices and has helped to resolve
conflicts.

The IACHR's annual report has chapters on human rights problems
in general, individual cases, and country status reports.  The
IACHR also publishes special reports, which have been effective
in challenging abuses in specific countries.  For example, its
1983 special report on human rights abuses in Cuba is the most
comprehensive of any private or international monitoring agency.
The IACHR played a key role in the 1989 release of almost 2,000
political prisoners held by the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua.

The IACHR's membership as of January 1993 is:  Dr. Oscar  Lujan
Fappiano (Argentina);  Dr. Patrick L. Robinson (Jamaica); Dr. Leo
Valladares Lanza (Honduras);  Alvaro Tirado Mejia (Colombia); Dr.
Marco Tulio Bruni Celli (Venezuela); Dr. Oliver H. Jackman
(Barbados); and Prof. W. Michael Reisman (USA).  In January 1994,
Dr. Bruni Celli and Dr. Jackman will be replaced by Dr. Claudio
Grossman (Chile) and John Donaldson (Trinidad and Tobago).


FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE AND TRAFFICKING
The OAS narcotics program was launched at the first Western
Hemisphere meeting to deal with all aspects of the drug
problem--the Inter-American Specialized Conference on Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs, held in  April 1986.  In accordance with the
program of action adopted at that meeting, the OAS General
Assembly in November 1986 created the Inter-American Drug Abuse
Control Commission (CICAD), which meets twice a year to direct
the program and assess the drug situation in the hemisphere.
Originally composed of 11 member governments, the commission has
been expanded to 24 because of growing interest in the program
and concern for the drug problem.

The first projects were implemented in 1988.  The program has
identified five priority lines of action:  Legal development for
domestic and international law, education for prevention,
mobilization of the private sector, establishment of an
inter-American drug information system, and training.

Secretary Christopher's May 3 speech emphasized that the United
States "will work in partnership with the governments of this
region to fight narcotraffickers, whose corruption and violence
threaten the survival of democratic institutions.  We will work
with the OAS to create a common legal framework for action."

The OAS program has produced notable results:

--  At the April 1990 Ministerial Meeting on Narcotics in Ixtapa,
Mexico, top officials from throughout the hemisphere, including
the U.S. Attorney General, took several actions in the area of
legal development,  including approval of model regulations on
the control of precursor and essential chemicals.

--  The 1992 OAS General Assembly approved model regulations on
money laundering and asset forfeiture.  The OAS is carrying out
training programs to help governments adopt and implement these
regulations as well as the 1990 regulations on precursor
chemicals.

--  Under a hemisphere Plan of Action for cooperation in drug
abuse prevention education approved in June 1990, Central
American governments are already implementing a regional program
with OAS technical support, and the Andean countries are planning
theirs.

--  CICAD's efforts to mobilize private groups and community
organizations were boosted by the first multi-lateral
teleconference on public and private sector cooperation for drug
abuse prevention in 1990, and a multi-sector conference on
successful strategies for mass media campaigns in 1991.


PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
For 25 years, the OAS has actively assisted member states to
incorporate environmental considerations into development
projects.  International development institutions have recognized
the organization's in-house expertise and leadership role, and a
number of these institutions have undertaken cooperative
initiatives with the OAS or contracted the OAS to serve as an
executing agency for their environmental projects.

During the 1960s, OAS technical services concentrated on the
survey, evaluation, and development of natural resources.  In the
1970s, the scope was expanded to include the principal components
of regional development such as socio-economic analysis,
preparation of regional strategies for development, project
formulation, environmental management, and institutional
development.  In the 1980s, special emphasis was placed upon
multinational projects involving the management and conservation
of natural resources, preservation of tourism areas and national
parks, development of river basins and border regions, and
mitiga-tion of natural hazards.

The 1991 General Assembly approved the first hemispheric program
of action for environmental protection.  It provides a
non-binding framework that identifies objectives and recommends
specific measures to member states for regional cooperation.


ORGANIZATION
The General Secretariat is the permanent and central organ of the
OAS, executing programs and  policies decided upon by the General
Assembly and the three councils.  Directed by the Secretary
General, it occupies a key position within the  inter-American
system and serves the entire organization and all member states.
The Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General are
elected by the General Assembly for 5-year terms.  They can be
re-elected only once and cannot be succeeded by a person of the
same nationality.

Senior secretariat officials appointed by the  Secretary General
include the executive secretaries of CIES, CIECC (see below), and
the drug abuse control commission (CICAD), the legal adviser, the
assistant secretary for management, and the executive director of
the human rights commission.  Secretariat personnel conduct the
activities of the Democracy Development Unit and serve as the
staff for the commissions, councils, and other bodies.

The staff of the general secretariat is composed of personnel
chosen mainly from the member states, with consideration given to
geographic representation.  Staff members, numbering about 700,
selected on the basis of competence, experience, and integrity,
are considered international civil servants.  The OAS Secretariat
also maintains a small office  in each member state.

The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the OAS.  It holds a
regular session each year, either in one of the member states or
at headquarters in Washington, D.C.  In special circumstances,
and with the approval of two-thirds of the member states, the
Permanent Council can convoke a special session of the General
Assembly.  Delegations are usually headed by foreign ministers.
In addition to deliberating on current issues, the General
Assembly approves the program and budget; sets the bases for
fixing member-state quota assessments; establishes measures for
coordinating the activities of the organs, agencies, and entities
of the OAS; and determines the general standards that govern the
operation of the General Secretariat.  General Assembly decisions
usually take the form of resolutions, which must be approved by a
majority vote of all members (two-thirds for agenda, budget, and
certain other questions).

A Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs can be
called by any member state, either "to consider problems of an
urgent nature and of common interest to the American States" (OAS
Charter) or to serve as an organ of consultation in cases of
armed attack or other threats to international peace and security
(Rio Treaty).  In either case, the request must be directed to
the Permanent Council of the OAS, which decides by absolute
majority vote if the meeting is to be called.  In cases between
member states, the affected parties are excluded from voting.
Should an armed attack take place within the territory of an
American state or within the Western Hemisphere security zone
defined by the Rio Treaty, a meeting of consultation is held
without delay.  Until the ministers of foreign affairs can
assemble, the Permanent Council is empowered to act as a
provisional organ of consultation and make decisions.  The most
recent meeting of consultation was held June 3, 1993, in response
to then-President Serrano's actions in Guatemala; it was closed
on June 7, following the constitutional election of a new
president.

The Permanent Council, composed of ambassadors representing each
member state, usually meets every 2 weeks throughout the year in
Washington, D.C.  The council, its four standing committees, and
special working groups conduct the day-to-day business of the
OAS, which involves implementing mandates from the General
Assemblies, designing and assessing activities to promote
democracy and strengthen human rights, considering requests from
members, debating and approving resolutions on current issues,
and dealing with reports from subsidiary organs.

In an emergency, a special session of the council can be called
immediately by its chairman or at the request of any member.  The
chair rotates every 3 months, in alphabetical order.  Unlike the
UN Security Council, no member can exercise a veto in the
Permanent Council.  Many OAS members place great importance upon
obtaining consensus before decisions are made; thus council
sessions are often delayed by behind-the-scenes negotiations over
the precise content of decisions.  The Permanent Council also
serves provi-sionally as the organ of consultation (for meetings
of foreign ministers) and every year acts as the preparatory
committee for the General Assembly.

The Inter-American Economic and Social Council (CIES)1 founded in
1945, is one of the permanent organs under provisions of the 1948
charter.   It promotes cooperation among the nations of the
Americas in pursuit of rapid economic and social development.
(Once the Protocol of Managua Charter amendments are ratified,
however, it will be merged into the Inter-American Council for
Integral Development, which will have similar responsibilities.)

The 1993 General Assembly, reflecting new economic and trade
realities in the hemisphere, as well as the organization's
increased membership, created a Special Committee on Trade, to
facilitate consultations on trade policy issues.

CIES oversees technical assistance provided to member countries
by the OAS Secretariat.  Its recent projects include improvement
of development finance administration; trade development and
facilitation; skills training; small business assistance;
development of border regions and river basins; natural resource
development and environmental management; and planning to
mitigate damage caused by natural disasters.

CIES manages the OAS trade information service known as SICE,
which uses private sector, the U.S. Agency for International
Development, and member government contributions to make trade
information available in a coherent, easy-to-use data bank.
Designed to promote economic growth through trade facilitation,
SICE consists of 13 databases, which include current trade
statistics, import tariffs, trade regulations, and lists of
potential buyers and sellers.

The Inter-American Council for Education, Science, and Culture
(CIECC)1 was established by the resolution of Maracay in 1968 to
advance regional integration and contribute to the development of
the member countries.

Starting in 1990, CIECC began to implement the new priority
multi-national projects in basic education, education for work,
materials technology, biotechnology and food, environment and
natural resources, micro-electronics and informatics,
preservation and use of cultural heritage, and cultural policies.
Apart from the multinational aspect, these projects must have a
strong training component and seek to build the infrastructure of
the country.

CIECC manages an efficient $8 million annual graduate fellowship
program.  More than 80,000 Latin American and Caribbean students
have benefited from CIECC and related fellowship programs.  The
program effectively has created a network of specialists working
in government or cooperation agencies, as well as in private
business.

_________________
1When the Protocol of Managua charter amendments are ratified,
the Inter-American Economic and Social Council (CIES) and the
Inter-American Council for Education, Science, and Culture
(CIECC) will be replaced by a single body, the new Inter-American
Council for Integral Development.  This new Council will have
overall responsibility for coordinating all development
assistance, a move expected to improve cooperation and to attract
greater financial support from donor countries and international
development institutions.


Specialized Organizations and Other Entities
Much important inter-American business is conducted under
separate entities, some of which are independent, some fully or
partially funded by the OAS, and others  consisting simply of
periodic hemispheric meetings which receive support from the OAS
Secretariat.  Subjects covered include agriculture, labor,
copyrights, private international law, highways, ports and
harbors, railways, telecommunications, health and sanitation,
statistics, travel, child welfare, Indian affairs, and tourism.
The conferences are attended by high-level officials and
technical experts to further inter-American cooperation in these
fields.

The Inter-American Children's Institute (IACI), with headquarters
in Montevideo, Uruguay, is concerned with the problems of
mothers, adolescents, and families, including growing numbers of
"street children."  It serves as a center for social action,
programs in the fields of health, education, social legislation,
legislation on adoptions, social service, and statistics.  IACI
has contributed extensively to international jurisprudence in the
field of family law; the most recent example of this work is
model legislation on international adoption.

The Inter-American Commission on Women (CIM), established in
1928, was the first international organization focusing on
women's issues.  It works to extend the civil, political,
economic, social, and cultural rights of women in the hemisphere.
Since its founding, women have gained full political rights in
every member country.  Now concerned with women's integration
into development and decision-making processes, recent CIM
research and seminars have focused on women and politics (1988),
women and employment (1989), and violence against women (1990).
In August 1992, the CIM sponsored the Inter-American Conference
on Democracy in the Americas: Women and the Decision-Making
Process.  That meeting  focused on developing training programs
for women on strategic planning, net-working, negotiating, and
building consensus.

The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) was created during World
War II to plan and coordinate collective hemispheric defense.  It
advises the OAS on defense matters and has coordinated
peace-keeping operations.  In 1993, it arranged for training by
the U.S. Department of Defense of a team of 15 de-mining
instructors from Latin America nations, who, in turn, instruct
members of the Nicaraguan military on techniques for removing
thousands of land mines left in the countryside as a result of
civil conflict during the 1980s.

The Inter-American Defense College (IADC), supervised by the
IADB, enhances military professionalism and promotes regional
military cooperation.  The college usually trains about 60
students, most of whom are field-grade officers who attain
leadership positions in their respective services.  In 1991, the
college opened its doors for the first time to students from all
OAS member states, whether or not they are signatories of the Rio
Treaty.

Other entities in the inter-American system are financed outside
the OAS budget.  Except for the Pan American Development
Foundation, which relies heavily on private-sector contributions,
and the IDB, which has significant financial support from
non-hemispheric members, the U.S. quota assessment is, as for the
OAS itself, roughly 60%.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the first of the
regional development banks, was established in 1959 as a result
of deliberations in the OAS to provide lending attuned to the
development needs of Latin America and the Caribbean.  In
addition to nations of the hemisphere, 15 European nations plus
Japan and Israel are now members, but only Latin American and
Caribbean members are eligible borrowers.  The IDB's ordinary
capital window provides development funds at market-related
terms, while its Fund for Special Operations  offers financing
for economic or social development when lending on conventional
terms is not appropriate to conditions of the country and/or
project.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
(IICA), headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica, assists member
states in promoting rural development to advance the well-being
and progress of entire populations.   By strengthening national
agricultural institutional systems, IICA supports member state
efforts to increase agricultural productivity, employment
opportunities in rural sectors, and rural participation in
development activities.  IICA has an excellent record in
preventing the spread of threatening animal and plant diseases in
the hemisphere and in helping members develop food production.

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) is also the Western
Hemisphere arm of the UN World Health Organization (WHO).  It
works closely with member countries to coordinate hemispheric
efforts to combat disease and promote physical and mental health.
It has contributed significantly to eradicating communicable
diseases and promoting improved sanitation and health conditions
throughout the hemisphere.

The Pan American Institute for Geography and History (PAIGH)
encourages the coordination and standardization of information
and publicizing geographic, historical, cartographic, and
geophysical studies in the Americas.  Member countries receive
information and technical assistance to locate and develop their
natural resources.  It preserves and documents historical data
through research and publication.  It also facilitates
cooperative relationships between U.S. agencies and other
countries in such vital areas as aviation safety.

The Inter-American Indian Institute (IAII), headquartered in
Mexico City, initiates, coordinates, and directs research to
promote better understanding of the health, education, economic,
and social problems of Indian populations.  It provides technical
assistance for programs of Indian community development, trains
personnel in agriculture and marketing, and provides scientific
information on present-day Indians of the Americas.  It thus
serves as an excellent vehicle for cooperation among countries of
the hemisphere with substantial Indian populations.

The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is a unique
quasi-public international organization which, although it was
created by the OAS, receives more than half its financial support
largely from U.S. corporations and other private sources.  PADF
has channeled more than $100 million into development projects
that mobilize private sector support in recipient countries.  It
also coordinates disaster relief.  The PADF qualifies for
charitable donations under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section
201(c)(3).  It receives a small grant from the OAS as well as
funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development.


Department of State Publication 8874
Published by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Public
Affairs -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington, D.C.
August 1993 -- Managing Editor:  Peter A. Knecht

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