The U.S. and the Organization of American States

The U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States (OAS) is headed by U.S. Permanent Representative Hector E. Morales. The OAS is the premier multilateral forum in the Western Hemisphere. Its 35 members are countries from North, South, and Central America, the Caribbean, and Canada. The charter of the OAS states that its basic objectives are to:

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

As a member of the OAS, the United States is committed to strengthening and working with the organization. This reflects the U.S. Government's determination to make optimal use of multilateral diplomacy to resolve regional problems and to engage its neighbors on topics of hemispheric concern.

37th General Assembly of the Organization of American States
Secretary Rice traveled to Panama to lead the U.S. delegation at the 37th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS). The theme of this year's General Assembly was “Energy for Sustainable Development.” The Secretary had several bilateral meetings while at the General Assembly. More on the Secretary's trip

OAS/African Union Democracy Bridge Forum
Secretary Rice: "Our challenge now is to use our democratic partnership, Americans and Africans together, to deliver the benefits of democracy to our people." full text

Under Secretary Dobriansky: "...this OAS-AU Democracy Bridge grew out of the last CD [Community of Democracies] Ministerial, in Santiago. At that meeting, we pledged to strengthen democracy through cooperation at a regional level and between different regions. Today's gathering...shows the centrality of countries from the Western Hemisphere and Africa to the CD process, both in terms of the leadership you continue to provide and the opportunities for real, constructive results that the CD affords." full text

Inter-American Democratic Charter
Fifth Anniversary of the Adoption of the Charter
Ambassador Maisto: "The Democratic Charter clearly states, in its first article, that democracy is essential for the social, political, and economic development of the Americas." full text | Charter text