deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; Spanish: Organización de los Estados Americanos; Portuguese: Organização dos Estados Americanos; French: Organisation des États américains) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas.

Member states

32 states

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

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is a “multilateral regional body focused on human rights, electoral oversight, social and economic development, and security in the Western Hemisphere”, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. As of November 2023, 32 states in the Americas are OAS members.

From 1889 to the present, there has been a desire for organization and protection of the countries of the Americas. Franklin Roosevelt promoted the need for the OAS during and after World War II. It has done through ups and downs but still exists.

“In the words of Article 1 of the Charter, the goal of the member nations in creating the OAS was “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.” 

“The Organization of American States is composed of a General Secretariat, the Permanent Council, the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, and a number of committees.”

In an era when cooperation and political friendship has been challenged as well as international trade attacked, the OAS stands as an attempt to ‘get along’.

“The OAS uses a four-pronged approach to effectively implement its essential purposes. The Organization’s four main pillars––democracy, human rights, security, and development––support each other and are intertwined through political dialogue, inclusiveness, cooperation, and legal and follow-up instruments that provide the OAS with the tools to maximize its work in the Hemisphere.”

https://youtu.be/sH0Qda32IKM?si=hB7cHX_52EYAauhW