BÖLGESEL ÖRGÜTLER

The Organization of American States (OAS) is the oldest and largest inter-state, regional organization in the world. The OAS has emerged as a result of a series of inter-state American conferences which started in the 1820s that established the Pan-American Union in 1910.

The first international conference among American states was the Panama Conference, which was organized by Simon Bolivar’s efforts in 1826. Bolivar proposed the idea of American Union.

Good Neighbor Policy

United States no longer wanted to send its military forces to fight or its battleships to threaten governments in order to keep its influence on Latin Americans. Instead, the United States tried humanitarian programs in education, health, and agriculture; cultural exchanges between citizens and students; and it rewarded local politicians who followed U.S. advice.

The aims of the OAS;

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

intervention.

To prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may

arise among the member states.

To provide for common action on the part of those states in the event of aggression.

To seek the solution of political, judicial, and economic problems that may arise among them.

To promote, by cooperative action, their economic, social, and cultural development.

To eradicate extreme poverty, which constitutes an obstacle to the full democratic development of

the peoples of the hemisphere.

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.

The General Secretariat is the permanent administrative and bureaucratic organ of the OAS. It is directed by the Secretary-General. The General Secretariat is responsible for implementing the policies set by the General Assembly and the Permanent Council

Inter-American Committee against Terrorism(CICTE)

Committee to Cooperation Programs of the Inter-American System

Board of External Auditions

Administrative Tribunal

Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR)

Inter-American Drug abuse Control Commission (CICAD)

OAS Retirement and pension committee

The General Assembly is composed of 34 member countries’ delegations. Each member state has one vote. Normally, decisions are taken by the absolute majority vote.

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez was the secretary general of United States between 15 October 2004 – 26 May 2005.

The Union of South American Nations was established on 8 December 2004 with the Cusco Declaration (Peru) signed by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela in order to develop regional integration efforts in South America under a single roof.

Néstor Kirchner was the UNASUR Secretary General of Argentina between 4 May 2010 - 27 October 2010.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the military-political regional alliance uniting most of the countries of Europe, the United States, and Canada.

Generally, regional cooperations develop between neighboring countries that have
geographical and historical ties. Economic, political and military close cooperation can also provide solidarity against the outside world and a more effectiveness in international politics.

The Organization of American States (OAS) is the oldest and largest inter-state, regional organization in the world. The OAS has emerged as a result of a series
of inter-state American conferences which started in the 1820s that established the Pan-American Union in 1910.

American States were represented in PanAmerican Union until 1948. From its foundation to WWII, the Union organized many conferences about international law, copyrights and trademark registration, credits used by foreigners, unfair commercial practices, cultural issues and social problems.

The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the OAS. Each member state is represented in the General Assembly. General Assembly is the democratic body of the OAS. To establish measures for coordinating the activities of the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization among themselves, and such activities with those of the other institutions of the interAmerican system

The General Secretariat is the permanent administrative and bureaucratic organ of the
OAS. It is directed by the Secretary-General. The General Secretariat is responsible for implementing the policies set by the General Assembly and the Permanent Council.

Luis Almagro Uruguay 26 May 2015 - present

The OAS deals with democracy, economic and humanitarian development, human rights and security
issues. General Assembly accepted “Strategic Vision of the OAS,” in 2014, which reiterates that the four
core pillars of the organization’s mission are;
- strengthening democracy;
- promoting and protecting human rights;
- advancing integral development; and
- empowering and encouraging multidimensional security (OAS, 2014).

OAS has played an important role in encouraging democracy since the many American
countries transformed civil governments at the end of the cold war. In 1991, the General Assembly’s Resolution 1080 emphasized that “one of the basic purposes of the OAS is to promote and consolidate representative democracy.

The biggest criticism about OAS is that the organization is seen as a defender of the US interests. Especially, it has remained the silent US military interventions in Latin America.

The South American Defense Council (CDS ) is a mechanism that seeks to foster exchanges in the field of security between the countries that make up the Union of South American Nations, such as the development of joint defense policies, the exchange of personnel between Armed forces in each country.