Organization of American States

I

Introduction

Organization of American States (OAS), regional organization for nations of the western hemisphere. Founded in 1948 in Bogotá, Colombia, the OAS facilitates cooperation between member countries on matters of security and economic and social development. Membership includes all 35 nations in the hemisphere. Since 1962 the OAS has excluded Cuba from active participation because of its espousal of Marxist-Leninist principles.

The OAS both administers and extends to all nations in the western hemisphere the collective defense guarantee established through the Rio Treaty of 1947. This treaty requires its members to assist other member nations that face armed attack. The OAS also seeks to prevent military disputes within the hemisphere by pursuing the peaceful settlement of conflicts among its members. The organization promotes respect for human rights and representative democracy. In addition, the OAS supports regional efforts that encourage economic, social, and cultural development within the hemisphere’s poorer nations.

II

The Cold War Years

During the Cold War period, which began after World War II ended in 1945, the United States largely viewed the OAS as an instrument for controlling and protecting Latin America from the threat of Communism. The United States sponsored military operations against leftist movements in Guatemala in 1954 and Cuba in the early 1960s, and against the Dominican Republic reformist government in 1965. Opposition among Latin Americans to the long history of U.S. military and political intervention in the region limited OAS support for these operations.

While the United States used the OAS primarily to combat Soviet Union influence in the hemisphere, Latin American countries emphasized the organization’s role in supporting economic development efforts. Establishment of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in 1959 and the Alliance for Progress in 1961 launched a decade of efforts by member nations to link regional security and economic development.

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In the 1970s the OAS lost influence in Latin America. Détente between the United States and the Soviet Union eased Cold War tensions. As a result, U.S. interest in promoting regional economic development to enhance regional security declined. At the same time, Latin American nations, seeking greater independence from the United States, minimized the role of the OAS, which they generally viewed as an instrument of U.S. domination. In 1975 Latin American nations established the Latin American Economic System, an organization for regional cooperation that excluded the United States but included Cuba. In 1979 the United States failed in its efforts to use the OAS to mediate the civil war between Nicaragua’s Somoza regime and the advancing Sandinista revolutionaries. In the 1980s, significant multilateral initiatives in Latin America—such as the effort by the Contadora group (Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela) to establish regional peace in Central America—occurred outside the framework of the OAS.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the OAS committed itself to addressing widespread violations of human rights in Latin America. To some extent, the limited success of the OAS in this area laid a foundation for the revival of the organization. In 1978 the OAS-sponsored American Convention on Human Rights took place, leading to the establishment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and a strengthened Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

III

After the Cold War

The OAS regained its importance in Latin American as the nations became more democratic in the 1980s and the Cold War ended in 1991. The decay of the Soviet Union eased U.S. fears of Communist incursions. In turn, this eased Latin American concerns about U.S. intervention in their internal politics. Relieved of strategic concerns, both sides instead emphasized the OAS mission to promote democracy in nations casting off decades of military and authoritarian rule. In recent years, the OAS has assessed and guaranteed the fairness of elections in numerous member nations. Even more importantly, the OAS has defended democracies against overthrow, especially in Haiti (1991-1994), Peru (1992), and Guatemala (1993). Fearing military coups, Latin American countries have supported this collective defense of democracy, although the principle of nonintervention also places limits upon this commitment.

Participation in the OAS gives the United States an opportunity to organize multilateral backing for its core objectives in Latin America. However, participation also forces the United States to limit its goals and provide economic benefits as incentives for support from Latin American nations. Both the protection of the hemisphere from Communism during the Cold War and the current defense of democracy has depended on the willingness of the United States to take the initiative and bear a large share of the cost. However, the role of the United States as arbiter of regional cooperation continues to arouse some concern among Latin Americans given the long history of U.S. intervention in the region.