Chairperson
Secretary General
The Organization of American States (OAS) is a regional organization in the American continent. It was established in 1948 with the signing of the Charter of the OAS in the capital of Colombia, Bogota. The charter was entered into force shortly after in December 1951. The Organization consists of 35 permanent members and has granted the status of observer to 69 states and the European Union. It constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum of Americas and the topics of democracy, human rights, security, and development constitute the main interests of the Organization.
Agenda
Topic Area A: Policies to promote social justice and combat poverty in Latin American countries.
Member States
Argentina | Giannopoulou, Vasiliki
Bahamas | Zervou, Ilektra-Marietta
Barbados | Iordanidou, Sofia
Belize | Liveris, Ioannis
Bolivia | Charmpi, Angeliki
Brazil | Salmon, Alexia
Canada | Plakoulas, Vasileios
Chile | Longinidou, Elpida Sofia
Colombia | Bada, Ermioni
Costa Rica | Katsaouni, Aikaterini
Cuba | Mikelatou, Glykeria
Dominica | Farleka, Maria
Dominican Republic | Zervas, Christos
Ecuador | Dimitrof, Genovefa
El Salvador | Patreli, Maria
Guatemala | Pontou, Nefeli-Aikaterini
Guyana | Konstantinou, Aikaterini
Haiti | Tsokana, Aikaterini
Honduras | Papamichail, Eleanna
Jamaica | Adam, Vasiliki
Mexico | Theodosaki, Kyriaki
Nicaragua | Genikalioti, Christina
Panama | Salpistis, Nikolaos
Paraguay | Krikela, Athanasia-Rigina
Peru | Antoniou, Asimina
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Tripolitis, Nikolaos
Uruguay | Tsimakidi, Maria
USA | Giakounti, Eleni Anna
Venezuela | Brovanos, Panagiotis
Observers
China | Tzagarakis, Giorgos
European Union | Kyritsi, Myrto-Eirini
Russian Federation | Tsompanidis, Panagiotis
More on the organization
The Organization of American States dates back to the First International Conference of American States but it was established, as such, in 1948 with the signing of the Charter of OAS. It consists of 35 permanent members and has granted the status of observer to 69 states and the European Union.
The Organization is characterized by a great diversity in its interests as it covers a great range of topics from cyber security, disarmament and refugees to trade, gender equality, youth, and education. It focuses however on five main pillars: the promotion of democracy, the defense of human rights, the multidimensional implementation of security, the integral development and the support provided for the inter – American legal affairs. The OAS considering these topics as priorities aims to improve cooperation, political dialogue and justice in the American continent.
Furthermore, the Organization consists of six bodies: the General Assembly, the Meeting Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Councils (Permanent council & the Inter-American Council for Integral Development), the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the General Secretariat. The Permanent Council, which will be simulated in RhodesMRC 2019, reports directly to the General Assembly, keeps vigilance over the maintenance of good relations between the member states and serves as a forum of political discussion. The Permanent Council is composed of one Permanent Representative of each member state, including the ones with observer status. Each of the permanent representatives holds the office of chair, in turn.
Last but not least, the Organization is cooperating with many strategic partners such as the “Pan American Development Foundation”, the “Joint Summit Working Group” as well as civil society actors.
