The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization representing the interests of nearly all independent states in the Americas. Its goals include promoting democracy, free trade, sustainable governance, human rights, and peace among its members. French Guinea is excluded and Cuba has been suspended. The OAS was founded in 1890 and adopted its current charter and name in 1948. The organization’s flag displays the flags of its member nations. The OAS is headquartered in Washington, DC and uses Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese in official documents.
The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization with members from the independent states of the Americas. Nearly all nations in the Americas are members of the OAS, representing their interests and meeting regularly and promoting a variety of policies that will benefit the Americas as a whole. French Guinea, as a dependency of France, is excluded and Cuba has been suspended since 1962 by agreement between OAS members.
The first version of the OAS was founded in 1890, as the International Conference of American States. By 1910, this had been changed to the Pan American Union, and in 1948, the OAS adopted its current charter and name. The flag of the OAS consists of a blue field with a white disc, displaying all flags of the member nations fanned across the staff. Since there are 35 members, the full flags are not shown, but rather just enough flags to identify the nations.
One of the primary goals of the OAS is to promote and strengthen democracy in the Americas while respecting the individual sovereignty of members. The organization also promotes free trade and sustainable governance by encouraging members to enter into mutually beneficial economic deals. OAS members also agree to “(limit) conventional weapons” to “make it possible to devote the greatest amount of resources to the economic and social development of member states”. A pressing issue for several member countries is the war on drugs, focused on drug-producing nations such as Colombia.
In addition to focusing on economic issues, OAS also addresses human rights issues, especially for women and indigenous peoples, promoting equality and fair legal systems in its member states. OAS members are also committed to peace and cooperation, ideally creating a collectively powerful group of nations that can work for each other, rather than against each other. The OAS charter also dictates that nations in the OAS must have a non-interventionist policy.
Spanish, English, French and Portuguese are all spoken in the OAS and used in official documents of the organization, showing that these languages are all used by member states. The organization is headquartered in Washington, DC, with states alternating as hosts of the general assembly each year.
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