WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 48th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), held June 4 and 5 in Washington D.C., concluded with the approval of all the documents submitted for voting by member states.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay Eladio Ramon Loizaga was Chairman of the 48th OAS General Assembly, and His Excellency Sidney Collie, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, was elected Vice Chairman.
At the ministerial level, The Bahamas was represented by the Hon. Darren Henfield, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
According to an OAS press release, “During the last plenary session of the meeting, a Declaration of Support to the People of Nicaragua and a Resolution on the Situation in Venezuela were approved. Elections were held in which Humberto Sierra Porto (Colombia) and Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor (Mexico) were re-elected and Ricardo Pérez Manrique (Uruguay) was elected as judges of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”
“In the Inter-American Juridical Committee, Ruth Stella Correa Palacio was re-elected and George Rodrigo Bandeira Galindo (Brazil) and Mariana Salazar Albornoz (Mexico) were elected. Finally, Jenny WIllier Murphy (United States) and Patricia Pérez Goldberg (Chile) were elected as members of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas,” the release noted.
“This was the eleventh time that the General Assembly of the OAS has taken place at the Organization’s headquarters in Washington, DC.,” according to a “Fact Sheet” issued by the OAS.
The Fact Sheet also notes: “The General Assembly is the principal organ of the OAS and is composed of the delegations of all the member states, usually headed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
“Each member state has the right to cast a vote. The decisions of the Assembly are usually adopted by majority, but in certain cases the rules require a two-thirds vote. The tradition of the OAS is to adopt resolutions by consensus.
“The Assembly is in charge of defining the policies and mandates of the OAS, as well as the structure and functions of its organs.
“It is responsible for the election of members of the decentralized and autonomous organizations of the OAS, such as the IACHR, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Juridical Committee, and the Justice Center of the Americas, among others.”
The 48th Assembly was the fourth of the mandate of Secretary General Luis Almagro.
The General Assembly of the OAS has met annually since 1971. Since then, 22 countries have hosted the General Assembly. Outside the OAS headquarters, the countries where the Assembly has held the most meetings are Chile and Guatemala: three times in each case.
The 48th Assembly was the fourth of the mandate of Secretary General Luis Almagro.
