The Organization of American States as a Treaty Enabler

Open Access
- Author:
- Cortes, Mauricio
- Area of Honors:
- Political Science
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- John King Gamble Jr., Thesis Supervisor
John King Gamble Jr., Thesis Honors Advisor
Soledad Traverso, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- OAS
Treaties - Abstract:
- This thesis will focus on the Organization of American States (OAS) evolution since its creation in 1948. It will provide comprehensive, accessible, and informative guides to the history, structure, and activities of the OAS and its importance in contemporary regional governance. The paper will begin by looking at the 9th International Conference of American States, held in Bogotá, which led to a pledge by members to fight communism in the western hemisphere, that officially created the OAS. The second part of this paper will analyze the history of the OAS beginning with the Cold War era and continuing to the present. The last part of this paper will focus on the treaty-enabling capabilities of the OAS through its Secretariat for Legal affairs (SLA), the organ in charge of drafting bilateral and multilateral treaties. It will explain how treaties are drafted, negotiated, signed, and implemented. This section will conclude with an assessment of the current status of the OAS’s treaty making authority and explore the different treaties the IGO has created or been part of, and how these continue to impact the region. This paper concludes with an analysis of the evolution of the OAS from mid-20th century until the present, with special focus on its treaty-enabling capabilities.