General Assembly of the Organization of American States

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38th regular session - Medellin, 2008. XXXVIII Asamblea General cartel.jpg
38th regular session – Medellín, 2008.

The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Contents

The General Assembly came into being as a part of the restructuring of the OAS that took place following adoption of the Protocol of Buenos Aires (signed 27 February 1967; in force as of 12 March 1970), which contained extensive amendments to the Organization's Charter. Prior to these changes, the OAS's top body was the Inter-American Conference, which in turn was the successor to the International Conference of American States.

The Charter requires that the General Assembly convene once every year in a regular session. In special circumstances, and with the approval of two-thirds of the member states, the Permanent Council can convene special sessions.

The Organization's member states take turns hosting the General Assembly on a rotating basis. The states are represented at its sessions by their chosen delegates: generally, their ministers of foreign affairs, or their appointed deputies. Each state has one vote, and most matters – except for those for which the Charter or the General Assembly's own rules of procedure specifically require a two-thirds majority – are settled by a simple majority vote.

The General Assembly's powers include setting the OAS's general course and policies by means of resolutions and declarations; approving its budget and determining the contributions payable by the member states; approving the reports and previous year's actions of the OAS's specialized agencies; and electing members to serve on those agencies.

Regular sessions

RankHost cityHost countryDate
1st San José Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 14–23 April 1971
2nd Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States11–21 April 1972
3rd Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States4–15 April 1973
4th Atlanta Flag of the United States.svg United States19 April – 1 May 1974
5th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States8–19 May 1975
6th Santiago Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 4–18 June 1976
7th St. George's Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada 14–22 June 1977
8th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States21 June – 1 July 1978
9th La Paz Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia 22–31 October 1979
10th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States19–26 November 1980
11th Castries Flag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia 2–11 December 1981
12th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States15–21 December 1982
13th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States14–18 November 1983
14th Brasília Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 12–17 November 1984
15th Cartagena Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 5–9 December 1985
16th Guatemala City Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 11–15 November 1986
17th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States9–14 November 1987
18th San Salvador Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 14–19 November 1988
19th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States13–18 November 1989
20th Asunción Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 4–8 June 1990
21st Santiago Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 3–8 June 1991
22nd Nassau Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 18–23 May 1992
23rd Managua Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 7–11 June 1993
24th Belém Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 6–10 June 1994
25th Montrouis Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti 5–9 June 1995
26th Panama City Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 3–7 June 1996
27th Lima Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 1–5 June 1997
28th Caracas Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 1–3 June 1998
29th Guatemala City Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 6–8 June 1999
30th Windsor, Ontario Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 4–6 June 2000
31st San José Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 3–5 June 2001
32nd Bridgetown Flag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 2–4 June 2002
33rd Santiago Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 8–10 June 2003
34th Quito Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador 6–8 June 2004
35th Fort Lauderdale Flag of the United States.svg United States5–7 June 2005
36th Santo Domingo Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 4–6 June 2006
37th Panama City Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 3–5 June 2007
38th Medellín Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 1–3 June 2008
39th San Pedro Sula Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras 2–3 June 2009 [1]
40th Lima Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 6–8 June 2010
41st San Salvador Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 5–7 June 2011
42nd Cochabamba Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia 3–5 June 2012 [2]
43rd La Antigua Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 4–6 June 2013 [3]
44th Asunción Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 3–5 June 2014 [4]
45th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States15–16 June 2015 [5]
46th Santo Domingo Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 13–15 June 2016 [6]
47th Cancún Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 18–21 June 2017 [7]
48th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States4–5 June 2018 [8]
49th Medellín Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 26–28 June 2019 [9]
50th Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States20–21 October 2020 [10]
51st Guatemala City (Virtual)Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 10–12 November 2021 [11]
52nd Lima Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 5–7 October 2022 [12]
53rd Washington, D.C. Flag of the United States.svg United States21–23 June 2023 [13]
54th Asunción Flag of Paraguay.svg Paraguay26–28 June 2024 [14]
55th St. John's Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg Antigua and Barbuda25–27 June 2025 [15]

See also

References

  1. Palencia, Gustavo (May 28, 2009). "Big quake off Honduras kills 6, crumbles houses". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-05-30. The 39th General Assembly of the Organization of American States(OAS) will be held the week following a 7.3 Mw 2009 Honduras earthquake
  2. http://www.oas.org/en/42ga/
  3. http://www.oas.org/en/43ga/
  4. http://www.oas.org/en/44ga/
  5. http://www.oas.org/en/45ga/
  6. http://www.oas.org/en/46ga/
  7. "OEA :: 47 Período Ordinario de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de la OEA - 2017". oas.org. 2009-08-01. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  8. "48th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly - 2018". oas.org. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  9. "49th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly - 2019". oas.org. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  10. "50th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly - 2020". oas.org. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  11. "51st Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly - 2021". oas.org. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  12. "52nd Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly - 2022". oas.org. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  13. "Information about the fifty-third regular session of the General Assembly". oas.org. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  14. "54th regular session of the General Assembly". oas.org. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  15. "55th regular session of the OAS General Assembly". oas.org. Retrieved 20 June 2025.