The United States strongly defended the Organization of American States on Friday, its role in promoting regional democracy and asked the rest of the member countries not to remain silent and denounce the attempts of elected leaders to weaken the institutions or violate fundamental rights. of the population.
The statements by Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the 53rd OAS General Assembly, which is broadcast virtually, took place at a time when several countries in the Western Hemisphere, including Mexico, have criticized the leadership of the organization’s secretary general, Luis Almagro.
The lack of relevance of the body to solve problems ranging from the challenges facing democracy to the lack of economic opportunities, insecurity, corruption and human rights violations has also been questioned.
“We believe in the OAS, both in its ability to improve individual democracies and to unite to solve problems that none of us can effectively solve on its own,” Blinken said to the rest of the countries that make up the regional organization created in 1948. , the oldest in the world.
The United States contributes close to half of the financial budget of the OAS and has promoted a significant increase for next year.
The Assembly is the main body of the OAS, attended by delegates from each of the member countries. It started on Wednesday at the organization’s headquarters in Washington and ends on Friday. This year it focused on the theme of “Strengthening a culture of democratic responsibility with the promotion, protection, and equality of human rights in the Americas.”
Although the differences between the member states are not new, they were once again in evidence during the Assembly. Usually, countries send their foreign ministers to the meeting, but this year several of the countries, including Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, were represented by lower-ranking officials.
Shortly after Blinken’s speech, the representative of Mexico, one of the countries that has most pushed for a change of leadership in the OAS, questioned the organization’s performance, after highlighting the leadership role that the nation has played and its commitment to democracy and the defense of human rights.
“Mexico will continue to advocate for reforming the OAS so that they address the enormous existing challenges based on respectful and inclusive dialogue and the cooperation of all the countries of the hemisphere,” said Efraín Guadarrama, director of regional organizations of the Mexican Foreign Ministry. “We need a renewed OAS that is relevant and that serves all states, that generates sustainable solutions.”
Shortly before, Blinken called on countries not to turn a blind eye and to denounce human rights violations perpetuated by authoritarian governments; Find a way to hold them accountable.
Although without mentioning any particular country or official by name, his words seemed to be directed at Nicaragua and Venezuela, which decided to withdraw from the OAS after being criticized by the organization.
He listed a series of events that must be denounced, among them, when democratically elected leaders try to weaken the independent institutions that provide checks and balances; when they crack down on the media and civil society; when they arrest prosecutors, judges, election officials just for doing their job; when they try to extend term limits; when they attack or attempt to discredit multilateral institutions for raising legitimate criticism.
“We have to make our voices heard,” said the Secretary of State. “We cannot sit idly by. We need to talk”.
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