PANAMA CITY, Panama – The 56th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) begins today in Panama, at the invitation of the host country. This is the third time that an OAS General Assembly has been held in the Central American nation. Previous sessions took place in 1996 and 2007.
Following today’s opening session at 6:30 p.m. local time in Panama (23:30 GMT), the General Assembly will consist of four plenary sessions held over two days. The closing session will take place on June 24, following the fourth plenary session.
The theme of the Assembly is: “The Americas United on the Bicentennial of the Amphictyonic Congress of Panama,” and the topic is: “Firm Multilateralism in Defense of Democracy: Hemispheric Security and Stability in the American States.”
All Assembly information is published in real time at www.oas.org, including live broadcasts, videos, and photo galleries, as well as the calendar, agenda, and schedule of events organised within the framework of the Assembly. These and other documents are available on the Assembly webpage and are updated continuously.
The General Assembly is the principal organ of the OAS and is composed of delegations from all member states, generally headed by ministers of foreign affairs or their designated representatives.
The list of heads of delegation of the member states accredited to the General Assembly is available here.
The Assembly is responsible for defining the policies and mandates of the OAS, as well as the structure and functions of its organs. Each member state has the right to cast one vote. Decisions are generally adopted by a simple majority, although in certain cases the rules require a two-thirds majority vote. The tradition of the OAS is to adopt resolutions by consensus.
The preliminary list of documents registered for consideration at this General Assembly is available here. These are the issues that will form the basis of the dialogue during the plenary sessions, which will be broadcast live on the Assembly webpage, as well as on YouTube and Facebook.
The OAS General Assembly has met annually since 1971. Prior to that, meetings of this nature were held at varying intervals and were known as the International Conferences of American States. Since 1971, 23 countries have hosted a regular session of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly is also responsible for electing members of the OAS’s decentralised and autonomous bodies. This year, member states will elect members of the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI), the Administrative Tribunal (TRIBAD), the Audit Committee, and the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA/CEJA).
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