Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization for coordinating the governments of 32 members states across North and South America.
History
The Charter of the Organization of American States and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man were agreed at the Ninth International Conference of American States (1948) in Bogotá.
The American Convention on Human Rights was signed in 1969 and came into force about a decade later.
The Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons was signed in 1994 and came into force two years later.
The charter was amended in 1997 with the Protocol of Washington, allowing for suspension of members if their democratically-elected government is overthrown.
Membership