Organization of American States

Organization of American States (OAS) is an international organization, whose membership consists of all the independent states in the Americas (with the exception of Cuba, whose membership is suspended). Created in 1959, the Organization's headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Its purpose is to investigate human rights conditions throughout the Western hemisphere.

On January 22, 1962 the OAS suspended Cuba's membership in the body.

In June of 2003, member nations excluded for the first time the United States from representation on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights[?]. The U.S. candidate was Rafael E. Martinez.

External link

• Official site (http://www.oas.org/)