The United States has not held back in criticizing the inaction of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the face of the Haitian and Venezuelan crises.
The United States has been unrelenting in criticizing the inaction of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the face of the Haitian and Venezuelan crises. During his participation in the 55th OAS General Assembly on June 26 in Antigua, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau made his country's support for the organization conditional on constructive engagement in the region.
The diplomat reiterated his country's commitment to the American continent and the United States' involvement in the creation of the International Union of American States, which became the Pan American Union in 1910 and finally the OAS in 1948. "We therefore recognize and respect the fact that this organization has deep roots going back nearly 150 years," he said in his opening remarks.
On the other hand, he noted that the United States must ask itself how the organization remains relevant today and whether it is achieving its noble and ambitious goals. "Article I of the OAS Charter states that the member states established the organization, quote, 'to establish an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, strengthen their cooperation, and to defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence,' end of quote. Can we truly say that the organization is achieving these goals today?" he asked.
"Within the U.S. government, we are currently reviewing this issue. As you may know, President Trump issued an executive order in his first days in office directing the Secretary of State to review within six months all international organizations to which the United States belongs, to determine whether such membership is in the United States' interest and whether these organizations can be reformed." Following this review, the Secretary of State must report his findings to the President and recommend whether the United States should withdraw from any of these organizations. This review is ongoing, and the OAS is obviously one of the organizations we are examining,” he noted.
Pending the conclusions of this review on the usefulness of the OAS, Christopher Landau highlighted the hemispheric organization's passivity in handling the case of Haiti. “The current crisis in Haiti is equally discouraging. Armed gangs control the streets and ports of the capital, and law and order has virtually collapsed. As Haiti descends into chaos, the ongoing humanitarian, security, and governmental crisis is having repercussions throughout the region. And again, what has this organization done? Currently, a minimum of security is provided by a multilateral force led by Kenya, validated by the UN.” “The United States has committed nearly a billion dollars to support this force. We welcome the deployment of security personnel and other contributions from some of the countries represented in this room, which have made this mission possible, but the United States cannot continue to shoulder this heavy financial burden,” Christopher Landau asserted.
“That is why the United States would welcome OAS involvement in responding to the political crisis in Haiti. Again, if the OAS is unwilling or unable to play a constructive role in Haiti, then we must seriously question why the OAS exists,” he threatened.
Regarding Venezuela, he criticized the OAS for doing nothing while the Maduro regime stole the elections won by the opposition last year. “In response to this blatant electoral fraud, what has this organization done? To our knowledge, nothing concrete,” the Under Secretary of State denounced.
