Political Quotes

“I want to speak briefly about an issue that all Senators should be concerned about, and that is the future of the Organization of American States. The origin of the OAS dates to the First International Conference of American States held in Washington from October 1889 to April 1890. The OAS was formally established in 1948 with the signing of the OAS Charter, which entered into force in 1951. As the OAS Charter states, its mission is to achieve among its members ``an order of peace and justice, and to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence.'' That is an important and inspiring responsibility, and no less so today than when the OAS was founded, although many of the challenges of one- half century ago have been replaced by new challenges today. Today the OAS consists of 35 independent States and is, at least in composition and tradition, the primary political, judicial, and social governmental forum in this hemisphere. Another 69 States and the European Union have permanent observer status. The OAS supports programs and activities in four principle areas to carry out its mission--democracy, human rights, security, and development--and it does so in a myriad of ways, some far more successfully than others. Few here may be aware that the United States is by far the largest contributor to the OAS, paying 60 percent of its annual budget.…”