Colombia will be the host of the next General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), celebrating its 49th edition, after 70 years

The Permanent Council decided that Colombia should be the next venue to preside over the heart of this organization, the General Assembly. In addition, some diplomats such as Alejandro Ordoñez have pointed out that the OAS returns to the country where it was born.

Leer en español: ¿Qué significa que Colombia haya sido nombrada sede de la OEA?

Colombia will precede the 2019 General Assembly

The election of Colombia, as the new headquarters of this regional organization in 2019, began when the new ambassador of the coffee country, Alejandro Ordoñez, put before the Permanent Council the candidacy of the State he represents on September 13.

After this maneuver, according to the newspaper El Espectador, on September 27, 2018, the Permanent Council of the aforementioned organization met in Washington DC to define by vote which would be the country that would host its 49th edition. Subsequently, after deliberation of the members of this Council, Colombia was the winner of this friendly pulse between States.

That same day the country's chancellery received a statement from Washington DC, which professed:

"In response to the offer made by the Government of Colombia on September 13, at the regular meeting of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Alejandro Ordoñez Maldonado formalized the country's candidacy, to host the General Assembly of the organization, in June of 2019 "

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On the other hand, the reaction of Ambassador Alejandro Ordoñez did not wait and before the public opinion, he announced to his compatriots that Colombia will be the seat for the third time of the General Assembly of the OAS. According to El Espectador, the ex-attorneys statements: "This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the OAS in Bogotá. For our government, it will be an honor to have the General Assembly held in our country. "

Added to this, it is worth asking: why did Ordoñez say that the OAS foundation was held in Bogotá? Well, Latina American Post tells you the reason for this statement.

The OAS returns to its roots

The appointment of the tricolor country, to preside over this important meeting, has as its main meaning that the Organization of American States returns to its roots after 70 years of its creation, in Bogota.

The same official website of the organization mentioned relates how the largest international organization in America took shape. According to this portal, the final conception for the creation of the OAS took place in 1948 when 20 member states arrived in the Bogota capital for the occasion of the Ninth International Conference of American States.

This important date coincidentally included two historical events for Latin America: the outbreak of the movement called "El Bogotazo" and the presence of the communist leader Fidel Castro. According to the British media, the BBC, this Colombian episode occurred when an assassin attacked the life of one of the most beloved politicians in Colombia, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. The death of Gaitán unleashed the wrath of the Bogotans who were angry and took to the streets to demand justice for such a crime, propitiating the destruction of its historical center. Coincidentally, at that time, one of the young revolutionaries who were among the crowd was the Cuban Fidel Castro.

Added to this, as a coincidence of destiny, the Ninth International American Conference was interrupted by El Bogotazo, the international staff was located right in the center of the city, but they were transferred to one of the most traditional schools in Colombia, El Gimasio Moderno. There, as an article in Semana magazine said, several documents were signed that gave the OAS the last form.

As the portal of this organization points out, in the Colombian capital four treaties of great importance were signed for all of America: The Charter of the Organization of American States, the American Treaty of Peaceful Solutions (Pact of Bogotá), the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and the Economic Agreement of Bogotá.

These four documents are important for the signatories and adherents of this regional organization. The States that belong to the OAS automatically accept the Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, the Charter of the United Nations and any international pact that has to do with Human and Human Rights such as, The Statute of Rome and all the Conventions of Geneva.

Possibly, after 70 years of its creation, the Organization of American States will visit the city that saw it born, although the election of Cartagena has not yet been ruled out.

LatinAmerican Post | Miguel Diaz

Translated from: '¿Qué significa que Colombia haya sido nombrada sede de la OEA?'

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