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Haiti: Invoke the OAS Democratic Charter

Submitted March 1, 2004 - 3:33 pm by Al Giordano
Despite the usual weasely words by César Gaviria, the US-installed secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), the recent reports that Aristide did not resign, or perhaps did under gunpoint and threat, might well lead to a major rumble inside the OAS.

According to the OAS Democratic Charter, any member state (including Venezuela, Brazil, or any of many Caribbean islands) may "may request the immediate convocation of the Permanent Council to undertake a collective assessment of the situation and to take such decisions as it deems appropriate." (Source: Article 20 of the OAS Democratic Charter.)

Article 21 provides:

When the special session of the General Assembly determines that there has been an unconstitutional interruption of the democratic order of a member state, and that diplomatic initiatives have failed, the special session shall take the decision to suspend said member state from the exercise of its right to participate in the OAS by an affirmative vote of two thirds of the member states in accordance with the Charter of the OAS. The suspension shall take effect immediately.

So, unless Washington can produce Aristide - still incomunicado to the press corps - to confirm his supposed "resignation," or produce a resignation letter that passes signature analysis, the current regime in Haiti, despite all the hype, is blatantly illegal and may well be called into question in the coming days by other OAS member states.

Remember: the first time the member states rebuffed the United States was in December of 2002 regarding the second coup attempt in Venezuela.

Impacting...

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