Introduction

OAS Flag

The United States is committed to strengthening and working with the OAS, the premier multilateral forum in the Western Hemisphere.

This reflects the U.S. Government's determination to promote a program of multilateral engagement to resolve regional problems affecting the peoples of the Americas, and to reinforce our bilateral and multilateral relationships with our hemispheric neighbors and between our shared hemispheric agenda and the rest of the world.

United States policy centers on strengthening the core mission of the institution:

• Human Rights: the collective promotion and defense of democracy, fundamental freedoms, and the independence and autonomy of the Inter-American human rights system;
• Human Development: expanded economic opportunity and enhanced social equity; and,
• Human Security: the promotion of security for all segments of society throughout the hemisphere from crime, violence and transnational threats.