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(CNN Spanish) --
Leaders of the American countries have been participating in the IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, United States, since Monday to discuss and define actions to face problems and challenges shared by the region and advance integration .
Under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS), which acts as the technical secretariat of the Summit, the debates will continue until June 10, and in between there will be mentions and discussions around another central instrument in the continent: the Inter-American Democratic Charter, also within the OAS system.
OPINION |
Twenty years after the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the OAS countries must adapt it to a new era
What exactly is the Democratic Charter?
The Inter-American Democratic Charter was approved on September 11, 2001 at an extraordinary General Assembly of the OAS in Lima, Peru, and in the context of the terrorist attacks against the Twin Towers in New York, United States.
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The decision to draft this Charter had been made during the III Summit of the Americas, held in April 2001 in Quebec, Canada.
There, the ministers of the member states were commissioned to prepare a document to reinforce "the OAS instruments for the active defense of representative democracy," according to the organization.
The text of the Charter is, according to the OAS, a tool to strengthen democracy, and it gives member states and the Secretary General mechanisms to act when they deem it necessary with measures that can lead to the temporary suspension of a country.
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Specifically, and using Resolution 1080 approved by the OAS in 1990, the Democratic Charter incorporates the ability to sanction in the event of "rupture of the constitutional order, or coup d'état", the so-called "democratic clause".
How is the Democratic Charter applied?
The implementation of this measure is contemplated in article 19 of the Democratic Charter, which prevents the participation of a government in the sessions of the General Assembly of the OAS and other organs of the Organization if there is a "rupture of the democratic order or a alteration of the constitutional order that seriously affects the democratic order".
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But to reach this instance of suspension, a member state must first invoke the Charter and request a meeting of the OAS Permanent Council to make a "collective assessment of the situation" and take corresponding measures in the face of an alleged alteration of the constitutional order.
Among the possible measures are diplomatic efforts and good offices to try to restore democratic institutions in the country, but if these are not sufficient, suspension can be adopted.
It is not easy, however.
To suspend a member requires the affirmative vote of two thirds of the member states (24 votes), in accordance with article 21.
When was the Democratic Charter invoked?
According to the OAS, the Inter-American Democratic Charter was invoked 10 times.
On 7 occasions it was done preventively to avoid escalations in the midst of different political crises.
Three times it was invoked at moments considered to be breaking down the democratic order.
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But only once did a member get suspended.
It was in 2009 and after the coup against the president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, that led the OAS to take this measure.
The country was later rejoined the body in 2011.
In 2016, the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, invoked the letter against Venezuela, to establish whether there was, at that time, a "rupture of the democratic order or an alteration of the constitutional order" in that country.
The measure was rejected by the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, calling for "national rebellion against international threats."
The letter was also invoked to suspend Venezuela, but did not advance due to lack of votes.
A year later, Caracas requested to withdraw from the OAS, and Nicaragua did the same in 2021.
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