PROTOCOL OF AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

The original instrument is deposited with the General Secretariat, which is also the depository of the instruments of ratification.

This Protocol entered into force on February 27, 1970, in accordance with Article XXVI, which provides as follows: "The present Protocol shall enter into force among the ratifying States when two thirds of the States signatory to the Charter have deposited their instruments of ratification. It shall enter into force with respect to the remaining States in the order in which they deposited their instruments of ratification." Consequently, the Charter of the OAS as amended by this Protocol became effective on the same date.

Protocol of Amendment to the OAS Charter, 1985

PROTOCOL OF AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

"PROTOCOL OF CARTAGENA DE INDIAS"

IN THE NAME OF THEIR PEOPLES, THE AMERICAN STATES REPRESENTED AT THE FOURTEENTH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, MEETING IN CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, COLOMBIA, HAVE AGREED UPON THE FOLLOWING

PROTOCOL OF AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

ARTICLE I

The text of the Preamble to the Charter of the Organization of American States is modified to read as follows:

IN THE NAME OF THEIR PEOPLES, THE STATES REPRESENTED AT THE NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN STATES,

Convinced that the historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;

Conscious that that mission has already inspired numerous agreements, whose essential value lies in the desire of the American peoples to live together in peace and, through their mutual understanding and respect for the sovereignty of each one, to provide for the betterment of all, in independence, in equality and under law;

Convinced that representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace and development of the region;

Confident that the true significance of American solidarity and good neighborliness can only mean the consolidation on this continent, within the framework of democratic institutions, of a system of individual liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man;

Persuaded that their welfare and their contribution to the progress and the civilization of the world will increasingly require intensive continental cooperation;

Resolved to persevere in the noble undertaking that humanity has conferred upon the United Nations, whose principles and purposes they solemnly reaffirm;

Convinced that juridical organization is a necessary condition for security and peace founded on moral order and on justice; and

In accordance with Resolution IX of the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, held in Mexico City,

ARTICLE II

The texts of the following articles of the Charter of the Organization of American States are amended to read as follows:

Article 1

The American States establish by this Charter the international organization that they have developed to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence. Within the United Nations, the Organization of American States is a regional agency.

The Organization of American States has no powers other than those expressly conferred upon it by this Charter, none of whose provisions authorizes it to intervene in matters that are within the internal jurisdiction of the Member States.

Article 2

The Organization of American States, in order to put into practice the principles on which it is founded and to fulfill its regional obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, proclaims the following essential purposes:

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

f)

8)

To strengthen the peace and security of the continent;

To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention;

To prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the Member States;

To provide for common action on the part of those States in the event of aggression;

Το seek the solution of political, juridical, and economic problems that may arise among them;

To promote, by cooperative action, their economic, social and cultural development, and

To achieve an effective limitation of conventional weapons that will make it possible to devote the largest amount of resources to the economic and social development of the Member States.

Article 3

The American States reaffirm the following principles:

a)

International law is the standard of conduct of States in their reciprocal relations;

b) International order consists essentially of respect for the personality, sovereignty, and independence of States, and the faithful fulfillment of obligations derived from treaties and other sources of international law;

c) Good faith shall govern the relations between States;

d) The solidarity of the American States and the high aims which are sought through it require the political organization of those States on the basis of the effective exercise of representative democracy;

e) Every State has the right to choose, without external

interference, its political, economic, and social system and to