The OAS welcomes two new members.
Position | Organization of American States - The Inter-American System |
On January 8, 1991 Belize and Guyana were ratified as the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth members of the Organization of American States (OAS), at a Special Session of the OAS General Assembly.
The Charter of the Organization was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belize, Said Musa, and the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Guyana, Keith Massaih, in the presence of OAS Secretary General Joao Clemente Baena Soares.
Ambassador Baena Soares stated that "the admission of Belize and Guyana as full-fledged members of the Organization of American States is a reason for the Secretary General to rejoice. It is a demonstration of the continuous relevance of the OAS as the forum for dialogue and agreement among American countries." He went on to point out that "the oldest international organization now has as members all the countries in the continent. This strengthens its role of promoting security, economic progress and social justice for the peoples of the Hemisphere."
Foreign Minister Musa, of Balize, told the General Assembly "this marks an important milestone in the political life of the sovereign nation of Balize. Today, we join and are accepted into the great family of Western Hemisphere Nations, the Organization of American States." Attorney General Massiah, of Guyana, remarked "today marks the culmination of Guyana's diplomatic efforts to have its right to membership of this Organization and to participate in arrangements within the Inter-American System, fully acknowledged."
GUYANA: LAND OF
MANY WATERS
Located on the littoral of South America between Suriname on the east, Brazil on the south and Venezuela on the west and with its northern shores carressed by the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, is the Republic of Guyana. Guyana is a relatively small developing country of 83,000 square miles. Better known in the history books as "Demerara" or "British Guiana," Guyana has a multi-ethnic population of just over 800,000 people which reflects the country's immigrant history.
The largest ethnic group is the descendants of the East Indian indentured labourers from India. The descendants of Africans who were brought as slaves from West Africa, comprise the next largest ethnic group. Other significant groups are the native Amerindians, (who it is believed, came originally from Mongolia) Chinese and Europeans, many of the latter being of Portuguese extraction. Like the Indians and the Chinese, the Portuguese who came to...
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