US Secretary of State John Kerry Brings Reforms Agenda to OAS Annual General Assembly

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Guatemala making strong demands to the members of the Organization of American States (OAS) for reforms. Secretary Kerry is in Latin America for a visit, his first official trip to the region since taking office in February. He arrived in Antigua in Guatemala on Tuesday with the US delegation and initiated the two-day program with a meeting with President Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala.

On Monday the US State Department released a statement saying that Secretary Kerry believed in the importance of the organization in the Americas. And it is with the intention of strengthening it further that he is now participating in the annual general assembly. The Secretary is a known critic of the OAS even before taking office at the State Department.

Ripe for reforms

The OAS has 35 member nations, with a core mission to promote democracy, development, and human rights. The Secretary is intent on convincing the members to implement major changes in the bureaucracy so that the OAS is steered once more towards achieving its original mandate.

US officials who are part of the delegation shared additional information on Secretary Kerry’s agenda. They said that he would be lobbying for a hemispheric panel on human rights and the election of a US representative on the panel. The Secretary would also be campaigning against marijuana legalization, US immigration reforms, counterterrorism, and good governance.

Turning a new leaf

In addition, Secretary Kerry would also be working to repair relations with Venezuela. Venezuela made a request to the US government for its Foreign Minister to meet with Secretary of State Kerry on Wednesday. The main objective of the meeting is to discuss ways on how to improve the relationship between the two nations. Until his death in March, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been a staunch critic of Washington.

It is expected that Secretary Kerry would be raising democracy and human rights violation issues during the discussion as well.

Critical of the OAS

Secretary Kerry has been very vocal about his dissatisfaction with the OAS for many years. Before his nomination to his current post as top US diplomat, Kerry wrote a letter along with three senators to the permanent council of the OAS specifying the failure of the group particularly in terms of “lack of strategic focus and fiscal recklessness.”

Three years ago, Kerry co-wrote an editorial when he was still the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the blatant failures of the OAS. The opinion piece was published in The Miami Herald. Kerry called the organization inefficient, ineffective, and almost irrelevant. At that time, he also introduced legislation which required budget reforms for the organization.

Renewal of commitment

However, despite the rather harsh criticisms, Secretary Kerry is participating in the OAS annual general assembly for two days. Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for the State Department says that this should send the signal that the OAS remains a “premier multilateral organization” in the southern hemisphere. Psaki confirms that Kerry’s agenda in the meeting includes strengthening the OAS and helping it retain its status. Kerry’s presence in Guatemala is a demonstration of his and the Obama administration’s commitment to advancing the OAS, she added.

Photo Credit: Secretary of State John Kerry