Understanding the OAS’s Historic Decision on Cuba

12.JUNE.09

by D. Brent Hardt

The recent OAS decision on Cuba was an historic step for the inter-American system. The unanimous resolution took two important decisions: First, it lifted the 1962 suspension on Cuba’s participation in the OAS, should the Cuban government decide it wishes to return to the organization.{{more}} Second, it establishes a path for eventual Cuban return to the OAS that “will be the result of a process of dialogue initiated at the request of the Government of Cuba, and in accordance with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS,” including its core instruments related to democracy and human rights.

One of the core purposes of the OAS Charter is “to promote and consolidate representative democracy.” (Article 2) The OAS preamble specifically refers to the consolidation in the Americas of “a system of individual liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man . . . within the framework of democratic institutions.”

Likewise, the Inter-American Democratic Charter approved by all OAS members in 2001 states that “the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it. Democracy is essential for the social, political, and economic development of the peoples of the Americas.” (Article 1) It further notes that representative democracy includes “the holding of periodic, free, and fair elections based on secret balloting and universal suffrage as an expression of the sovereignty of the people, the pluralistic system of political parties and organizations.”

Given the centrality of democracy to the principles and purposes of the OAS, readmission of Cuba without reference to those principles would undercut the foundation on which the OAS was established. In adopting the recent resolution, the OAS remained true to its core principles and purposes while outlining a path toward constructing a new relationship with Cuba.

The OAS resolution adopted June 3 was not an easy process; it was an act of statesmanship that addressed and bridged an historic divide in the Americas, while reaffirming our hemisphere’s profound commitment to democracy and the fundamental human rights of our peoples. While we removed an historical impediment to Cuba’s participation in the OAS, we also established a process of engagement with Cuba based on the core practices, principles, and purposes of the OAS and the Inter-American system.

At the Summit of the Americas, President Obama called for a “new beginning” in the U.S.-Cuba relationship. To this end, he lifted restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba. More recently, he asked Cuba to restart migration talks – a request which Cuba has accepted along with discussions on direct mail. Together, these actions on the part of the United States signal the biggest change to our approach to Cuba in the last forty years.

The United States is not interested in fighting old battles or living in the past. We are committed to building a better future for all of the Americas by forging partnerships based on mutual respect. At the same time, we will always defend the timeless principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law that animate our societies and serve as a beacon for those around the world who are oppressed, silenced, and subjugated.

The United States looks forward to the day when a democratic Cuba rejoins the inter-American system. Until then, we will seek new ways to engage Cuba that benefit the people of both nations and of the hemisphere. We will continue to advocate for democratic governance in Cuba and throughout the Americas because we believe the people of Cuba have the same right to democracy and freedom as the people in the rest of the Hemisphere. We know the Caribbean region shares these values, and we are confident that our friends in the Caribbean will continue to join us, as they did at the OAS General Assembly, in supporting the democratic rights that people throughout the Caribbean so proudly enjoy and defend.

D. Brent Hardt is Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the United States of America to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.