Founded in 1948, the Organization of American States (OAS) is a multilateral regional body focused on human rights, security, electoral oversight, and social and economic development in the Western Hemisphere. Member states pledge to strengthen regional peace and security, promote representative democracy, and encourage economic and social cooperation.

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There are now thirty-four member states: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.