The Member States of the Organization of American States, represented at the Third Special Inter-American Conference,

CONSIDERING:

That the Charter of the Organization of American States signed at Bogota in 1948, set forth the purpose of achieving an order of peace and justice, promoting solidarity among the American States, strengthening their collaboration and defending their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence

That the Second Special Inter-American Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1965, declared that it was essential to forge a new dynamism for the inter-American system and imperative to modify the working structure of the Organization of American States, as well as to establish in the Charter new objectives and standards for the promotion of the economic, social, and cultural development of the peoples of the Hemisphere, and to speed up the process of economic integration; and

That it is essential to reaffirm the determination of the American States to combine their efforts in a spirit of solidarity in the permanent task of achieving the general conditions of well-being that will ensure a life of dignity and freedom to their peoples,

HAVE AGREED UPON THE FOLLOWING

ARTICLE XXIV

The terms "General Assembly", "Permanent Council of the Organization" or "Permanent Council", and "General Secretariat", shall be substituted, as the case may be, for the terms "Inter-American Conference", "Council of the Organization" or "Council", and "Pan American Union", wherever the latter terms appear in those Articles of the (charter that have not been eliminated or specifically amended by the present Protocol. In the English text of such articles the terms of "Hemisphere" and "hemispheric" shall be substituted for "continent" and "continental".

ARTICLE XXV

The present Protocol shall remain open for signature by the American States and shall be ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures. The original instrument, the Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the General Secretariat, which shall transmit certified copies thereof to the Governments for purposes of ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the General Secretariat, which shall notify the signatory States of each such deposit.

ARTICLE XXVI

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 deposit their instruments of ratification.

ARTICLE XXVII

The present Protocol shall be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations through the General Secretariat of the Organization.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, whose full powers have been found to be in good and due form, sign the present Protocol, which shall be known as the "Protocol of Buenos Aires", at the city of Buenos Aires, Republic of Argentina, this twenty-seventh day of February of the year one thousand nine hundred sixty-seven.

STATEMENT OF THE DELEGATION OF ECUADOR

The Delegation of Ecuador, drawing its inspiration from the devotion of the people and the Government of Ecuador to peace and law, states for the record that the provisions approved with respect to peaceful settlement of disputes do not carry out the purpose of Resolution XIII of the Second Special Inter-American Conference, and that the Permanent Council has not been given sufficient powers to aid the Member States effectively in the peaceful settlement of their disputes.

The Delegation of Ecuador signs this Protocol of Amendment to the Charter of the Organization of American States in the understanding that none of its provisions in any way limits the right of the Member States to take their disputes, whatever their nature and the subject they deal with, to the Organization, so that it may assist the parties and recommend the suitable procedures for peaceful settlement thereof.

STATEMENT OF THE DELEGATION OF PANAMA

The Delegation of Panama, upon signing the Protocol of Amendment of the Charter of the Organization of American States, states that it does so in the understanding that none of its provisions limits or in any way impedes the right of Panama to bring before the Organization any conflict or dispute that may have arisen with another Member State to which a just solution has not been given within a reasonable period after applying, without positive results, any of the procedures for peaceful settlement set forth in Article 21 of the present Charter.

STATEMENT OF THE DELEGATION OF ARGENTINA

On signing the present Protocol, the Argentine Republic reiterates its firm conviction that the amendments introduced in. the Charter of the OAS do not duly cover the requirements of the Organization, inasmuch as its basic instrument should contain, in addition to the organic, economic, social, and cultural standards, the essential provisions that would make the security system of the Hemisphere effective.

(1) The Protocol entered into force on February 27, 1970, as provided In Article XXVI, after the deposit of their ratifications by Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad end Tobago and Venezuela. Back