Brazil Assumes the Chairmanship of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS)

Brazil assumes today, April 1, the chairmanship of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Brazilian mandate will end on June 30, 2025. The Permanent Council is the most important political body of the OAS after the General Assembly and oversees the implementation of mandates adopted by member states in the areas of strengthening and defending democracy, human rights and social issues, legal and international law matters, hemispheric security, and the Organization’s administrative and budgetary affairs.

By assuming the chairmanship, Brazil will lead the preparatory work and negotiations of the final documents for the General Assembly.

During this second quarter of the year, the Brazilian chairmanship will also be responsible for preparing the election of the Assistant Secretary-General, organizing the presentation of candidates for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and monitoring the transition and inauguration of the new OAS Secretary-General, Albert Ramdin, who was elected on March 10.

Brazil values the OAS as a fundamental forum for democracy, peace, human rights, and security in the region and considers it essential for the Organization to enhance its development pillar to directly benefit the peoples of the Americas. In chairing the Permanent Council, Brazil will be guided by its firm commitment to multilateralism and international law, working to improve procedural rules to increase transparency, predictability, and legal certainty in negotiations and deliberations. The goal is to foster an environment conducive to seeking joint solutions to common challenges, which requires ensuring opportunities for the active and informed participation of all delegations in debates and decision-making processes, without any distinction. The sovereign equality of states, as enshrined in the OAS Charter, is a fundamental principle.

In addition to its commitment to open, transparent, and inclusive negotiations, Brazil intends to intensify efforts in the area of social inclusion, creating synergies between the inter-American system and the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty through close coordination between the Permanent Council and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development.

Another priority for Brazil will be overcoming racism and all forms of discrimination, which will be reflected in renewed political momentum for the process leading to the negotiation of an inter-American declaration on the rights of Afro-descendant persons. As chair of the Permanent Council, Brazil will reflect its diplomatic vocation for dialogue and consensus-building.