Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistancematters stipulated in Article 2 of the Pact of the League of Arab
States and also to carry out the requirements of Articles 5, 6,
and 7 of the present Treaty.
Article 10. There is nothing in the present Treaty to prejudice
the rights and duties arising from Treaties to which either High
Contracting Party may be bound with any other State.
Article 11. This Treaty shall come into force from the date of
the exchange of ratifications.
Article 12. The present Treaty shall remain in force for a
period of ten years from the date of its coming into force and it
shall be deemed to have been renewed for further periods of five
years each, unless notice of desire to terminate it shall have been
given by either High Contracting Party to the other one year
prior to the date of expiry of its period. Each of the High Con-
tracting Parties may, upon the expiry of the first period or any
subsequent period of the periods of renewal, ask for reconsider-
ation and revision of this Treaty with a view to augmenting the
co-operation and strengthening the alliance to an extent greater
than is provided for therein.
In Witness Whereof the above-mentioned plenipotentiaries
have signed the present Treaty and have affixed thereto their
seals.
Made at Baghdad in duplicate, in Arabic, on the 22nd day of
Jamadi al Awal, 1366, corresponding to the 14th day of April,
1947.
(Signed) MOHAMMED FADHIL JAMALI
(Signed) SAMIR AL-RIFA’I
4.1333 Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal
Assistance
Alliance Members:United States, Argentina, Haiti, Bolivia, Hon-
duras, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay,
Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Cuba (until January 22, 1962), Nicaragua (entered October 15, 1948),
Ecuador (entered November 10, 1949), Trinidad and Tobago (entered
April 6, 1967), and Bahamas (entered November 8, 1982).
Signed On:September 2, 1947, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. In force
as of date of publication of this volume.
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source: Organization of American States, Inter-American Treaty of
Reciprocal Assistance,www.oas.org/juridico/english/Treaties/b-
29.html.
SUMMARY
Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the nations of the
Western hemisphere agreed to meet in Rio de Janeiro to adopt a sys-
tem of collective security. The goal of the meeting was to ensure that
the type intercontinental conflict that had occurred in Europe and
Asia could not occur in the Americas. On September 2, 1947, numer-
ous nations from the Western hemisphere signed the Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (also known as the Rio Treaty). This
treaty acted as a precursor to the adoption of the Organization of
American States Charter, which was adopted a year later in Bogota,
Colombia. On April 30, 1948, twenty-one nations of the Americas
adopted the charter of the OAS. Cuba has remained a member but has
been excluded from participation since 1962.
The OAS is broken down into a series of councils and committees. The
main body is the General Assembly, which meets once a year and
brings together all the foreign ministers of the Americas. The Perma-
nent Council meets regularly in Washington, D.C., at the OAS head-
quarters. The Inter-American Council for Integral Development is a
council devoted entirely to promotion of economic development.
There also exists a series of subcommissions under the auspices of the
OAS: Inter-American Children’s Institute, Pan American Institute of
Geography and History, Inter-American Commission of Women,
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Inter-Amer-
ican Indian Institute, and Pan American Health Organization.
The initial goals of the OAS were to strengthen democracy across the
continent, encourage free trade, strengthen education, and promote
security. Since its inception, the organization has expanded its goals.
At the most recent Summit of the Americas, the nations of the hemi-
sphere agreed to support new mandates, including strengthening
human rights, curbing illegal drugs, creating a Free Trade Area of the
Americas, and promoting a greater civil participation in government.Alliance Text
In the name of their Peoples, the Governments represented at
the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Conti-
nental Peace and Security, desirous of consolidating and
strengthening their relations of friendship and good neighborli-
ness, and
Considering:
That Resolution VIII of the Inter-American Conference on
Problems of War and Peace, which met in Mexico City, recom-
mended the conclusion of a treaty to prevent and repel threats
and acts of aggression against any of the countries of America;
That the High Contracting Parties reiterate their will to
remain united in an inter-American system consistent with the
purposes and principles of the United Nations, and reaffirm the
existence of the agreement which they have concluded concern-
ing those matters relating to the maintenance of international
peace and security which are appropriate for regional action;
That the High Contracting Parties reaffirm their adherence
to the principles of inter-American solidarity and cooperation,
and especially to those set forth in the preamble and declara-
tions of the Act of Chapultepec, all of which should be under-
stood to be accepted as standards of their mutual relations and
as the juridical basis of the Inter-American System;
That the American States propose, in order to improve the
procedures for the pacific settlement of their controversies, to
conclude the treaty concerning the “Inter-American Peace Sys-
tem” envisaged in Resolutions IX and XXXIX of the Inter-
American Conference on Problems of War and Peace,
That the obligation of mutual assistance and common defense
of the American Republics is essentially related to their demo-
cratic ideals and to their will to cooperate permanently in the ful-
fillment of the principles and purposes of a policy of peace;
That the American regional community affirms as a mani-
fest truth that juridical organization is a necessary prerequisite