NEWS RELEASES
OAS ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON HELMS-BURTON ACT
June 4, 1996 No. 103
OAS ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON HELMS-BURTON ACT
Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) Christine Stewart welcomed a
resolution passed by the Organization of American States (OAS) calling on the
Inter-American Juridical Committee (IAJC) to examine the Helms-Burton Act and
report on its validity under international law.
"Canada welcomes the support shown by OAS member states for its position on the
Helms-Burton Act," said Mrs. Stewart. "This resolution reflects the growing
concern of the international community that the Act's extraterritorial impact
violates accepted principles of international law."
Mrs. Stewart made the statement in Panama while attending the 26th General
Assembly of the Organization of American States. Thirty-two OAS member states co-sponsored the resolution. Only one member opposed it.
The Inter-American Juridical Committee is an independent advisory body of the OAS
on legal matters. The IAJC is expected to undertake its examination of the Act at
a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. The committee's report would be
presented to the Permanent Council of the OAS before the next General Assembly.
The Helms-Burton Act was signed into law on March 12, 1996. Among other
provisions, the Act purports to impose political and economic sanctions on foreign
business people deemed to be "trafficking" in expropriated Cuban property claimed
by U.S. nationals.
A copy of the resolution is attached.
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RESOLUTION
FREE TRADE AND INVESTMENT IN THE HEMISPHERE
(Resolution co-sponsored by the delegations of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,
Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis,
Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,
Uruguay, and Venezuela.)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
CONSIDERING:
That one of the essential purposes of the Organization of American States (OAS),
as established in its Charter, is to seek the solution of political, juridical,
and economic problems that may arise among the member states;
That international order consists essentially of respect for the personality,
sovereignty, and independence of the states and faithful fulfilment of obligations
derived from treaties and other sources of international law, as reaffirmed in
Article 3 of the OAS Charter;
That Articles 10 and 34 of the Charter establish that every American state has the
duty to respect the rights enjoyed by every other state in accordance with
international law and that member states should refrain from practising policies
and adopting actions or measures that have serious adverse effects on the
development of other member states; and
That the member states have repeatedly recognized that economic integration is one
of the objectives of the inter-American system and that, in this context, it is
essential to expand trade and investment at the regional and subregional levels;
RECALLING that, at the Summit of the Americas, the heads of state and government
reaffirmed their strong commitment to multilateral rules and disciplines within
the framework of agreements to promote prosperity through economic integration and
free trade;
CONCERNED over the enactment and application by the member states of laws and
regulations the extraterritorial effects of which affect the sovereignty of other
states and the legitimate interests of entities and individuals under their
jurisdiction, as well as free trade and investment; and
TAKING NOTE of the declaration of the ministers of foreign affairs of the Rio
Group, who met in Cochabamba on May 27, 1996, and the declarations of both member
and other states on the adoption of national laws with extraterritorial effects to
obstruct international trade and investment of other countries with third
countries, as well as the free movement of persons;
RESOLVES:
1. To instruct the Inter-American Juridical Committee, at its next regular session
and as a matter of priority, to examine the validity under international law of
the Helms-Burton Act and present its findings to the Permanent Council.
2. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States at its 27th regular session on the implementation
of this resolution.
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