Diplomacy / Organization of American States New U.S. Envoy to OAS Says Group Needs to Refocus, Fight for Democracy by Larry Luxner She’s been on the job only three months, but Carmen Lomellin already has some rather strong opinions about the Organization of American States (OAS). “The good news is, I really know the OAS very well,” she jokes. “The bad news is that I really know the OAS very well.” As permanent U.S. representative to the 34-nation body, Lomellin — a Mexican-American and native of Chicago — holds the rank of ambassador. Prior to her nomination by President Obama and confirmation by the Senate late last year, Lomellin was director of outreach at the OAS Department of External Relations. And before that, she spent 11 years as executive secretary of the organization’s Inter-American Commission of Women. All of which is why Lomellin thinks she has a unique perspective on a Washington-based behemoth whose critics say is wasteful, unmanageable and increasingly irrelevant. In fact, leaders of more than 30 Latin American and Caribbean nations meeting in Mexico last month as part of the Rio Group discussed creating a new regional organization that could serve as an alternative to the OAS — one that wouldn’t include the United States or Canada. (As of press time, the new group hadn’t been named, though leaders say it will be launched next year.) Lomellin says she understands the complaints against the OAS, some of which are justified while others are not. “Having been inside the OAS, I can say they do very good work. However, I also see its shortcomings. I feel it really has to take a much stronger leadership position,” she said, warning that “the organization is awash in a sea of mandates that have mushroomed and ballooned, and once again it’s in a very serious financial crisis. If this crisis is not resolved in the next few months, it’s very possible that the OAS will have to cut about 20 to 25 percent of its staff. It would lose a lot of very good people.” Noting that the OAS faces a $9.6 million budget shortfall for 2011, Lomellin said “there’s been no real increase in the budget in many years,” even though other organizations like the United Nations have seen substantial increases over time. The OAS, founded in 1948 as a hemispheric bulwark against the encroaching spread of communism, operates on an annual budget of $178 million. That’s a tiny fraction of the U.N.’s $5 billion biannual budget for 2010-11, and a pittance compared to the $708 billion President Obama wants to spend on American defense in fiscal 2011. “However, helping the OAS come out of this crisis shouldn’t be a matter of just opening up a checkbook and writing checks,” according to Lomellin. “It’s about taking on responsibility, analyzing its many mandates, focusing on what it does well, and getting rid of those mandates that are perhaps outdated or those that other organizations can take on. There must also be increased transparency in hiring and in how decisions are made.” In a phone interview from Chicago, where she was traveling on business, Lomellin noted that Chilean diplomat José Miguel Insulza is unopposed in his bid to be re-elected March 24 for another five-year term as secretary-general of the OAS. But she’s not exactly thrilled with Insulza. “His tenure has been a bit of a disappointment,” Lomellin told The Diplomat. “There should have been a more robust defense of democracy in the region. A situation like what happened in Honduras could possibly have been averted if the appropriate work had been done on democracy. “What’s going on in Venezuela is a shame. Democracy is slowly being eroded [under President Hugo Chávez],” she added — although the OAS has taken some steps to confront Chávez, issuing a blistering 300-page report in late February criticizing the government’s constraints on free expression, public protests and opposition politicians. Lomellin noted that democracy is also being endangered in Ecuador by President Rafael Correa. “It’s unfortunate when you start taking people’s rights away, such as freedom of the press. This is indeed happening in Ecuador. The OAS has very important tools at its disposal to take a leadership role, especially in the area of democracy. The Democratic Charter must be used, shared and debated.” Next Page