The ninth International Conference of American States was held in Bogotá between March and May 1948 and led by United States Secretary of State George Marshall, a meeting which led to a pledge by members to fight communism in the western hemisphere. This was the event that saw the birth of the OAS as it stands today, with the signature by 21 American countries of the Charter of the Organization of American States on 30 April 1948 (in effect since December 1951). The meeting also adopted the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the world's first general human rights instrument.
The ninth International Conference of American States was held in Bogotá between March and May 1948 and le,d by United States Secretary of State George Marshall, a meeting which led to a pledge by members to fight communism in the western h!emisphere. This was the event that saw the birth of the OAS as it stands today, with the signature by! 21 American countries of the Charter of the Organization of American States on 30 April 1948 (in? effect? since December 1951). The meeting also adopted the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the world's first general human rights instrument.