in 2015 at the
9th Summit of the Americas in 2022.
Election to the OAS Almagro was elected Secretary General of the
Organization of American States on March 18, 2015, earning the support of 33 of the 34 Members States, including one abstention. He officially took office on May 26, 2015. Almagro's first year in office was marked by his outspoken stance on democracy and human rights. His leadership has widely been seen as reinvigorating an Organization. His election campaign centered on the idea of "More Rights for More People". In addition to four programmatic pillars of democracy, human rights, security and development, he announced a set of new strategic initiatives to achieve this goal including: • The OAS
School of Governance to train civil servants and civil society with the tools for transparent and accountable government; • The
Inter-American Education System to ensure quality, inclusive, and equitable education; and • The
Regional System for the Prevention of Social Conflicts to facilitate dialogue between investors, states and communities in key productive sectors. Under the renewed vision, Almagro continues to champion key OAS initiatives including the Inter-American Human Rights System, the Inter-American Judicial Facilitators Program, the MACCIH, and the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia (MAPP), along with electoral cooperation and observation missions as priorities for the organization.
Regional work Madrid Forum On 3 March 2020,
Santiago Abascal of the
far-right Spanish political party
Vox met with Almagro, with the two discussing the creation of the anti-leftist organization, the
Madrid Forum. Members of the Madrid Forum again met with Almagro in March 2023, presenting the ongoing
Peruvian protests as an international "destabilization campaign" against President
Dina Boluarte.
Inter-religious dialogue The initiative "Protecting our Home Common Home: Ensuring more rights for more people in the Americas" is organized through the cooperation of the OAS, the
Vatican and the
Inter-religious Institute for Dialogue. The inaugural meeting on September 7–8, 2016, established a Hemispheric Network of Dialogue for the Common Home which creates platform for dialogue between countries of OAS Member States and religious leaders to support reconciliation and the search for solutions to promote peace and stability, in line with Article 2 of the
OAS Charter.
Other work Almagro has given special lectures and classes at prestigious academic centers including the
University of Oxford,
New York University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Syracuse University, UNAM of Mexico, University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, Cambridge University, and University of the Republic of Uruguay, among others. During the 2022
Summit of the Americas, Almagro called for a global treaty to end violence against women and girls.
National work Bolivia During his mandate, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission for the 2019 presidential elections in Bolivia denounced irregularities in the process. In agreement with the Bolivian government, the OAS conducted an audit of the electoral process, whose preliminary report dated November 10, 2019 denounced "irregularities, ranging from very serious to indicative", which led the technical audit team to "question the integrity of the election results". On November 10, Almagro called for the election to be annulled and for new elections to be called, a process during which he assured "it is understood that constitutional mandates should not be interrupted, including that of President
Evo Morales." The final report of the audit, published on December 4, concluded that there was “fraudulent manipulation” and “serious irregularities” that made it impossible to validate the results originally issued by the Bolivian electoral authorities. The European Union, which also sent an Electoral Observation Mission to the October 2019 elections in Bolivia, reached similar conclusions in its final report. In 2022, and in compliance with a mandate from the
United States Congress, the
US State Department prepared a report on Bolivia's electoral process in 2019, which ratified the findings of the OAS and EU missions.
Guatemala Almagro and the OAS played a central role in ensuring that
Bernardo Arévalo assumed the presidency of Guatemala in January 2024, after his victory in the 2023 general elections, as highlighted by President Arévalo himself in his speech at a formal session of the Permanent Council of the Organization on March 26, 2024: "During 2023, this Organization played a fundamental role in catalyzing global support for the struggle of the people of Guatemala to assert their sovereignty." The Ambassador of
Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the Organization of American States,
Sir Ronald Sanders stated that "undoubtedly, had the OAS and its Secretary General Luis Almagro, supported by key member states of the Permanent Council, not played an active role as mediator, negotiator, and influencer, Guatemala would currently face a constitutional crisis and civil unrest."
Cuba On December 7, 2018, under the leadership of Secretary General Almagro, the OAS hosted the first Conference on the Situation of Human Rights in Cuba since the 2009 Resolution lifting Cuba's suspension from the Organization. The conference included dialogue on the criminality of freedom of Expression in Cuba, as well as the situation of political prisoners and accountability for repressors in the country.
Haiti Following the suspension of the second round of presidential elections on January 24, 2016, President
Michel Martelly requested assistance from OAS Secretary General Almagro to facilitate a discussion on finding a way forward. On January 29, an OAS Special Mission travelled to Haiti to assess the situation and help reach an understanding "agreed by Haitians." The Mission engaged in dialogue with key political and civil society stakeholders facilitating a consensus formula for next steps. On February 6, 2016, former President Martelly announced a transitional agreement electing an interim President and confirming a consensus Prime Minister. After the completion of the Mission, the Representative of Haiti to the OAS, Jean Josué Pierre, applauded the OAS, stating that "the Mission not only supported and accompanied the negotiations, but has reestablished the image of the Organization." Almagro has been critical of the slow progress to resolve the political impasse; "It is imperative for Haitian political stakeholders, including Parliamentarians and those provisionally governing the country, to fully assume their responsibilities towards the nation. The interests of the Haitian people must supersede partisan interests."
Honduras Anticorruption has been a focus from the outset of Secretary Almagro's term. In the spring of 2015, widespread protests erupted when a multi-million corruption scandal involving the Honduran social security system was uncovered by the local media. In August 2015, Honduran President
Juan Orlando Hernández invited Secretary General Almagro to Honduras to facilitate a dialogue and response to the protests. Almagro met with government representatives, political parties and civil society on how to end impunity and repair trust between the country's government and its citizens. On January 19, 2016, Secretary General Almagro and the
Government of Honduras signed an agreement creating the OAS Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH). The MACCIH created an international anti-corruption team of investigators and judges to work with Honduran judges, prosecutors and police officers to better investigate and prosecute complex public corruption cases. While the Mission's focus is to investigate cases involving networks of public and private corruption, it will also support reform in four key areas: preventing and fighting corruption, criminal justice reform, political and electoral reform and public security. The first members of the MACCIH arrived in Honduras in April 2016.
Nicaragua Led by Almagro, the General Secretariat of the OAS activated different diplomatic and denouncing mechanisms to expose the serious situation that the Central American country faces. A project of electoral reforms was agreed between the General Secretariat of the OAS and the government early in 2017 with the objective of strengthening democratic institutions. While the agreement is currently on hold given the ongoing crisis, Secretary Almagro remains a staunch supporter of mechanisms that would allow for redemocratization, and to achieve justice for the hundreds of Nicaraguan victims. In this context, his good offices made possible the first visit on-site visit of the Inter American Human Rights Commission (CIDH, by its initials in Spanish) in many years, and he approved the creation of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI, by its initials in Spanish) to seek truth and help investigate the crimes committed. Facing an attitude of denial from the government, in December 2018 he announced the activation of article 20 of the Inter American Democratic Charter for Nicaragua.
Venezuela on Venezuela on 19 July 2017. In the lead up to the December
2015 parliamentary elections in Venezuela, Secretary General Almagro sent an 18-page open letter to the president of that country's
National Electoral Council (CNE) in which he publicly denounced “the Government's violations of human rights and efforts to undermine the December 2015 elections through the monopolization of the media, interference in the election process, oppression of free assembly and the detention of political prisoners″. The letter represented the first open criticism of the Venezuelan government by a senior diplomat from the region. As the situation in Venezuela deteriorated dramatically after the December elections, in June 2016, Secretary General Almagro released a 114-page report detailing the deteriorating economic situation and humanitarian crisis. Under article 20, the Secretary General invoked the
Inter-American Democratic Charter on the grounds that Venezuela has experienced "an alteration of the constitutional order". Key recommendations from the report include the immediate release of all political prisoners; implementation of the constitutionally mandated recall referendum before the end of 2016; a return to the balance of powers between the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches of government; a bi-partisan review of judicial appointments; and, the establishment of an independent body to combat corruption. and for a return to the constitutional order in Venezuela. On September 23, Almagro expressed dismay at the rules and timetable published by the CNE that further delayed the recall process into 2016, guaranteeing that the ruling party remains in power until the end of the term in 2019. "The recall referendum belongs to the people, and it is up to the CNE to ensure the guarantees for the free expression of the people, instead of curtailing and trying to annul their rights." As the situation in Venezuela worsened, on March 14, 2017, the Secretary General presented an Updated Report on the Situation in Venezuela, outlining the further deterioration of the conditions in the country, stating that there had been a complete rupture of the democratic order. In the wake of the violent protests during the summer of 2017, the Secretary General published a Third Report on the Situation in Venezuela. In this Report, the Secretary General stated that there was “evidence that pointed to the systematic, tactical and strategic use of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence” are part of a targeted campaign and systemic policy against those who opposed the government. The OAS General Secretariat was tasked with monitoring further developments in Venezuela and to “specifically look at the individuals and institutions that directly or indirectly enable the use of these repressive tactics and tools” to determine whether crimes against humanity have taken place. A Fourth Report was published detailing the complete elimination of democracy following the establishment of the unconstitutional “National Constituents Assembly” in September 2017. In July 2017, Secretary General Luis Almagro appointed former
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor,
Luis Moreno Ocampo as a Special Advisor on Crimes Against Humanity. In this position, Ocampo helped to define and launch an independent and impartial process to assess whether crimes against humanity have taken place in Venezuela. In September 2017, a Panel of Independent International Experts was established to oversee the process including a series of public hearings that were held at OAS Headquarters in Washington, DC in September, October, and November of that year. In May 2018, the Panel of Independent Experts released their report indicating that there are reasonable grounds that satisfy the burden of proof required by Article 52 of the
Rome Statue, to believe that crimes against humanity had taken place in Venezuela. Shortly after, Secretary General Almagro formally submitted the Report to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,
Fatou Bensouda, requesting that the Prosecutor open a full investigation into the situation on an urgent basis. During subsequent months, the Secretary General worked diligently to identify a coalition of countries to take the historic step of invoking Article 14 of the Rome Statute and refer the situation in Venezuela to the ICC. On September 26, 2018, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru formally submitted the Article 14 referral to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The Secretary General has called upon the international community to consider using all mechanisms available in international law to protect the rights of Venezuelans. This includes, but is not limited to,
responsibility to protect and
international humanitarian law. On October 12, 2017, the newly elected
Supreme Tribunal of Justice, were sworn in the OAS Headquarters. The 33 magistrates, elected by the National Assembly in July 2017, were forced to take office in exile due to political persecution, intimidation and threats of being detained by the Maduro dictatorship. As the number of Venezuelans fleeing their country reached precedent-setting numbers, in September 2018, Secretary General Almagro established the Working Group on Crisis of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees of the OAS, chaired by
David Smolansky, to provide “solutions to the exodus of the Venezuelan people – the most visible face of the humanitarian
crisis in Venezuela – who can today be found walking through the cities and towns of the Americas looking for the bread they cannot get in their own homeland." Due to his line regarding the Venezuelan crisis, Almagro was expelled by the
Broad Front party in
Uruguay for "colluding with US imperialism".
Ethics breaches In October 2022, it was revealed that Almagro had engaged in a consensual romantic relationship with an OAS employee who served as his advisor. An external investigation concluded in April 2023 that "the Secretary General did not violate OAS rules and regulations regarding obligations of (i) oversight; (ii) salary increases; (iii) intimidation; (iv) travel; or conflicts of interest." The independent investigation noted that he "did not engage in serious misconduct".
International Conflicts Ukraine-Russia War On February 24, 2022, Almagro condemned the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine and called for an immediate cessation of the hostilities that it has irresponsibly initiated. On April 21, 2022, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States suspended Russia as a permanent observer to the OAS. On September 23, 2024, Ukraine's President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy bestowed Almagro with the Order of Merit, First Class "for outstanding personal contribution into strengthening interstate cooperation, supporting state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine".
Israel-Hamas War When Hamas, a Palestinian armed group in the Gaza Strip, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Almagro immediately condemned the "terrorist attack" and stated that Israel has the right to defend itself. Almagro further called on the "Palestinian Authority to put an end to this aggression" and called Hamas's actions of targeting civilian populations as "an act that violates human rights and international law". After meeting with families of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas in November 2024, Almagro stated that "Our commitment to Peace must require that we, first of all, demand the release of the hostages, because their kidnapping has caused the war and their release will stop the war." == Awards ==