The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The General Assembly came into being as a part of the restructuring of the OAS that took place following adoption of the Protocol of Buenos Aires (signed 27 February 1967; in force as of 12 March 1970), which contained extensive amendments to the Organization's Charter. Prior to these changes, the OAS's top body was the Inter-American Conference, which in turn was the successor to the International Conference of American States.
The Charter requires that the General Assembly convene once every year in a regular session. In special circumstances, and with the approval of two-thirds of the member states, the Permanent Council can convene special sessions.
The Organization's member states take turns hosting the General Assembly on a rotating basis. The states are represented at its sessions by their chosen delegates: generally, their ministers of foreign affairs, or their appointed deputies. Each state has one vote, and most matters – except for those for which the Charter or the General Assembly's own rules of procedure specifically require a two-thirds majority – are settled by a simple majority vote.
The General Assembly's powers include setting the OAS's general course and policies by means of resolutions and declarations; approving its budget and determining the contributions payable by the member states; approving the reports and previous year's actions of the OAS's specialized agencies; and electing members to serve on those agencies.
| Rank | Host city | Host country | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | San José | 14–23 April 1971 | ||
| 2nd | Washington, D.C. | 11–21 April 1972 | ||
| 3rd | Washington, D.C. | 4–15 April 1973 | ||
| 4th | Atlanta | 19 April – 1 May 1974 | ||
| 5th | Washington, D.C. | 8–19 May 1975 | ||
| 6th | Santiago | 4–18 June 1976 | ||
| 7th | St. George's | 14–22 June 1977 | ||
| 8th | Washington, D.C. | 21 June – 1 July 1978 | ||
| 9th | La Paz | 22–31 October 1979 | ||
| 10th | Washington, D.C. | 19–26 November 1980 | ||
| 11th | Castries | 2–11 December 1981 | ||
| 12th | Washington, D.C. | 15–21 December 1982 | ||
| 13th | Washington, D.C. | 14–18 November 1983 | ||
| 14th | Brasília | 12–17 November 1984 | ||
| 15th | Cartagena | 5–9 December 1985 | ||
| 16th | Guatemala City | 11–15 November 1986 | ||
| 17th | Washington, D.C. | 9–14 November 1987 | ||
| 18th | San Salvador | 14–19 November 1988 | ||
| 19th | Washington, D.C. | 13–18 November 1989 | ||
| 20th | Asunción | 4–8 June 1990 | ||
| 21st | Santiago | 3–8 June 1991 | ||
| 22nd | Nassau | 18–23 May 1992 | ||
| 23rd | Managua | 7–11 June 1993 | ||
| 24th | 6–10 June 1994 | |||
| 25th | Montrouis | 5–9 June 1995 | ||
| 26th | Panama City | 3–7 June 1996 | ||
| 27th | Lima | 1–5 June 1997 | ||
| 28th | Caracas | 1–3 June 1998 | ||
| 29th | Guatemala City | 6–8 June 1999 | ||
| 30th | Windsor, Ontario | 4–6 June 2000 | ||
| 31st | San José | 3–5 June 2001 | ||
| 32nd | Bridgetown | 2–4 June 2002 | ||
| 33rd | Santiago | 8–10 June 2003 | ||
| 34th | Quito | 6–8 June 2004 | ||
| 35th | 5–7 June 2005 | |||
| 36th | Santo Domingo | 4–6 June 2006 | ||
| 37th | Panama City | 3–5 June 2007 | ||
| 38th | Medellín | 1–3 June 2008 | ||
| 39th | San Pedro Sula | 2–3 June 2009[1] | ||
| 40th | Lima | 6–8 June 2010 | ||
| 41st | San Salvador | 5–7 June 2011 | ||
| 42nd | Cochabamba | 3–5 June 2012[2] | ||
| 43rd | La Antigua | 4–6 June 2013[3] | ||
| 44th | Asunción | 3–5 June 2014[4] | ||
| 45th | Washington, D.C. | 15–16 June 2015[5] | ||
| 46th | 13–15 June 2016[6] | |||
| 47th | 18–21 June 2017[7] | |||
| 48th | 4–5 June 2018[8] | |||
| 49th | Medellín | 26–28 June 2019[9] | ||
| 50th | Washington, D.C. | 20–21 October 2020[10] | ||
| 51st | Guatemala City (Virtual) | 10–12 November 2021[11] | ||
| 52nd | Lima | 5–7 October 2022[12] | ||
| 53rd | Washington, D.C. | 21–23 June 2023[13] |