As resoluções da Organização dos Estados Americanos e a regionalização do direito internacional

Abstract

This research investigated whether the resolutions of the Organization of American States (OAS) promote the regionalization of international law. The study sought to understand the extent to which the OAS‘s institutional practice fosters the development of international norms with validity limited to the states of the American continent, as opposed to the making of universally applicable rules. To this end, the practice of issuing resolutions by the Organization's bodies was analyzed, with a specific focus on its political organs. This research argues that such resolutions produce legal effects in the formation of international law, both at the regional and universal levels. They may serve as sources of international obligations in specific cases, articulate general norms of international law and their constitutive elements, and function as interpretative instruments of international treaties. The study also examined the existence of a process of regionalization of international law and the potential of the OAS to act as a driving force behind this process, insofar as it encourages the adoption of norms with a regional scope of validity. For this purpose, three thematic areas of the Organization‘s action were analyzed: the promotion of democracy, non-intervention, and the protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples. These areas were explored through the analysis of three fundamental resolutions: the Inter-American Democratic Charter — AG/RES. 1 (XXVIII-E/01), adopted on September 11, 2001; the Resolution on the Strengthening of the Principles of Non-Intervention and Self-Determination — AG/RES. 78 (II-O/72), adopted on April 21, 1972; and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — AG/RES. 2888 (XLVI-O/16), adopted on June 15, 2016. It is concluded that, in light of the legal effects attributed to these resolutions by states, the jurisprudence of international courts, and the institutional practice of the OAS, it is possible to affirm that the Organization‘s resolutions can indeed promote the regionalization of international law, by contributing to the development of regionally applicable norms. However, this contribution is relative, as these resolutions also influence the making of universally valid norms. The resolutions of the OAS thus perform a dual function, playing a significant role in thelaw-making of both regional and universal international law.