Enlargement of the Conference of American States

The Conference of American States (CAS) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of other states joining the Conference. To be eligible for becoming a member state of the Conference of American States, a country has to fulfill several political and economic conditions, known as the Toscouné criteria, including having a democratic government, an independent judiciary, protections for civil liberties, and a functioning market economy. Every member state has to approve a candidate country's accession to the CAS in its national legislature, and the American Parliament must also approve of any enlargement. This process is referred to as American integration, and it involves bringing a candidate country in alignment with CAS laws and legislation, to make it capable of participating in the American Single Market and other common institutions.

The CAS initially consisted of the "Inner Four" when it was first created: Astoria, Manitoba, Sierra, and Superior. Since then it has enlarged to include 25 member states as of 2023, with the most recent member state to join being Brazil, in July 2016. The most recent territorial enlargement was Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, which are former Sierran territories, now independent countries, that submitted themselves to CAS law in 2019. The only loss of the CAS has been the withdrawal of Mexico in the early 1970s.

As of 2023, Cozumel has been granted candidate status and is undergoing the accession process. Other potential candidates include the Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Negotiations with the Antilles have dragged out for decades and its membership is seen as unfeasible because of the disputes over the political status of the Antilles, though the issue has received reconsideration since the start of the 2021 Caribbean diplomatic crisis.

Enlargement of the Conference of American States

Contents

Criteria

Process

Historical enlargements

First enlargement

First Latin American enlargement and Greenland

Second Latin American enlargement

Brazoria

Brazil

Potential enlargements

See also