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 |  Costa Rica |
14–23 April 1971 |
| 2nd | Washington, D.C. |  United States |
11–21 April 1972 |
| 3rd | Washington, D.C. | United States |
4–15 April 1973 |
| 4th | Atlanta | United States |
19 April – 1 May 1974 |
| 5th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
8–19 May 1975 |
| 6th | Santiago |  Chile |
4–18 June 1976 |
| 7th | St. George's |  Grenada |
14–22 June 1977 |
| 8th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
21 June – 1 July 1978 |
| 9th | La Paz |  Bolivia |
22–31 October 1979 |
| 10th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
19–26 November 1980 |
| 11th | Castries |  Saint Lucia |
2–11 December 1981 |
| 12th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
15–21 December 1982 |
| 13th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
14–18 November 1983 |
| 14th | Brasília |  Brazil |
12–17 November 1984 |
| 15th | Cartagena |  Colombia |
5–9 December 1985 |
| 16th | Guatemala City |  Guatemala |
11–15 November 1986 |
| 17th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
9–14 November 1987 |
| 18th | San Salvador |  El Salvador |
14–19 November 1988 |
| 19th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
13–18 November 1989 |
| 20th | Asunción |  Paraguay |
4–8 June 1990 |
| 21st | Santiago | Chile |
3–8 June 1991 |
| 22nd | Nassau |  Bahamas |
18–23 May 1992 |
| 23rd | Managua |  Nicaragua |
7–11 June 1993 |
| 24th | Belém | Brazil |
6–10 June 1994 |
| 25th | Montrouis |  Haiti |
5–9 June 1995 |
| 26th | Panama City |  Panama |
3–7 June 1996 |
| 27th | Lima |  Peru |
1–5 June 1997 |
| 28th | Caracas |  Venezuela |
1–3 June 1998 |
| 29th | Guatemala City | Guatemala |
6–8 June 1999 |
| 30th | Windsor, Ontario |  Canada |
4–6 June 2000 |
| 31st | San José | Costa Rica |
3–5 June 2001 |
| 32nd | Bridgetown |  Barbados |
2–4 June 2002 |
| 33rd | Santiago | Chile |
8–10 June 2003 |
| 34th | Quito |  Ecuador |
6–8 June 2004 |
| 35th | Fort Lauderdale | United States |
5–7 June 2005 |
| 36th | Santo Domingo |  Dominican Republic |
4–6 June 2006 |
| 37th | Panama City | Panama |
3–5 June 2007 |
| 38th | Medellín | Colombia |
1–3 June 2008 |
| 39th | San Pedro Sula |  Honduras |
2–3 June 2009[1] |
| 40th | Lima | Peru |
6–8 June 2010 |
| 41st | San Salvador | El Salvador |
5–7 June 2011 |
| 42nd | Cochabamba | Bolivia |
3–5 June 2012[2] |
| 43rd | La Antigua | Guatemala |
4–6 June 2013[3] |
| 44th | Asunción | Paraguay |
3–5 June 2014[4] |
| 45th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
15–16 June 2015[5] |
| 46th | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic |
13–15 June 2016[6] |
| 47th | Cancún |  Mexico |
18–21 June 2017[7] |
| 48th | Washington, D.C. | United States |
4–5 June 2018[8] |
| 49th | Medellín | Colombia
|
26–28 June 2019[9] |
| 50th | Washington, D.C. | United States
|
20–21 October 2020[10] |
| 51st | Guatemala City (Virtual) | Guatemala
|
10–12 November 2021[11] |
| 52nd | Lima | Peru
|
5–7 October 2022[12] |
| 53rd | Washington, D.C. | United States
|
21–23 June 2023[13] |