Ambassador Stephen Vasciannie was last week elected to chair the Organisation of American States’ (OAS) Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP).

The CAJP, which reports to the OAS Permanent Council, is responsible for monitoring reports from various OAS bodies, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court for Human Rights, and the Inter-American Juridical Committee.

It is responsible for guiding and assessing the work of the OAS on matters such as promoting international law (including international humanitarian law), human rights education, resisting discrimination and intolerance, strengthening public sector management, and protecting rights in the era of terrorism.

The CAJP is also mandated to undertake work within the OAS concerning the human rights of various groups of people, including older persons, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people of African descent, people with HIV/AIDS, victims of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.

Vasciannie, Jamaica’s top diplomat in the United States and permanent representative to the OAS, was elected to the chair of the CAJP for a one-year period by acclamation of the OAS Permanent Council on the nomination of Colombia and Honduras.

Before being appointed to the US Embassy in Washington, DC, Vasciannie was principal of the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, and a University of the West Indies professor of International Law.

He was selected to serve as the chair of the OAS Permanent Council shortly after his arrival in Washington, DC.