 | |
| Formation | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Location |
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| Revenue | $95,702[1] (2016) |
| Expenses | $105,400[1] (2016) |
| Website | www |
TheCouncil on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) is aWashington, D.C.–basednon-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1975.[2][3] The organization can draw on a large number of interns of graduate and undergraduate students, who gain experience in different fields additionally receiving academic credit from their home institutions.[4] COHA also attracts retired government employees who support COHA in preparingmonographs[5] on a variety of topics including regional development, trade policies, and the international lending agencies' controversial development strategies. Further support is provided by a number of COHA senior research fellows of different nationalities including theUnited States andLatin America, who are experts in their respective fields of engagement.[6][7]
According to the group's website, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs was founded in 1975 to promote the common interests of the American hemisphere, to take regional issues into focus and to reinforce the importance of inter-American relations. One focus is the development of a constructive US policy towards theLatin American countries. COHA decided in 1982 to also observeCanada's relations with Latin America. Since its inception, the leadership of the COHA is made up of representatives of majortrade unions, organizations, and religious groups, and also includes important civic and academic figures. COHA supports representative democracy and pluralistic institutions. COHA is non-partisan[citation needed] and is not part of political alliances. It supports open and democratic political processes and continues to condemnauthoritarian regimes[8] of whatever political orientation, that subject their populations to their own political agendas, curtailing economic growth and development, disregardingsocial justice and the right to physical integrity as well as withholding civil rights.[9]
In the past, the COHA has expressed criticism of US policy towardsHaiti,Cuba,Venezuela and of neo-liberal social reforms in Latin America.[10] It also criticized that the US entered into theNAFTA with (Canada and)Mexico while Mexico was rife withendemiccorruption, its institutions lacking truedemocracy and its trade unions lacking equality rights. Their credo was that it should have never been entered into untilMexican institutions were trulydemocratic, its trade unions could freely negotiate as equals, and the government had been cleansed of endemiccorruption. COHA also continues to bring to light the random application of structural adjustments which badly affect the poorest of the poor of the Latin America population.[11]
COHA has investigated issues such as unproductiveU.S. pressure on PresidentAristide ofHaiti which ended in him being overturned andWashington's installing an ill-fated interim regime in his place.[12][13]
Larry Birns was the director of COHA from its founding in 1975 until his death in 2018.[14] Birns was a former defense researcher, strategist, and member of the Institute for Strategic Studies in London, and a member of Oxford'sAll Souls College. Birns was also a senior grade public affairs officer for theUnited Nations Economic Commission for Latin America inSantiago, Chile during theAllende government. Birns taught and lectured for 15 years in the fields of Latin American studies, comparative government, and international law at a number of U.S. and British colleges and universities.
The Boston Globe describes Birns as alobbyist and a Leftistliberal critic of U.S. policy,[15] andThe New York Times says the Council on Hemispheric Affairs is a liberal research group specializing in United States-Latin America relations.[16] TheLos Angeles Times describes the COHA as a liberalthink tank.[17]
The Heritage Foundation stated that the Council on Hemispheric Affairs had a leftist positioning, would exaggerate negative publicity about right-wing governments in Latin America.[18] The council was also described as a leftist lobby byOfira Seliktar inFailing the Crystal Ball Test.[19]
The conservativeHeritage Foundation has alleged the Council on Hemispheric Affairs was founded with assistance fromOrlando Letelier andRichard Barnet of the progressive think tank,Institute for Policy Studies.[18] It has been funded by the Judith Loeb Chiara Foundation.[20]
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