Council on Hemispheric Affairs

The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1975.[2] [3]

Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Formation1975
TypeNon-governmental organization
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
Location
  • 2501 Calvert Street, N.W., Suite 401
Director
Larry Birns
Revenue (2016)
$95,702[1]
Expenses (2016)$105,400[1]
Websitewww.coha.org

History

According to the group's website, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs was founded in 1975 to promote the interest 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 with regards to the Latin American countries. COHA decided in 1982 that in the future it will observe Canada's relations with Latin America. Since its inception, the leadership of the COHA is made up of representatives of major trade unions, organizations, and religious groups, and also includes important civic and academic figures. COHA supports representative democracy and pluralistic institutions. COHA is non-partisan and is not part of political alliances. It supports open and democratic political processes and condemns all authoritarian regimes. In the past, the COHA has expressed criticism of US policy towards Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela and neo-liberal social reforms in Latin America.[4]

Director

Larry Birns was the director of COHA from its founding in 1975 until his death in 2018.[5] Birns was a former defense researcher, strategist, and member of the Institute for Strategic Studies in London, and a member of Oxford's All Souls College. Birns was also a senior grade public affairs officer for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in Santiago, Chile during the Allende 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.

Reception

The Boston Globe describes Birns as a lobbyist and a Leftist liberal critic of U.S. policy,[6] and The New York Times says the Council on Hemispheric Affairs is a liberal research group specializing in United States-Latin America relations.[7] The Los Angeles Times describes the COHA as a liberal think tank.[8]

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, and was funded by Orlando Letelier.[9] The council was also described as a leftist lobby by Ofira Seliktar in Failing the Crystal Ball Test.[10]

Funding

The conservative Heritage Foundation has alleged the Council on Hemispheric Affairs was founded with assistance from Orlando Letelier and Richard Barnet of the progressive think tank, Institute for Policy Studies.[9] It has been funded by the Judith Loeb Chiara Foundation.[11]

See also
  • United States and South and Central America

References
  1. "Council on Hemispheric Affairs Inc" (PDF). Candid. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  2. "About COHA".
  3. Vadum, Matthew (19 March 2008). "Terrorist-Supporting Venezuelan Strongman Has Famous Allies". Human Events. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  4. "About COHA". Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. "Message from the Board and Friends of COHA on the Passing of Larry Birns". 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  6. Stephen Kinzer, Globe Correspondent. Coping with Latin America; At issue: how should we deal with leftists. Boston Globe Boston, Mass.: Jul 15, 1980. pg. 1
  7. TREASTER, JOSEPH B. MAN IN THE NEWS; LATIN ENVOY: MR. SIMPATICO. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jun 2, 1983. pg. A.7
  8. T. Christian Miller and Stephen Ixer. A Top Chavez Foe Jailed for Role in Strike; Renewed protests are possible as the regime targets two business and union leaders. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Feb 21, 2003. pg. A.3
  9. Frawley, Joan. "The Left's Latin American Lobby". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  10. Seliktar, Ofira (2000). Failing the crystal ball test : the Carter administration and the fundamentalist revolution in Iran ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Westport, Conn [u.a.]: Praeger. p. 44. ISBN 0275968723.
  11. "Paid Notice: Deaths CHIARA, JUDITH HELEN LOEB". 18 November 2010 – via NYTimes.com.
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