AG

The proposed program-budget of the Organization for fiscal year 2007, presented by the Secretary General on April 12, 2006 (AG/CP/doc.707/06)

The report of the Preparatory Committee on the proposed program-budget of the Organization for 2007 (AG/CP/doc.716/06); and

The Annual Report of the Board of External Auditors (JAE/doc.36/06), presented to the Permanent Council on May 10, 2006;

That AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06) instructed the General Secretariat to submit to the Preparatory Committee a proposed program-budget for the Regular Fund for 2007, at a level for which the Secretary General can demonstrate available financing, but not to exceed US$81.5 million;

That, in accordance with Articles 54 and 55 of the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), the General Assembly approves the program-budget of the Organization and establishes the bases for setting the quota that each government is to contribute to the maintenance of the Organization, taking into account the ability to pay of the respective countries and their determination to contribute in an equitable manner;

That the Organization is mandated to give preference to priorities defined by its members, within the limits of its available resources; and

That, pursuant to the salary policy of parity with the United Nations established in resolution AG/RES. 1319 (XXV-O/95) and Article 40 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (General Standards), the Secretary General adjusted the General Secretariat’s 2006 net basic salary scales, and increased the post adjustment for the Washington, D.C., area;

That extensive documentation already exists with regard to the OAS personnel policy and the salary of policy parity with the United Nations; and

That an increase in object 1, coupled with other mandatory increases in other objects of expenditure could, bearing in mind the need to demonstrate available financing, require a revision of the 2007 program-budget in order to ensure that the needs of the Organization are met;

That on December 14, 2005, Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza issued Executive Order No. 05-13, Restructuring of the General Secretariat, which was subsequently revised on February 14, 2006, Executive Order No. 05-13 Rev. 1;

That Article 120 of the OAS Charter stipulates that in selecting the personnel of the General Secretariat, first consideration shall be given to efficiency, competence, and integrity; but at the same time, in the recruitment of personnel of all ranks, importance shall be given to the necessity of obtaining as wide a geographic representation as possible;

That the Secretary General is urged to continue his work to establish policies of gender equality in the workplace and to make each manager accountable for the application of these policies; and

That Article 72 (b) of the General Standards stipulates that the amount of the Reserve Subfund shall be 30 percent of the total of the annual quotas of the member states, that this amount shall be reached through crediting to this Subfund the annual income in excess of the obligations and expenditures of the Operations Subfund, and that to the extent that the Subfund exceeds 30 percent of the total of the annual quotas of the member states, the excess shall be available for any purposes approved by the General Assembly;

HAVING SEEN the Audit of Accounts and Financial Statements for the Years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, which were prepared by the Board of External Auditors; the Preliminary Report of the Inspector General of the OAS to the Member States regarding the Internal Audit Investigation of the Office of Scholarships, Training, and Information Technology for Human Development and the Report of the Scholarships Task Force (CEPCIDI/doc.727/06); and the reports presented by the Director of the Department of Human Development (CP/CAAP-2838/06 corr. 2 and CP/CAAP-2840/06);

That in its annual report the Board of External Auditors recommended that OAS General Secretariat ensure that the internal policies and procedures related to the granting of scholarships are appropriate and that, in addition, it develop and implement a process to ensure that all internal policies related to scholarship selection and approval are adhered to and adequately documented; and

That the Secretary General has pledged to restore transparency and credibility to the scholarship selection and awards process, as well as to reestablish a firm control over financial, budgetary, and administrative matters, and to reclaim ownership for the OAS of one of the best and well-known scholarship programs in the Hemisphere; and

That, at its thirty-first special session, the General Assembly, through resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06), approved the transitional quota scale for the OAS Regular Fund to finance the program-budget for the years 2007 and 2008; and

That said resolution instructed the Permanent Council to continue considering a draft methodology for assessing quotas to the member states–one that will take into account the criteria established in Article 55 of the OAS Charter and current data on the ability to pay of the member countries; and to present to the General Assembly, at its thirty-seventh regular session, its conclusions and recommendations for the adoption of a revised, definitive scale of quota assessments for 2009 and subsequent years,

1. To approve and authorize the program-budget of the Organization for the fiscal period from January 1 through December 31, 2007, financed by the following funds at the corresponding levels:

b. Special Multilateral Fund of the Inter-American
Council for Integral Development (FEMCIDI) 1,270.1

2. To approve the specific levels of appropriations, by chapter, program, and subprogram, with the recommendations, instructions, or mandates as detailed below:

1. To set the quotas with which the member states will finance the program-budget of the Organization for the year 2007 corresponding to the Regular Fund, in accordance with resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06) and the decision of January 19, 1955 (doc. C-i-269) on income tax reimbursements, using the scale and amounts shown in Table B, “Regular Fund Quota Assessments for 2007.”

2. To establish the Regular Fund budget level for 2007 at US$81.5 million, in accordance with resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06), and to finance it as follows:

i. Contributions of member states in the form of Regular Fund quota payments of $75,894,000, apportioned according to the scale of quota assessments adopted in resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06);

ii. Commitments by member states that, notwithstanding the decrease in their quota percentages under resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06), have decided not to reduce the nominal amount of the quota assessments set for 2006;

iii. FEMCIDI contribution of $190,500 to the Regular Fund for technical supervision and administrative support, in keeping with Article 79 of the General Standards, which, according to the FEMCIDI Statutes, must be up to 15 percent of the amount approved for 2007 programming to be executed in 2008;

iv. Income of $2,532,300 for technical supervision and administrative support from trust and specific funds; and

v. Other income of $1,500,000 including, inter alia, interest, rents, and repayments.

3. The amounts cited in this resolution with respect to the specific funds are estimates and do not constitute any obligation for donors.

4. To authorize an appropriation of $5,492,800 to the General Secretariat for recurrent expenses related to building management and maintenance. Of this amount, $5,180,800 will be financed by the Regular Fund, under Subprogram 91D - Building Management and Maintenance, and $312,000 by resources from the Capital Building Fund, to compensate for an increase in other subprograms.

a. To request the Secretariat to assign, reassign, or restore, as the case may be, the positions listed below, within the same chapters and without incurring additional budgetary costs, with personnel that possess the requisite experience, expertise, and qualifications for the performance of the respective functions:

P4 – Support for the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security (Subprogram 51B)

P5 – Tourism specialist in the Department of Trade, Tourism, and Competitiveness (Subprogram 71E)

i. To instruct the General Secretariat to submit to the Permanent Council semiannual reports on all the performance contracts (CPRs) in accordance with Article 130 of the General Standards.

ii. To request the Permanent Council to examine, through the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs (CAAP), the Inspector General’s report on CPRs and make the corresponding recommendations to the Secretary General.

To extend the mandates in resolution AG/RES. 1839 (XXXI-O/01) for the Secretary General to study the General Secretariat’s policies on trust positions, and for the Permanent Council to consider recommendations for any necessary changes to the General Standards.

To urge the Secretary General to develop, with technical assistance from the Department of Human Resources and all people involved in the hiring and selection process, a human resource policy that fully takes into account the principle of geographic representation in accordance with Article 120 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, and to present a report to the Permanent Council by January 30, 2007.

To urge the Secretary General to redouble his efforts to achieve, as a matter of priority, the goal of having women, including indigenous women, occupy 50 percent of posts at each grade level within the OAS organs, agencies, and entities, particularly at the P-5 grade level and above, in order to achieve gender balance at all levels of the OAS, bearing in mind the criterion of geographic distribution in professional positions.

To urge the Secretary General to continue his work to establish policies of gender equality in the workplace and to make each manager accountable for the application of these policies.

To request the Secretary General, for the purpose of improving evaluation and accountability in the General Secretariat’s personnel management and in accordance with Article 39 of the General Standards and Rule 105.9 of the Staff Rules, to put into practice an effective performance evaluation system that includes: establishing performance goals and standards, facilitating and promoting greater efficiency in the performance of functions, and systematizing performance evaluation.

To instruct the Secretary General to analyze the long-term (e.g., 3-5 years) staffing requirements of the General Secretariat in view of the programmatic vision of current mandates, the new structure of the General Secretariat, and projected retirement and other departures of current staff, and develop a workforce plan that will allow the Secretariat to identify:

ii. The most appropriate recruitment/hiring instruments to meet projected needs (long-term versus short-term contracting, CPRs, etc.); and

iii. Suggested mechanisms for responding to staffing surpluses and deficiencies in accordance with the Organization’s programmatic priorities and vision.

To instruct the General Secretariat to present a report to the Permanent Council by October 31, 2006.

To instruct the General Secretariat to perform a post audit on any position whose funding source is transferred from specific funds to the Regular Fund. That audit by the Department of Human Resources must take place before the Regular Fund assumes responsibility for payment of that salary. The post audit will determine a salary that is commensurate with the level, competency, and duties incurred by the new post, independent of the duties, title, and salary of the previous post. This practice should be implemented by September 2006.

To instruct the General Secretariat to present (i) a legal history of salary parity policy, and (ii) to submit recommendations with regard to personnel policy and its sustainability, in light of new mandates, the recent restructuring of the General Secretariat, and the financial status of the OAS.

a. To extend the mandate adopted by the thirty-first special session of the General Assembly through AG/RES. 1 (XXXI-E/06), instructing the Permanent Council to continue considering a draft methodology for assessing quotas to the member states–one that will take into account the criteria established in Article 55 of the OAS Charter and current data on the ability to pay of the member countries; and to present to the General Assembly, at its thirty-seventh regular session, its conclusions and recommendations for the adoption of a revised, definitive scale of quota assessments for 2009 and subsequent years.

b. To request the Secretary General to convene in the second half of 2006 the group of experts that will begin consideration of the methodology for determining the new scale of member state quota assessments and to present a report thereon to the Permanent Council.

a. To instruct the Secretary General to present a fundraising strategy for the building improvement and maintenance fund by December 2006.

b. To urge member states, permanent observers, and other donors to contribute, as defined in Article 74 of the General Standards, to the Fund for Building Improvement, Maintenance Services, and Other Urgent Needs, established through resolution AG/RES. 2157 (XXXV-O/05).

c. To instruct the Secretary General to report quarterly to the Permanent Council on the income and expenditures of this special fund.

d. To instruct the General Secretariat to review the status and the inventory of the collection of the Art Museum of the Americas and to report to the CAAP by February 2007 with suggestions for the enhancing of the future role of the Museum within the OAS.

a. To request the Secretary General to ensure that each of the Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States is appropriately staffed and funded and to report to the Permanent Council on both progress and limitations in achieving this objective.

b. To request the General Secretariat to submit to the Permanent Council by December 1 of each year a report containing a strategy and annual work plan for each Office. The report should comply with uniform guidelines established by the Secretary General, and should report on progress made in achieving the preceding year’s objectives. In addition, it should lay out the objectives for the coming year. Where appropriate, the report should address any in-country partnership opportunities that may enhance OAS objectives.

c. To authorize the OAS General Secretariat to examine the feasibility of entering into partnership agreements with other international organizations which would permit the Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States to offer services and engage in cooperative endeavors with those international organizations, and to collect fees for these services.

1. i. To establish an immediate and temporary pause in the awarding of new 2006 graduate (PRA) and undergraduate (SPECAF) scholarships. This temporary pause shall remain in effect until the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) and the Permanent Council have approved, in a joint meeting, the new scholarship mechanism.

ii. To instruct the General Secretariat through the Secretariat of the Human Development Fund Committee to submit to the Permanent Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CEPCIDI) for its consideration, as soon as possible, but by no later than August 15, 2006, a proposal for management of the scholarship program in strict observance of rules on competitiveness, transparency, and ethics, and to recommend to CEPCIDI that it consider and approve the changes that need to be made to the Manual of Procedures of Scholarships and Training Programs of the OAS, including the establishment of a cap on individual yearly tuition scholarships.

iii. To instruct the General Secretariat to consider measures and objective criteria for the management and operation of the OAS scholarship program designed to enhance transparency and accountability in the operation of the program, in particular, by providing semiannual reports to the OAS governing bodies that include complete and detailed information on scholarships awards, which include, inter alia, the full name and the nationality of beneficiaries, types of scholarships, costs, and the names and locations of institutions.

iv. To recommend to CEPCIDI that it examine and approve enhanced mechanisms for ensuring that objective criteria are applied in the selection process, taking into account the recommendations set forth in the Appendix to this resolution.

v. Once the pause established by this resolution has been lifted, to authorize the General Secretariat to use unobligated and unspent 2006 appropriations for new graduate and undergraduate fellowships in 2007 and in subsequent years.

2. To authorize the General Secretariat to deposit in the Capital Fund for OAS Fellowship, Scholarship, and Training Programs under Article 18 of the Statutes of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) any unused or deobligated funds from scholarships under object 3 to the extent permitted under Article 99 of the General Standards, with the exception of unobligated funds in accordance with paragraph v above. In implementing this mandate, the General Secretariat shall consult with the IACD Management Board and CEPCIDI and shall report quarterly to CEPCIDI and to the Permanent Council.

a. To encourage member state governments to continue to pay their quotas and their arrears pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1757 (XXX-O/00), “Measures to Encourage the Timely Payment of Quotas,” as modified by resolution AG/RES. 2157 (XXXV-O/05).

b. To extend the mandate of the Permanent Council to evaluate the existing measures and to consider new measures aimed at encouraging the timely payment of quotas, and to complete its report thereon for the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh regular session.

1. To extend the mandate to the Inspector General received through resolution AG/RES. 2157 (XXXV-O/05):

i. To review whether the method of charging overhead is consistent and reasonable throughout the Secretariat in relation to the services provided, taking into consideration the interest generated by specific funds;

ii. To determine if there is a more cost-effective manner of establishing costs charged to specific fund projects; and

a. Analyze the cost recovery policy for technical supervision and administrative support of all funds administered by the General Secretariat, taking into account the Inspector General’s audit on overhead charges, and present a report to the Permanent Council prior to September 30, 2006, for consideration, that proposes amendments to the General Standards as required, so as to reflect a new cost recovery policy that is coherent, consistent, and reasonable; and

b. Submit semiannual reports to the Permanent Council on projects financed by specific funds, which reports shall contain the following information:

i. Income from overhead cost recovery (administrative support and technical supervision costs);

iii. The percentage of interest income earned and applied toward overhead charges.

To instruct the General Secretariat to facilitate access to the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs (CAAP), for all dependencies of the General Secretariat, including those below the level of assistant secretaries, to facilitate a dialogue between the CAAP and the dependencies.

a. To acknowledge the Secretary General’s efforts to centralize the coordination of fundraising activities.

b. To instruct the General Secretariat to prepare and present to the Permanent Council a comprehensive fundraising strategy for the OAS that responds to the Organization’s mandates and priorities.

c. To instruct the General Secretariat to present a detailed report to the Permanent Council by January 31, 2007, on the amounts obtained by each dependency of the General Secretariat and by all the other organs and entities financed in whole or in part by the Regular Fund. This report should cover the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, and should include the following information:

i. A list of all dependencies and entities involved in fundraising efforts, including any foundations raising funds on behalf of the OAS and its programs;

iv. A breakdown of costs incurred by the Regular Fund, in terms of personnel and other expenses, to pursue fundraising efforts and to execute programs financed by the funds raised.

d. To consider, within the fundraising strategy, the feasibility of engaging the Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States in identifying external resources and opportunities for managing programs of other international organizations or permanent observers as a means of deriving management fees or other income-generating opportunities.

e. To recognize the support of the permanent observers and other donors and to encourage them to continue to provide cash and in-kind contributions to the programs, projects, and other activities of the Organization.

To request the Secretary General to submit to the Permanent Council proposals for any amendments it considers must be made to the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat; and to authorize the Permanent Council to consider them, through the CAAP and, if necessary, to approve them ad referendum of the General Assembly.

a. To instruct the General Secretariat to provide to the Permanent Council a list of the foundations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other private entities created by the General Secretariat as of June 30, 2006.

b. To instruct the General Secretariat to inform the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs about the General Secretariat’s participation in the creation of any new foundations, NGOs, and other private entities.

c. To request the General Secretariat to review current procedures for the effectiveness of its participation in the creation and support of foundations, NGOs, and other such entities, and to make appropriate amendments, if necessary, to carry out oversight processes of the General Secretariat’s activities with those foundations, particularly when they use the name of the OAS to raise funds, and to present a report to the Permanent Council before the thirty-seventh regular session of the General Assembly.

a. To request the General Secretariat to design and implement measures to make more efficient use of the resources allocated for travel and paid for by the Regular Fund, FEMCIDI, specific funds, and trust funds administered by the General Secretariat; and to present a report to the CAAP no later than November 2006.

b. To instruct the General Secretariat to implement more effective enforcement mechanisms for ensuring compliance with the rule established by the Permanent Council which requires that all tickets paid for by the Regular Fund, FEMICIDI, specific funds, and trust funds administered by the General Secretariat, be purchased in economy class, except for travel by the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, and the Chair of the Permanent Council, and to report to the Permanent Council on a quarterly basis on any instances of noncompliance with those rules.

c. To instruct any offices and units using specific funds for travel purposes to provide a record to the donor on a quarterly basis.

a. To instruct the Secretary General to pursue efforts, for the purpose of improving the transparency and efficiency of the General Secretariat’s operations, to establish appropriate planning, control, and evaluation systems that will enable the member states to follow up on budget programming and control.

b. To instruct the General Secretariat to prepare, in consultation with member states, a framework for evaluating programs and projects that responds to the mandates issued by the political bodies and the comparative advantages of the Organization, except for those financed by FEMCIDI, and to present a report to the Permanent Council.

To request the General Secretariat to identify the most cost-effective measures of providing interpretation and translation services for OAS conferences and meetings, and to report to the CAAP by October 2006.

To entrust the General Secretariat with conducting a review of the operations of the Inter-American Children’s Institute, with a view to examining its activities in order to benefit all member states and, if appropriate, implementing savings on administrative expenses, and with reporting thereon to the Permanent Council prior to the thirty-seventh regular session of the General Assembly.

To maintain the sum of US$150 a day for honoraria paid to members of the following bodies entitled to such payment: Administrative Tribunal, Board of External Auditors, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Inter-American Juridical Committee, and Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

a. To instruct the General Secretariat to submit to the Preparatory Committee a proposed program-budget for the year 2008 at the level of $81.5 million. Income shall include only: quota income, interest and rental income, contributions for technical supervision and administrative support from FEMCIDI and from trust and specific funds, and all other miscellaneous income.

b. The total expenditure for object 1 should not exceed 64.38 percent of the indicative figure for the 2008 Regular Fund program-budget, including any statutory increases that may be required.

c. To reiterate that all resolutions submitted to the General Assembly that require Regular Fund financing must be accompanied by an opinion, on the availability of funds, from the CAAP or from the Subcommittee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters of the Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly. Resolutions presented after the Preparatory Committee has completed its work may be adopted, but may not be executed, until the requisite opinion from the CAAP and reconfirmation by the Permanent Council are received.

[1]. Including, but not limited to, the implementation of the mandates to prevent, punish, and eradicate violence against women, $100.0

[2]. Including the implementation of the Strategic Plan of the Inter-American Children’s Institute and the Inter-American Program of Cooperation to Prevent and Remedy Cases of International Abduction of Children by One of Their Parents, $100.0.

[3]. Includes additional $20.0 for translation expenses

[4]. Includes $32.0 for operational expenses.

[5]. Includes $60.0 for operational expenses.