OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL
1. Offices of the OAS General Secretariat in the member states
The offices of the General Secretariat in the member states support the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of OAS technical cooperation programs in each country. They represent the General Secretariat and support its other activities in the member states. They help publicize and provide information on the purposes and activities of the Organization.
In addition to the offices' regular activities, the following can be mentioned:
On August 14, the Office of the OAS General Secretariat in Belize was officially opened at a ceremony attended by the Honorable Dean Barrow, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and by Ambassador Christopher R. Thomas, Assistant Secretary General of the OAS. The Government of Belize provided the office space, which is shared with IICA. At present the General Secretariat has offices in 32 OAS member states.
The offices provided support services for national and multinational technical cooperation projects conducted by the different areas of the General Secretariat in the member states, which are discussed in other sections of this report.
The offices of the Caribbean nations struck by Hurricane Luis delivered, through FONDEM, the contributions for relief purposes sent by the Organization to the governments in question.
The offices assisted in contracting personnel and logistical support for the meetings of CIES in Antigua and Barbuda; the meetings of CIECC and the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor in Buenos Aires; the meetings of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Brasilia; the Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in Santiago, Chile; the Second Conference of REDSOCIAL in Santo Domingo; the second meeting of the Special Committee on Trade; and the Seminar on Probity and Public Ethics, held in Montevideo.
Support was also given to the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, and other officers of the Organization during their official visits to the countries where the offices are located.
An effort has been made through various means to publicize the aims and activities of the Organization. In several of the offices, news is published periodically on the projects and activities under way in the particular country. All of the offices promote the distribution of OAS publications and maintain contact with the media.
Many offices promoted or participated in cultural events and in lectures and exhibits on the OAS.
The Museum, devoted to the contemporary art of the Americas, collects, preserves, and exhibits works of artistic and historical merit, organizes exhibits at headquarters and lectures and other cultural activities away from headquarters, and produces written and visual materials so as to promote artistic production, understanding, and cultural cooperation in the Hemisphere.
Nearly 9,000 people visited the Art Museum of the Americas, which contributed to broader knowledge and deeper understanding of creative arts in the Americas through 15 temporary exhibits, permanent collection loans to other institutions, educational and informational activities, and an initiative to enhance cooperation with other museums in the Hemisphere.
Physical Infrastructure
The renovation of the Casita, supervised by the Department of Material Resources and performed under the direction of Notter and Associates, architects, was in keeping with the early 19th century style of the mansion that once stood on the site occupied today by OAS headquarters.
The Museum building also underwent extensive renovation in its exhibit areas, resulting in increased exhibit space and a more attractive appearance. The art collection warehouse area is now being renovated.
Exhibits
The following exhibits were held in the Art Gallery of the Main Building:
Thirty-eight works of art were added to the Permanent Collection of the Museum. Of note were donations made by artists participating in the traveling exhibit "Images of Silence: Photography of Latin America and the Caribbean," which enriched the photograph collection. Other notable donations were the paintings by Gyula Kosice of Argentina, Tomie Ohtake of Brazil, and Alejandro Arostegui of Nicaragua.
Loans from the Permanent Collection
Loans were made to the following institutions: Denver Art Museum in Colorado; Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Center for the Fine Arts in Miami, Florida; New Orleans Museum of Art in Louisiana; Cultural Center of the Inter-American Development Bank; and Chase Manhattan Bank in Puerto Rico during San Juan's eleventh Biennial celebration. Photographs were also released on loan to the Harn Museum in Gainesville, Florida. The Museum organized an exhibit of prints at the General Services Administration of the U.S. Government during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Conservation
Work continued on the necessary care and preservation of the Permanent Collection, including reports on the state of all works in the collection and a check of the inventory. Conservation work was also performed on the works on exhibit in the Museum and the Gallery, and on Permanent Collection works on loan to other institutions.
Other Activities
Educational Activities
Talks were given by participating artists and guest lecturers to broaden the educational impact of the temporary exhibits held in the Museum and Gallery. The Museum continued to offer guided tours for interested government or academic groups. Three art workshops were also given in conjunction with exhibits for children between the ages of three and six, at which they were able to explore a variety of techniques and materials.
Audiovisual Services
During the period concerned, more than 6,500 slides and 100 videotapes were sold, while 259 slides and nine videotapes were donated to the collection. The Museum has supported various presentations given at the General Secretariat and in other institutions through the loan of audiovisual materials on the Permanent Collection and on the culture and art of the Hemisphere in general.
Art Archives
The documentation center and art archives provide reference services to staff members of the Secretariat, students, art historians, curators, collectors, and people interested in the study of art in Latin America and the Caribbean.
International Meetings
The Museum sponsored and hosted the first in a series of planning meetings to develop closer ties among museums of the Americas having Latin American holdings through creation of a cultural cooperation network. Representatives from the following museums participated in the meeting: Garza Foundation and Museum Monterrey, Mexico; Modern Art Museums of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Luis Angel Arango Library, Colombia; National Fine Arts Museum, Argentina; Central Bank Museum Foundation, Costa Rica; The National Art Collection, Barbados; Museum of Contemporary Art and National Fine Arts Museum, Venezuela; Museum of the University of Texas at Austin and the Smithsonian Institution, United States.
Publications
The Museum produced 11 catalogs to accompany the exhibits held in the Museum and the Gallery. Of special note is the 60-page color-illustrated catalog prepared for the School of the South exhibit.
The Columbus Library was established by the First International Conference of American States on April 18, 1890. Its collections are used by those interested in the Americas and inter-American relations. The Library administers a reference services program for members of the permanent missions, staff members of the General Secretariat, and the general public. It holds the historical and photographic archives and original documents of the OAS.
The Columbus Library has unique reference materials on the OAS that date back to the 19th century and are not found in any other collection in the world. In addition to the Library's holdings in books, rare books, and periodicals, it has the largest collection in existence of publications and documents bearing on the history and programs of the Organization and of its predecessor institutions, including a complete collection of printed documents published by those institutions and by the OAS. The wealth of its collections makes it possible for the Columbus Library to offer reference and information services to members of the permanent missions to the OAS, permanent observers, staff members of the General Secretariat, and the general public. In new acquisitions, preference is given to items relating to the Organization's priorities.
Friends of the Library
Ambassador Julio César Jaureguy, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the OAS, invited the permanent representatives of the member states to form a group of friends of the Library.
The favorable response led to the formation of Friends of the Library, whose activities have resulted in an increase in donations to the Library by the permanent missions and permanent observers; the holding of several cultural events in the Library; and organization of an exhibit of rare books.
Automation
In order to give interested parties broader access to available information, an automation program has been undertaken under the supervision of a committee that meets on a regular basis to coordinate steps already planned and to schedule future action. Progress thus far is making it possible to respond to requests from the Library's users faster and more efficiently.
Acquisitions
Forty-five books were acquired for the Library, and 556 for use by other units of the General Secretariat. Fifty-three new subscriptions to periodicals were entered, and 328 subscriptions were renewed. The collection of United Nations publications grew to over 13,000 documents, newspapers, and reports. Nearly 1,200 books were received as gifts.
Reference Service
Reference requests more than doubled as compared to the preceding period. An increasing number of requests was handled electronically. The Library answered more than 2,600 requests for information, provided 3,130 photocopies, and let out 1,440 books and 1,300 newspapers on loan. In the reading room, 2,380 publications were consulted. In order to give the Library a more active role a pilot project has been designed in coordination with the Department of Public Information to produce reference documents on matters currently under consideration in the OAS. Under the inter-library loan program, nearly 1,600 requests were made to other institutions and over 960 volumes were let out on loan.
Documents
The collection grew by 38,900 official OAS documents. The General List for 1993 and 1994 was completed; the 1979 classification manual for the series of official documents of the OAS was updated; the indexes of documents of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights were compiled for 1960-1995 and 1980-1995, respectively; and the draft Analytical Index for 1990 was produced.
Archives
Progress was made on modernizing this library service. Radical improvements were made in the installations housing the archives, the functions of those responsible for maintaining them were analyzed, and the applicable policies were updated.
The office of historic research designed and worked up a display for a traveling exhibit on the history of the Inter-American Commission on Women and edited and turned out a history of the CIM in the four official languages of the Organization. It collaborated on several projects with Americas magazine, supported research and dissemination activities of other areas of the General Secretariat, and was working on an OAS oral history project.
4. Coordination and Cooperation with Other Organizations
Under Article 117.h of the Charter, the General Secretariat performs the following function: "Establish relations of cooperation, in accordance with decisions reached by the General Assembly or the Councils, with the Specialized Organizations as well as other national and international organizations."
Several of the activities performed by different sections of the General Secretariat and by other bodies, agencies, and organizations of the OAS, to which reference is made in this report, were carried out in association with other multilateral organizations, in particular the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations, as indicated in the description of the programs or projects concerned.
In furtherance of the objective of stronger cooperative ties between the OAS and other multilateral organizations, and pursuant to General Assembly mandates, the Secretary General signed cooperation agreements with the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Andean Development Corporation.
The agreement with the United Nations was signed at the general coordination meeting held by the two organizations at United Nations headquarters in April 1995.
The agreement with the IDB is the outcome of the resolve at the highest level of the two organizations to work together to improve the services provided to the member states. It is also a reflection of the appeal made by the heads of state at the Summit of the Americas to work together, prevent the duplication of efforts, and learn to benefit from each other's strong points.
Cooperative activities also continued with other organizations with which the Organization has had a tradition of cooperation in the past, such as CARICOM and IICA. Institutional contacts were begun with the recently established Association of Caribbean States (ACS), and an initial program of cooperation with the Central American Integration System (SICA) was developed.
