CP/RES. 932 (1634/08)


CONVOCATION OF THE THIRTY-FIFTH SPECIAL SESSION
OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

(Approved at the meeting of March 12, 2008)

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

CONSIDERING:

That Article 58 of the OAS Charter establishes that “[i]n special circumstances and with the approval of two thirds of the Member States, the Permanent Council shall convoke a special session of the General Assembly”;

That, along the same lines, Article 39 of the Statutes of the Permanent Council provides that “[i]n special circumstances, the Permanent Council shall convoke a special session of the General Assembly, and shall determine the date and place for it. This decision shall require the approval of two thirds of the member states”;

That it is incumbent on the General Assembly, in accordance with Article 54.a of the OAS Charter, to “determine the structure and functions of its organs”;

That Article 109 of the OAS Charter states that “[t]he Secretary General shall direct the General Secretariat, be the legal representative thereof, and, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 91.b, be responsible to the General Assembly for the proper fulfillment of the obligations and functions of the General Secretariat”;

That, by virtue of Article 113 of the OAS Charter, “[t]he Secretary General shall: (a) Establish such offices of the General Secretariat as are necessary to accomplish its purposes; and (b) Determine the number of officers and employees of the General Secretariat, appoint them, regulate their powers and duties, and fix their remuneration. The Secretary General shall exercise this authority in accordance with such general standards and budgetary provisions as may be established by the General Assembly”;

That, according to Article 4 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat, “[t]he General Secretariat shall be composed of the executive secretariats, secretariats at the assistant secretary level, departments, offices, and other technical or administrative dependencies already existing or that the Secretary General may establish in accordance with the provisions of Article 113 of the Charter. The Secretary General must obtain the express approval of the General Assembly to establish new secretariats or other dependencies with similar attributes and of similar importance, or to abolish already existing ones”;

That, under Article 12.d of the General Standards, “[i]t is the responsibility of the Secretary General …. [t]o redistribute the functions of existing dependencies, incorporating some into others or dividing or subdividing them, whenever necessary for the greater efficiency of the services and better execution of the programs, provided that no increase in the expenditures budgeted for those services or programs is involved”;

That on February 12, 2008, the Secretary General issued Executive Order No. 08-01, whereby he determined the structure of the General Secretariat, providing for the establishment of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs and the Secretariat for External Relations; and

That it is therefore necessary to convene a special session of the General Assembly to enable it to consider and, if appropriate, approve the establishment of these two new secretariats within the General Secretariat,

RESOLVES:

To convene the thirty-fifth special session of the General Assembly, to be held in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2008, for the purpose of deciding on the establishment of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs and the Secretariat for External Relations.