CP/RES. 995 (1832/11)

REPORTING AND WORK PLAN OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

(Approved at the meeting held on December 9, 2011)
 

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the need to further strengthen the Operations of the Organization;

NOTING the current vacancy in the Office of the Inspector General;

CONSIDERING Article 113 of the Charter of the Organization and Article 118 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat;

RECALLING that Executive Order 95-05 of the General Secretariat that states, in part, “the Office of the Inspector General shall have full technical autonomy and the broadest possible managerial autonomy” and that “the Office of the Inspector General shall submit a quarterly progress report to the Secretary General, who shall transmit it to the Permanent Council” and “the General Secretariat shall also report to the Permanent Council on each report submitted to it by the Inspector General, and shall cover in its annual report to the General Assembly the activities carried out by the Office of the Inspector General during the year and any corresponding steps taken by the General Secretariat.”

HAVING IN MIND the annual reports of the Board of External Auditors, presented to the Permanent Council; and

BEARING IN MIND the annual budget resolution and the current financial stringencies of the Organization and the need for increased transparency and accountability of the General Secretariat of the Organization,

RESOLVES:

1. To request the Secretary General to keep the member states informed, as appropriate, through the Permanent Council, on the process of selection and appointment of the Inspector General.

2. To require that the Inspector General provide to the Permanent Council 30 days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year a work plan indicating probable activities and areas of concentration for the next year.

3. To require that the Inspector General appear before the Permanent Council to present a quarterly written report to the Committee on activities of the Office of the Inspector General during the previous three months, including, among other items, Secretariats or Offices in the Organization inspected or audited, reports received from the Board of External Auditors and the Auditors of the Organization and actions taken based on those reports.

4. To request the Office of the Inspector General to review and report to the Permanent Council no later than January 1, 2012 on whether the amendments to Articles 78 and 80 of the General Standards approved through CP/RES. 919 (1597/07) have been effective in enabling the General Secretariat to meet its fiduciary responsibilities to the member states and donors more transparently.

5. To request the Office of the Inspector General to set a timetable to perform a crosscutting, substantive management audit on a periodic basis of the Secretariats and offices of the Organization. The timetable should be provided to the Secretary General of the Organization and the Permanent Council.

6. To request that the Committee on Administration and Budgetary Affairs in the next budget cycle of the Organization give priority to providing the Office of the Inspector General with the ability to appoint an adequate number of professional and clerical staff to conduct the work of the office, all of whom will be subject to the rules for employees of the Organization.

7. To review this decision no later than two years from the date of its approval with a view to improving the functioning of the Office of the Inspector General.