Each year the OAS Secretary General publishes a proposed Program-Budget for the coming calendar year. The OAS General Assembly meets in a Special Session to approve the Program-Budget. Find these documents from 1998-2013 here.
Each year in April, the OAS Board of External Auditors publishes a report covering the previous calendar year’s financial results. Reports covering 1996-2016 may be found here.
Approximately six weeks after the end of each semester, the OAS publishes a Semiannual Management and Performance Report, which since 2013 includes reporting on programmatic results. The full texts may be found here.
Here you will find data on the Human Resources of the OAS, including its organizational structure, each organizational unit’s staffing, vacant posts, and performance contracts.
The OAS executes a variety of projects funded by donors. Evaluation reports are commissioned by donors. Reports of these evaluations may be found here.
The Inspector General provides the Secretary General with reports on the audits, investigations, and inspections conducted. These reports are made available to the Permanent Council. More information may be found here.
The OAS has discussed for several years the real estate issue, the funding required for maintenance and repairs, as well as the deferred maintenance of its historic buildings. The General Secretariat has provided a series of options for funding it. The most recent document, reflecting the current status of the Strategy, is CP/CAAP-3211/13 rev. 4.
Here you will find information related to the GS/OAS Procurement Operations, including a list of procurement notices for formal bids, links to the performance contract and travel control measure reports, the applicable procurement rules and regulations, and the training and qualifications of its staff.
The OAS Treasurer certifies the financial statements of all funds managed or administered by the GS/OAS. Here you will find the latest general purpose financial reports for the main OAS funds, as well as OAS Quarterly Financial Reports (QFRs).
Every year the GS/OAS publishes the annual operating plans for all areas of the Organization, used to aid in the formulation of the annual budget and as a way to provide follow-up on institutional mandates.
Here you will find information related to the OAS Strategic Plan 2016-2020, including its design, preparation and approval.
Sustainable Communities in Central America and the Caribbean
Sustainable Cities Course, 4th Edition
Date: September 15-18, 2015
Venue: Coco Palm Hotel, Castries, Saint Lucia
The cities of the Americas are experiencing dramatic and accelerating
changes. Significant demographic variations and technological advances are
having an increasingly powerful impact on how people live in the region.
According to recent studies, Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest
rate of urbanization in the developing world. Furthermore, the proportion of the
regions’ population living in cities has doubled from 41% to 80% in the last 60
years.
Coastal communities and cities face a specific set of challenges related not only to rapid urbanization, but also to climate change and tourism centered economies. Given that over 70% of residents in the Caribbean reside in coastal areas, vulnerability to increased severity of natural phenomena and other potential threats has become a key aspect in sustainable urban planning. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, currently the Caribbean’s urban population is growing two to three times faster than the current average in South America. While countries like Chile (88% urban) or Uruguay (95%) have already experienced their urban transition, only 45% of residents in several Caribbean countries including St. Lucia live in urban areas. Urbanization in the Caribbean will increase pressures on natural resources, urban infrastructure and public services.
With the objective of highlighting advancements in sustainable cities, the Organization of American States, the St. Lucia National Trust and the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology have convened a group of urban and social transformation professionals. The Sustainable Cities course provides an integral overview of the different aspects that contribute to building sustainable communities targeting different topics relevant to the First Summit on Sustainable Development in the Americas held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in December 1996. In this context, section II.3 Sustainable Cities and Communities recognized:
The incorporation of the poorest and most disadvantaged sectors of the population into the productive process by, inter alia, creating jobs through public and private investment and expanding and enhancing access to credit and to environmentally sound technologies;
Growth in job creation in small and micro-enterprises by simplifying paperwork, bureaucracy, and operations that affect them and by promoting the economic competitiveness and environmental efficiency of these production units in urban as well as rural areas;
Narrowing of the housing unit gap and expansion of basic infrastructure services through a comprehensive approach to the problem of rapid urban growth, including the use of clean, safe technologies;
Promotion of the quality of life in cities and communities, taking into account their spatial, economic, social, and environmental circumstances; and
Assurance of the most efficient and least polluting industrial and transportation practices so as to reduce adverse environmental impact and promote sustainable development in cities and communities.
Course Objective:
Provide theoretical and practical knowledge on the different elements that contribute to the development of sustainable cities to government officials and members of civil society involved in planning processes and urban development
Specific Objectives:
Provide state of the art knowledge on the set of systems involved in the urban setting combining social and physical science approaches.
Analyze case studies and identify best practices
Provide a first hand experience regarding the benefits of green infrastructure, energy efficiency demonstration projects and sustainable transport systems through field visits.
Course Methodology:
The course will include theoretical presentations that combine the professor’s input with student participation. Case studies will be presented and discussed in order to develop practical skills regarding the issues discussed. This website will provide background readings and material on each module so that students can prepare in order to enhance learning and assimilation of the program content. The course will combine theory with practical exercises in which the students will experience the content of each module applied to real life situations through lectures, readings, field trips group exercises and discussion. The course will close with a set of field trips in which students will be able to come in contact with the operations and functioning of green infrastructure, energy efficiency projects and sustainable transport examples in Castries.