HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on the
OAS restructuring and modernization process (CP/doc.3597/02) and resolution
CP/RES. 816 (1319/02);
CONSIDERING:
That modernization and reform
has become a permanent process within the Organization to strengthen its
capacity to respond efficiently and effectively to changing mandates and
needs;
That the Permanent Council, at its meeting of
November 22, 2000, adopted resolution CP/RES. 779 (1256/00), “Restructuring
the Inter-American System in the Context of the Summits of the Americas”;
That in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, in
Quebec City, the heads of state and government recognized “the central role
of the OAS in supporting the Summit of the Americas process” and instructed
the ministers of foreign affairs “to strengthen and reform, where
appropriate, the institutional mechanisms and financial capacity of the
General Secretariat of the Organization to support the Summit of the Americas
process as technical secretariat and to provide support to ministerial and
sectoral meetings relevant to the OAS;”
That, in response to the Plan of Action, the General Assembly, at its
thirty-first regular session, held in San José, Costa Rica, adopted
resolution AG/RES. 1836 (XXXI-O/01), “Modernization of the OAS and Renewal
of the Inter-American System,” which instructed the General Secretariat to
prepare “a draft proposal for the restructuring and modernization of the
OAS” and instructed the Permanent Council, through the Committee on
Administrative and Budgetary Affairs and the Special Committee on
Inter-American Summits Management, to make recommendations on the proposal to
the General Assembly;
That, in response to resolution AG/RES. 1836 (XXXI-O/01), the Secretary
General presented to the Permanent Council on December 10, 2001, his “Report
and Recommendations: Restructuring the Organization of American States to
Address the Challenges of the Summit Process in Response to Resolutions
AG/RES. 1812, 1824, 1836, and 1839 (XXXI-O/01) (“Report and Recommendations
of the Secretary General”);
That for the purpose of analyzing the Report and Recommendations of the
Secretary General, together with additional proposals for reform and
modernization presented by the member states, the Permanent Council formed the
Joint Working Group on Restructuring and Modernization of the OAS (“Joint
Working Group”); and
That, by resolution CP/RES. 816 (1319/02), the Permanent Council
adopted measures in its area of competence, recommended by the Joint Working
Group, and has recommended that the General Assembly adopt the rest of the
recommendations,
RESOLVES:
1.
To take note of the progress made and measures adopted by the Permanent
Council and the Secretary General in the Organization’s modernization and
restructuring process.
2.
To instruct the Permanent Council, acting as Preparatory Committee of
the General Assembly under Article 91.c of the Charter, to make the necessary
arrangements with the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) to ensure that
the SIRG, at the ministerial level, meets at least once per year, at the same
time and place as the General Assembly.
3.
To instruct the Permanent Council, in light of the significant portion
of the Regular Fund budget allocated each year to the Inter-American Defense
Board (IADB), to examine the relationship between the OAS and the IADB and
make recommendations to the General Assembly and the IADB for modifying the
IADB’s structure and basic instruments to the extent necessary to clarify
and obtain consensus on its status with respect to the OAS, including the
principle of civilian oversight and the democratic formation of its
authorities. This is a
multidimensional exercise which is likely to require specialized input from
several of the Permanent Council’s standing committees, including, inter
alia, the Committee on Hemispheric Security, the Committee on Juridical
and Political Affairs, and the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary
Affairs, with a view to holding the Special Conference on Hemispheric
Security.
4.
To instruct the General Secretariat to prepare a proposal for providing
more appropriate facilities for conferences and meetings at headquarters, to
include, but not be limited to, the plans for renovating the Main Building
developed in 1995. The proposal should also include plans for teleconference
facilities and other improvements with a view to creating modern conference
facilities that not only meet the immediate needs of the Organization but also
enhance the viability of the headquarters as a conference center.
