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AG/RES. 1872 (XXXII-O/02)

APPOINTMENT OF WOMEN TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AT THE OAS

 

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 4, 2002) 

 

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

 

CONSIDERING that resolution AG/RES. 1627 (XXIX-O/99) and resolution AG/RES. 1790 (XXXI-O/01), "Appointment of Women to Senior Management Position at the OAS," urged the Secretary General to establish as an objective that, by the year 2005, women should occupy 50% of posts in all categories of the OAS system;

 

RECALLING resolution AG/RES. 1729 (XXX-O/00), regarding the seventh biennial report of the Secretary General of the OAS on compliance with resolution AG/RES. 829 (XVI-O/86), "Full and Equal Participation of Women by the Year 2000," which urged the inter-American system to continue working to achieve full and equal participation by women in development and in the decision-making process and instructed the Secretary General of the OAS to increase his efforts to guarantee equal opportunity for women in obtaining senior executive positions in the OAS, taking into account the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality;

 

BEARING IN MIND Article 120 of the Charter of the Organization of American States and Article 37 of the General Standards, which stipulate that first consideration shall be given to efficiency, competence, and integrity in the recruitment of General Secretariat personnel, but that importance shall also be attached to the criterion of the widest possible geographic distribution in hiring personnel at all levels; and Article 137 of the Charter of the Organization, which states that the Organization of American States does not allow any restriction based on race, creed, or sex with respect to eligibility to hold positions in the Organization and to participate in its activities;

 

BEARING IN MIND that the issue of matching organizational structure and staffing with mandates and resources is being considered by the OAS Permanent Council pursuant to AG/RES. 1836 (XXXI-O/01) and AG/RES. 1839 (XXXI-O/01), and that a personnel management study is being recommended in the program-budget of the Organization for 2003;

 

RECALLING that the CIM Plan of Action on Women's Participation in Power and Decision-Making Structures, adopted by the Twenty-ninth Assembly of Delegates of the CIM [CIM/RES. 198 (XXIX-O/98)], urges that areas for priority action include the promotion of equal opportunities in the classification of posts and procedures, the encouragement of upward mobility in the civil service, and the fostering of similar principles in various organizations and public institutions, such as the OAS;

 

REAFFIRMING the commitment expressed at the highest levels in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas to promote gender equity and equality and women's human rights by strengthening and fostering women's full and equal participation in decision-making at all levels, women's empowerment, and their equal opportunities to exercise leadership;

 

CONSIDERING that the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women's Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality, which was approved at the First Meeting of Ministers or of the Highest-Ranking Authorities Responsible for the Advancement of Women, held by the CIM in April 2000, and which was adopted by the OAS General Assembly, by resolution AG/RES. 1732 (XXX-O/00), and endorsed by the Heads of State and Government in Quebec City, calls for the OAS General Secretariat to "implement measures to ensure full and equal access by men and women to all categories of posts in the OAS system, particularly in decision-making positions"; and

 

RECOGNIZING that at the OAS, as of December 1990, the percentage of women at high-level executive posts was 19% at the D-2 level, 20% at the D-1 level, 11% at the P-5 level, and 23% at the P-4 level; as of December 1998, the proportion was 9% at the D-2 level, 17% at the D-1 level, 20% at the P-5 level, and 51% at the P-4 level; and, as of March 2002, the proportion was 0% at the non-classified and elected level, 20% at the D-2 level, 28% at the D-1 level, 23% at the P-5 level, and 52% at the P-4 level,

 

RESOLVES:

 

1.         To urge the Secretary General to reaffirm the urgent goal that women should occupy, by the year 2005, 50% of posts at each level within the OAS organs, agencies and entities, particularly at the P-5 level and above.

 

2.         To urge the Secretary General to continue to make gender equity and equality one of the priorities in his continuing efforts to establish a new management culture in the Organization and to undertake, within the framework of the Permanent Council's discussions on the issue of matching organizational structure and staffing with mandates and resources, to achieve the above-mentioned objective.

 

3.         To urge the Secretary General to appoint qualified women as representatives and special envoys so that they may use their good offices in representing the Secretary General in matters relating to all areas and sectors.

 

4.         To urge the Secretary General to actively seek and support the nomination, election, or appointment of qualified women to all vacant positions in the OAS. 

5.         To request the Secretary General to continue his work to establish policies of gender equality in the workplace and to make each manager accountable for the application of these policies. 

6.         To urge all member states to support the efforts of the Secretary General and of the President of the CIM by identifying, and regularly submitting, through their permanent missions to the OAS, the most highly-qualified women candidates to occupy positions of trust within the OAS and to encourage more women to apply for vacant positions, which will have been widely publicized in all member states.

 

7.         To request the Secretary General to monitor closely the progress made by OAS organs, agencies and entities in meeting the goal of women occupying 50% of posts at each level in the OAS by the year 2005, to keep the Permanent Council informed with respect to the implementation of this resolution, providing it every year with relevant statistics from the Department of Human Resource Services, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-third regular session.

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