AG/RES. 1954 (XXXIII-O/03)

APPOINTMENT OF WOMEN TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AT THE OAS

(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 10, 2003)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly (AG/doc.4156/03 add. 2), in particular as it pertains to the appointment of women to senior management positions at the OAS (CP/doc.3726/03 corr. 1);

BEARING IN MIND Article 120 of the Charter of the Organization of American States and Article 37 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the Organization, 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 grade levels; and Article 137 of the OAS Charter, which states that the Organization 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;

CONSIDERING that, in its resolutions AG/RES. 1627 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1790 (XXXI-O/01), and AG/RES. 1872 (XXXII-O/02), “Appointment of Women to Senior Management Position at the OAS,” it 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;

CONSIDERING ALSO that the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality, which was adopted by the OAS General Assembly, by resolution AG/RES. 1732 (XXX-O/00), 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”;

REAFFIRMING the commitment expressed at the highest levels in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, 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 grade levels, women’s empowerment, and their equal opportunity to exercise leadership;

ACKNOWLEDGING that ensuring equal opportunity for women in leadership and decision-making positions is only one important element of a continuum of actions, policies, and activities required to achieve gender equality in the workplace and improve gender mainstreaming throughout the OAS;

BEARING IN MIND ALSO that a review of the organizational framework and personnel structure of the General Secretariat of the OAS (Management Study) is currently being conducted and that its final report is to be presented to the General Assembly in 2004; and

HAVING SEEN the distribution of professionals by grade and sex annexed to this resolution,

RESOLVES:

1. To urge the Secretary General to:

a. Redouble efforts to achieve the urgent goal that, by the year 2005, women should occupy 50% of posts at each grade level within the OAS organs, agencies, and entities, particularly at the P-5 grade level and above, in order to achieve gender balance at all levels in the OAS, bearing in mind the criterion of geographic distribution in professional positions;

b. Continue to make gender equity and equality, which includes equal opportunities for men and women at all grade levels, one of the priorities in his efforts to establish a new institutional culture in the Organization;

c. Continue his work to establish policies of gender equality in the workplace and to make each manager accountable for the application of these policies;

d. Appoint qualified women as representatives and special envoys to represent the Secretary General in matters relating to all areas and sectors; and

e. Take into account the objective of gender balance and the criterion of geographic representation when filling vacancies in the OAS, especially positions of higher authority.

2. To request the Permanent Council to take this resolution into account when making decisions on the personnel structure of the General Secretariat based on the management study that will be presented in compliance with resolution AG/RES. 1909 (XXXII-O/02).

3. To urge all member states to support the efforts of the Secretary General and of the President of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) by identifying and, through their permanent missions to the OAS, regularly submitting the candidacies of, the most highly-qualified women 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.

4. To call on the organs, agencies, and entities of the OAS to:

a. Meet the goal of 2005 and to continue to accelerate their recruitment of qualified women for vacant positions;

b. Include the objective of improving gender balance in their human resource management action plans; and

c. Encourage specific activities to address gender issues within the workplace, according to individual circumstances of departments and offices, as one of the follow-up actions concerning the gender mainstreaming project undertaken by the General Secretariat of the OAS.

5. To request the Secretary General to monitor closely the progress made by the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization in meeting the goal of women’s occupying 50% of posts at each grade level by the year 2005, to keep the Permanent Council informed with respect to the implementation of this resolution, providing an annual update with relevant statistics from the Department of Human Resource Services and detailed information on the strategies and actions taken to implement this resolution and reach that goal, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session.

Grade	Dec. 31, 2000			Dec. 31, 2001			Dec. 31, 2002
	Male	Female	% F	Male	Female	% F	Male	Female	% F
P-5	65	19	23	66	20	23	64	22	25.6
D-1	19	8	30	18	7	28	18	6	25
D-2	8	1	11	8	2	20	8	2	20
Not classified	5	0	0	5	0	0	5	0	0