THE SECRETARY GENERAL,
In the exercise of the
powers conferred upon him by Articles 108 and 112 of the Charter and Articles 4, 8, and 12
of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the
Organization of American States, and
CONSIDERING:
That, by Resolution
AG/RES. 1286 (XXIV-O/94), the General Assembly requested that the Permanent Council
"evaluate the Inter-American Program of Action for Environmental Protection, and
bring its activities up to date, in line with the results of the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development, with particular focus on the implementation of Agenda 21
and the General Policy Framework and Priorities: Partnership for Development";
That in the
Declaration of Montrouis (AG/DEC. 8 (XXV-0/95), the OAS Member States pledged to support
the efforts of the Organization to develop Hemispheric cooperation for environmental
conservation and the rational use of natural resources, in accordance with commitments
assumed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, particularly
Agenda 21;
That at its
Twenty-sixth Regular Session, the General Assembly reaffirmed the OAS' mandate to serve as
a Hemispheric forum for facilitating dialogue and analysis on sustainable development,
accepted the Secretary General's proposal to establish the Unit for Sustainable
Development and Environment within the General Secretariat, and approved funding in the
second year of the 1996-97 Program-Budget for that Unit.
RESOLVES:
I. CREATION OF THE UNIT FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT,
AND ABOLITION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT
1. The Unit for Sustainable Development
and Environment (the "Unit") is hereby created as a dependency of the Office of
the Secretary General and as the principal entity within the General Secretariat
responsible for matters directly related to sustainable development and the environment.
2. The Department of Regional Development
and Environment, currently a dependency of the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American
Council for Integral Development, is hereby abolished.
II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
UNIT FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT
The Unit for
Sustainable Development and Environment shall have the following functions and
responsibilities:
1. To provide technical and
administrative support for the Organization's efforts to become the principal
Inter-American forum for formulating sustainable development and environmental policy for
the region, by: (a) assisting in the identification of collective environmental problems;
(b) developing solutions to those problems; (c) analyzing their political, economic and
social consequences; and (d) proposing priorities for preventive and remedial action;
2. To provide technical and
administrative support in the area of sustainable development and environment to the
General Assembly, the Permanent Council, the Inter-American Council for Integral
Development ("CIDI"), the Permanent Executive Committee of CIDI
("CEPCIDI"), the Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development
("CIDS"), and other organs of the Organization, and to carry out their mandates
as required;
3. To provide technical and
administrative support in the area of its competence to Hemispheric and subregional
conferences, to workshops and seminars, and to other agencies, organs, and entities of the
Organization;
4. To provide advice and technical
support to other sectors of the General Secretariat engaged in activities related to
sustainable development and environment, including programs focused on the development and
codification of environmental legislation, the transfer of environmentally sound
technology, and environmental education;
5. To formulate, evaluate,
and undertake execution of selective technical cooperation projects,
consistent with its expertise and available internal or external financial
resources, concentrating on activities of a multinational character in the
fields in which the Organization has a comparative advantage.
Those
fields include, but are not limited to: integrated development of water
resources, especially international river basins; sustainable development of
border areas; coastal zone management; biodiversity conservation;
environmental management in emerging trade corridors; mitigation of natural
disasters; and economic valuation of natural resources;
6. To facilitate the exchange of
information related to sustainable development and environment in the Region by providing
access to data bases and utilizing modern electronic methods to supplement traditional
information systems;
7. To collaborate and cooperate with
other public international organizations and non-governmental organizations working in its
area of competence, including, but not limited to: the World Bank, and its related
institutions; the Inter-American Development Bank; the Secretariat of the Global
Environment Facility ("GEF"); the Pan American Health Organization; the United
Nations Environmental Program; the United Nations Development Program; and the European
Union.
8. Where a technical project or program
which is predominantly focused in the area of one of the General Secretariat's Units or
Offices (the "first Unit") contains a distinct component related to the area of
another Unit that is specialized in the subject of that distinct component (the
"second Unit"), responsibility for implementation of that component shall be
upon the second Unit in coordination with the first Unit.
III. BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE UNIT
1. The Unit is a dependency of the Office
of the Secretary General. The chief of the Unit is its Director, who is directly
responsible to the Chief of Staff of the Secretary General.
2. The Director administers, coordinates,
and has technical responsibility for the Unit's work product and personnel. The Director
is responsible for establishing an internal Unit structure in accordance with applicable
norms regarding personnel, program-budget, and related matters, which will enable the Unit
to function responsively and properly in fulfilling its responsibilities and mandates.
IV. TRANSITION AND COORDINATION WITH THE
INTER-SECTORAL UNIT FOR TOURISM
1. Those staff members of the former
Department of Regional Development and Environment ("DRDE") who are not assigned
to the Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism (the "Tourism Unit)") or to other
dependencies of the Organization are hereby transferred to the Unit for Sustainable
Development and Environment.
2. The Unit is responsible for all
current programs and projects formerly administered by DRDE, with the exception of those
projects, programs, and distinct project components directly related to tourism, which are
assigned to the Tourism Unit. For this purpose, tourism includes activities whose
viability or justification depends on foreign or national tourism.
3. The Unit shall cooperate and
coordinate with the Tourism Unit.
4. All funds allocated to the DRDE under
the 1996 Program-Budget in connection with all personnel and items transferred to the Unit
for Sustainable Development and Environment in Paragraphs IV,1 and IV,2, above, are hereby
transferred to that Unit. Likewise, all funds assigned to the DRDE pertaining to
contracts, agreements, and/or Memoranda of Understanding with collaborating institutions
under which the DRDE has been serving as the executing agency for externally funded
activities on behalf of the General Secretariat, except for those funds determined, in
consultation with the Chief of Staff, to be intended to fund tourism-related programs,
projects, distinct project components, and other activities, are hereby transferred to the
Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment.
5. Any disputes regarding the area of
competence of the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment in relation to other
areas of the General Secretariat shall be resolved definitively by the Secretary General.
V. AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS
This Executive Order
supersedes all present norms, regulations and practices of the General Secretariat to the
contrary.
VI. EFFECT
This Executive Order
shall take effect on the date on which it is signed.
Date: June 28, 1996
Original: English
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