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.
OAS General Secretariat Launches Guide to Organizing Elections in Times of Pandemic
July 9, 2020
The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) today published the "Guide to Organizing Elections in Times of Pandemic." The guide is intended to contribute to the strengthening of political processes in member states, in particular to the maintenance of democracy as the best option to guarantee peace, security and development.
"The consequences of the pandemic, the high possibilities of contagion through human interaction, the risk of death, the application of restrictive measures, pose serious difficulties to the organization of electoral processes, so democratic alternatives must be analyzed that do not damage the legitimacy of origin of those elected, democratic transitions, the alternation of authorities and the length of the terms of government,” writes the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, in the prologue.
The Guide highlights that, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, "several countries have adopted measures to protect the health of their inhabitants, having to postpone electoral processes originally scheduled for the first half of 2020." The document adds "the actions and decisions taken in electoral matters in response to this situation require the commitment of the political system to safeguard the continuity of democratic processes."
In line with that purpose, the OAS General Secretariat, with the collaboration of the Pan American Health Organization, compiled in the guide a series of measures for the holding of safe, clean, and transparent elections, while contributing to reduce the risks of transmission of COVID-19. The guide offers elements to take into account when deciding whether to hold elections or postpone them, and proposes measures that can be adopted in the following areas:
Organization and electoral administration
Use of technology
Participation and inclusion
Campaigns
Communication
Voting and vote counting
The OAS was the first international organization to deploy an Electoral Observation Mission during the pandemic, and that experience is also reflected in this document. The measures included in the guide aim to strengthen the capacities of electoral bodies to organize elections and, in particular, protect electoral and other state officials, guarantee the right of citizens to exercise a secure vote and provide the necessary conditions for political parties to participate under conditions of equity and transparency.
The document was prepared by the Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation of the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy, with the aim of supporting member states at a time of special historical difficulty.