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.
THE OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXPRESSES ITS APPROVAL OF THE ELIMINATION OF DESACATO LAWS IN GUATEMALA
February 7, 2006
Washington, D.C., February 6, 2006. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) would like to express its satisfaction as to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala to definitively eliminate the crime of “desacato” (contempt). The Rapporteur’s Office considers this measure a decisive step towards the strengthening of freedom of expression in the hemisphere.
On February 1, 2006, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala decided to declare the unconstitutionality of the crime of “desacato” regulated by articles 411, 412, and 413 of the Guatemalan Penal Code. These articles established prison sentences of six months to three years for the crime. In its decision, the highest court in Guatemala adopted the recommendations of the Rapporteur’s Office and the IACHR, which insisted in the elimination of “desacato” laws as contradictory to democratic principles due to their bestowal of a higher level of protection upon public officials, as they inhibit criticism and restrict public debate.
“Desacato” or contempt, laws, found in various penal codes throughout the hemisphere, criminalize offensive expression directed at public officials. Since its inception, the Rapporteur’s Office has warned that “desacato” laws can become a tool to silence democratic debate over public policy. In accordance with Principle 11 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the IACHR, “public officials are subject to greater scrutiny by society” and these laws “restrict freedom of expression and the right to information.”
The Rapporteur’s Office thus expresses its approval of the decision adopted by Guatemala, as it represents a strong step forward for the protection of freedom of expression. The Office exhorts Guatemalan authorities to take the necessary steps towards implementing the decision of the Constitutional Court.
For more information about the Rapporteur’s Office, see the following website:
http://www.cidh.org/relatoria