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.
Huguette Labelle “Beyond Words and Paper: Why the Americas Must
Act Against Corruption”
In the XXIV lecture of the Lecture Series of the Americas entitled The Universality of Human Rights and the Work of the Council of Europe, Right Honorable Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, discusses the Council, the European Convention on Human Rights, and challenges to universal human rights in today’s world. The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organization created in 1949 to defend democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Its four pillars come together to set standards and legally binding rules, monitor these standards and make suggestions, cooperate with assistance programs and other organizations, and communicate with the general public about human rights and the work of the Council of Europe.
In this lecture, Davis insists that human rights are universal, and this universality has not yet been fully accepted. He explains several challenges to human rights. Sometimes differences of opinion on specific issues such as the death penalty, anti-terrorism, and gay rights make consensus difficult. Older democracies that consider themselves above suspicion create double standards that developing democracies use to justify their own human rights abuses. Some claim that human rights are a Western concept, authoritarian rule is more effective in Eastern societies, and cultural and religious practices should be respected even if they are seen as against human rights.
Davis reiterates the universality of human rights. He states that every country must provide basic human rights, and that intercultural tolerance and dialogue is a key component of advancing them. He describes the approach of the European Commission as one where human rights and cultural diversity are not mutually exclusive. According to Davis, intercultural dialogue is an antidote for intolerance, division, and violence and creates a climate of mutual respect, justice, and safety. In this climate, universal human rights thrive.
In the end, to achieve universal human rights, every political body must act on its word. Davis points out that the Council of Europe has managed to draft international law, balance the rights and freedoms of individuals against the interest of the larger community, and effectively and fairly respond to the threats faced by society. He rejects the notion of a trade-off between freedom and security and embraces the idea that universal human rights are a reachable goal.
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