AG/RES 87 (II-0/72)

AG/RES. 87 (II-0/72)

STANDARDS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND COORDINATION
OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER RELATING TO THE INTER-AMERICAN SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATIONS

(Resolution adopted at the eleventh plenary
session held on April 21, 1972)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT:

Resolutions AG/RES. 13 (I-E/70) of July 7, 1970 and AG/RES. 47 (I-0/71) of April 23, 1971, in which it entrusted the Permanent Council with preparing draft standards for the implementation and coordination of the provisions of the Charter relating to the inter-American specialized organizations and submitting them to the second regular session of the General Assembly,

HAVING SEEN the draft approved by the Permanent Council and submitted by it to the General Assembly through resolution CP/RES. 60 (64/72) of March 1, 1972; and

CONSIDERING:

That this draft contains the standards necessary for implementation and coordination of the provisions of the Charter relating to the inter-American specialized organizations and establishes a system for coordination of activities between the General Secretariat and those organizations in an attempt to avoid duplication of efforts and expenditures, as well as to make their respective activities more complementary,

RESOLVES:

To approve the following

STANDARDS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND COORDINATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER RELATING TO THE INTER-AMERICAN SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATIONS

I. NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS

Article 1. The following shall be considered inter-American specialized organizations:

a. Existing specialized organizations registered as of the date on which these general standards are approved.

b. Those intergovernmental organizations that may be established by treaties or multilateral agreements having specific objectives and functions in technical areas of common interest to the American states, provided that, in each case, the General Assembly has determined, on the basis of the report of the Council concerned, that the organization meets the conditions set forth in the Charter and in these standards.

Article 2. The General Secretariat shall include in the register of specialized organizations, in addition to those already existing and registered, those that may subsequently be determined and characterized as such by the General Assembly, in accordance with Article l.b of these standards.

Article 3. After a report from the Council concerned that shall indicate the points of view of the organization in question, the General Assembly may annul a characterization as an inter-American specialized organization when it considers that an organization has ceased to fulfill the conditions established for specialized organizations in the Charter and in Article l.b of these standards.

Article 4. The Councils, on matters within their respective fields of competence, may present to the General Assembly proposals on the creation, modification, or elimination of inter-American specialized organizations, and on the coordination of their activities. In cases of modification or elimination, the Councils shall include the points of view of the organization in question in their proposals to the General Assembly.

II. TECHNICAL AUTONOMY AND ADVISORY FUNCTION

Article 5. Specialized organizations shall enjoy the fullest technical autonomy, but shall take into account the recommendations made by the General �Assembly and the Councils, in keeping with the provisions of the Charter.

Article 6. The inter-American specialized organizations shall produce technical advisory services on matters within their competence to the General Assembly and to the Councils. They shall also provide available information to any other organ of the OAS on its request.

III. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

Article 7. The structure and functions of inter-American specialized organizations established after approval of these standards shall be determined by the instruments establishing them, taking into account the provisions set forth in the Charter and in these general standards, and the recommendations of the General Assembly.

Article 8. Any change in the structure or functions of an inter-American specialized organization shall be made known to the corresponding Council, so that it may inform the General Assembly for the purposes set forth in Article 3 of these general standards.

IV. ADMISSION AND PARTICIPATION OF STATES

Article 9. The member states of the Organization of American States have the right to be members of the inter-American specialized organizations. Their admission and participation in these organizations shall be determined in the manner established in the instrument establishing the organization. The instrument establishing it may also establish the conditions for entry or participation by independent American states that are not members of the OAS.

Article 10. The instrument establishing each inter-American specialized organization may also include the conditions for and extent of participation in its activities by non-American states that are cooperating continually and substantially in the organization's programs.

V. LOCATION

Article 11. In determining the location of the headquarters and other offices of the inter-American specialized organizations, the principle of equitable geographical distribution set forth in the Charter shall be taken into account, bearing in mind the location of the already-existing inter-American specialized organizations.

VI. STAFF

Article 12. For filling the elective posts in the inter-American specialized organizations, account shall be taken of the technical ability of the candidates and of the principles of rotation and geographical representation.

Article 13. In the selection of the staff of the inter-American spe�cialized organizations, the efficiency, competence, and integrity of the candidates shall be taken into account in relation to the technical and scientific requirements of the entity. At the same time, an effort shall be made to select the staff, at all levels, on the basis of as broad a geographical representation as possible.

VII. RELATIONS WITH THE ORGANIZATION

Article 14. The relations that should exist between the inter-American specialized organizations and the Organization shall be determined by means of agreements concluded between each organization and the Secretary General with the authorization of the General Assembly. Such agreements shall be subject to the provisions of the Charter, these general standards, and any general or special terms set forth by the General Assembly.

Article 15. The agreements contemplated in Article 14 shall enter into force on the dates on which they are signed by the Secretary General of the Organization, with the prior authorization of the General Assembly, and by the authorized representative of the inter-American specialized organization in question.

These agreements may be amended by mutual consent of the authorized repre�sentative of the inter-American specialized organization in question, on the one hand, and the Secretary General of the Organization, with the prior authorization of the General Assembly to make the change, on the other.

Article 16. Upon authorizing the registration of an organization, the General Assembly shall empower the Secretary General to conclude the correspond�ing agreement, taking into account the general or special terms it may indicate.

VIII. COORDINATION

Article 17. The programs and activities of the specialized organizations shall be carried out through a system that will avoid the duplication of effort or of expenditures and that will facilitate making the activities of the spe�cialized organizations, those of the General Secretariat and those of other organs of the OAS complementary.

Article 18. To elude the coordination mentioned in Article 17, the inter-American specialized organizations shall take into account recommendations that may be made in that regard by the Committee on Coordination among the three Councils and also, in the stages of preparation and implementation of the pro�grams, the following general recommendations:

a. The exchange information at the administrative level between the secre�tariat of the inter-American specialized organization or the body representing it and the General Secretariat of the OAS.

b. After the exchange of information mentioned in paragraph (a) has been effected, the competent deliberative body of the inter-American specialized organization, when it approves its programs, shall seek the coordination recommended for the case by the Committee on Coordination and shall also take into account the information mentioned in that paragraph.

c. Each Council, in considering its program-budget, shall take into account the information on the programs of the other organs of the Organization provided to it in accordance with paragraph (a).

Article 19. Upon admitting the proposed program-budget, the General Secretariat shall report on the steps that may have been taken to coordinate the progress of the specialized organizations with the other programs of the Organization, with a view to complementing efforts and economizing on unnecessary expenditures. It shall also describe the problems of coordination it has not been possible to solve by available means, and it shall make the pertinent suggestions. The annual reports that the inter-American specialized organizations must send to the General Assembly shall include a special chapter on this subject.

Article 20. In establishing cooperative relations with world organizations Of the same nature, the inter-American specialized organizations shall seek appropriate coordination of activities.

Article 21. Representatives of inter-American specialized organizations may attend the sessions of the General Assembly and the meetings of the other organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization with the right to speak, in accordance with their respective rules of procedure.

IX. CONFERENCES AND OTHER MEETINGS

Article 22. Conferences and meetings of specialized organizations shall have the status of inter-American specialized conferences when they are inter�governmental meetings to deal with special technical matters or to develop certain aspects of inter-American cooperation, and when they are held at the decision of the General Assembly or of the Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, on its own initiative, or at the request of one of the Councils or of the specialized organization itself, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the Organization and of the Standards for Inter-�American Specialized Conferences.

Article 23. The specialized organizations and the General Secretariat of the Organization shall exchange information concerning any initiative that may be taken for holding a specialized conference or other inter-American meeting.

Article 24. The General Assembly, the Councils of the Organization of American States, and inter-American specialized organizations may make recom�mendations to each other for the inclusion of topics on the agendas of their respective conferences and meetings.

Article 25. The inter-American specialized organizations shall notify the General Secretariat of the Organization of the dates of the conferences and meetings mentioned in Article 24, including those of their governing bodies, and of the draft agendas, so that the pertinent organ or the organ designated for that purpose will be able to make the necessary observations concerning coordination of those dates and agendas.

Article 26. Inter-American specialized organizations that have a spe�cific interest in the agenda to be discussed at a meeting of another organ of the Organization may be represented at the meeting, with voice but without vote. In turn, the other organs of the Organization may be represented at meetings of the inter-American specialized organizations with voice but with�out vote. In both cases, the corresponding rules of procedure shall be ob�served.

X. ANNUAL REPORTS OF THE SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Article 27. Each inter-American specialized organization shall send an annual report on its activities and budgets to the General Assembly, through the General Secretariat.

XI. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 28. All official correspondence between the Organization and an inter-American specialized organization shall be addressed through the General Secretariat and that of the specialized organization concerned.

Article 29. These general standards may be amended only by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

XII. TRANSITORY PROVISION

The agreements existing between the Organization and the inter-American specialized organization as of the date on which these standards are approved shall continue in force until the Secretary General, with the prior authoriza�tion of the General Assembly, shall, along with the representative of the specialized organization in question, amend the existing agreement or sign a new one in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, these standards, and such general or special terms as the Assembly may determine.