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 GENERAL STANDARDS TO GOVERN THE OPERATIONS OF THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT

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GENERAL STANDARDS TO GOVERN THE OPERATIONS OF THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT[1]

CHAPTER III[2]

PERSONNEL

SUBCHAPTER A:  TYPES OF PERSONNEL

 Article 17. Types of Personnel and Other Human Resources

The human resources of the General Secretariat include its “personnel,” hired under employment contracts and “Other Human Resources,” as further specified below:

a.       Personnel (also “staff members” or “employees”): The personnel of the General Secretariat shall include only the following:

i.              Career Service Personnel, appointed to the Career Service under Article 18 of the General Standards or its predecessor provision prior to June 30, 1994, and who were still members of the Career Service as of June 30, 2002;

ii.             Personnel on Continuing Contracts, in accordance with Article 19 of these General Standards;

iii.         Personnel on Fixed-Term Contracts funded by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund, including Series A, Series B, and Special Mission contracts, contracted in accordance with Article 20 of these General Standards, the Ombudsperson, and the Inspector General, who are given a Series B contract subject to the provisions of Article 73 and 127 of these General Standards, respectively;

iv.           Personnel on Fixed-Term Contracts funded by funds other than the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund, including Series A contracts, Series B contracts, and Special Mission contracts in accordance with Article 20.bis of these General Standards;

v.            Trust Personnel, appointed at the discretion of the Secretary General in accordance with Article 21 of these General Standards;

vi.           Secretaries, Executive Secretaries, and Directors of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Specialized Organizations, and entities, contracted in accordance with Article 22 of these General Standards;

vii.          Managerial Personnel, contracted in accordance with Article 23 of these General Standards;

viii.         Local personnel, contracted in accordance with Article 24 of these General Standards; and

ix.           Associate personnel, retained under an agreement with an institution participating in programs of common interest, in accordance with Article 25 of these General Standards.

b.            Other human resources:  The other human resources include:

i.              Independent consultants and contractors:  Individuals or legal persons contracted to provide work products or services to the General Secretariat under a performance contract or to perform a specific work (also known as a “CPR”). They are not staff members of the General Secretariat. A CPR does not create an employment relationship between the General Secretariat and the person contracted. 

ii.             Interns: Persons who volunteer to work for the General Secretariat without monetary compensation in order to accumulate experience and training in their chosen professions. They are not staff members; neither does the internship relationship constitute employment. Their terms of service are established in regulations issued by the General Secretariat, which shall specify, inter alia, the duration of the program, the applicant selection procedure, and the number of internships per year.

iii.            Volunteers:  Persons who donate their services without compensation to the General Secretariat for a specific event or activity and for a predetermined period of time, and in accordance with regulations issued by the General Secretariat. They are not staff members; nor does their service as volunteers create an employment relationship. They may include, inter alia, retired personnel and/or other people interested in cooperating with the General Secretariat. 

iv.           Young Professionals: The General Secretariat will conduct a “Young Professionals Program” comprising persons interested in pursuing a career in the international sphere who are contracted as consultants through Contracts for Young Professionals. They are not staff members. The objective of the Young Professionals Program is to provide work experience and training opportunities for young professionals. It is financed exclusively by specific funds. The program will operate in accordance with regulations issued by the General Secretariat, which will specify, inter alia, the term, the number of Young Professionals per year, the appropriate geographic representation, the age limit, and academic qualifications required.

Anyone who has taken part in the Young Professionals Program may participate in the selection competitions mentioned in Article 44 of these General Standards, provided that at least twelve months have elapsed since their participation in that program.

c.       Financing:  As stated in Chapter V of these General Standards, personnel are funded under objects 1 and 2 of the Regular Fund program-budget. Contracts with independent consultants and contractors are funded under object 8 of the Regular Fund program-budget. Contracts for independent consultants and contractors and contracts for personnel other than those in the Career Service or under continuing contracts may be funded by the OAS Development Cooperation Fund (OAS/DCF) of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development and specific funds, subject to the special provisions governing those funds in each case.

Article 18. Career Service Personnel 

a.       Phase-out of Career Service: The Career Service is permanently closed and is being phased out by attrition. It includes only those staff members who were appointed to the Career Service under this article of the General Standards or its predecessor provision prior to June 30, 1994, and who were still members of the Career Service as of June 30, 2002 (“Career Service personnel” or “Career Service members”). There are no Career Service vacancies. As current Career Service personnel leave the service, their Career Service designations, also known as “Career Service vacancies,” shall be automatically eliminated and shall not be assigned to any other staff members.

b.       Special Rights of Career Service Personnel

i.              The status of the Career Service member is independent of the post, function, or tasks performed. Consequently, without losing his/her career status, any Career Service member shall perform any function or task or hold any post corresponding to his/her grade to which the Secretary General may assign him/her, taking into account his/her abilities and the needs of the service. 

ii.             No staff member other than those described in section (a) above, regardless of the terms of the contract or the nature of the functions or tasks he/she is performing or has performed, may be considered a Career Service member.

iii.            Inherent in the status of Career Service member is the right not to be separated from the General Secretariat except on any of the grounds expressly set forth in these General Standards.

iv.           The Secretary General shall give preferential consideration to members of the Career Service and, other conditions being equal, to those of greatest seniority in it, to fill vacancies and to continue in service when reductions are made in the staff of the General Secretariat. 

v.            The General Secretariat shall encourage and assist the members of the Career Service to improve their skills and qualifications. 

vi.          Career Service members shall participate in the Organization’s Retirement and Pension Plan, in accordance with the provisions of that Plan.

c.       Salary and other Benefits: The salary and other emoluments of Career Service personnel are set out in Articles 40, 48-52, and 61-63, together with the corresponding provisions in the Staff Rules.

Article 19. Personnel Appointed Under Continuing Contracts

a.       Eligibility and Appointment: Staff members who have already been selected for a post by competition in accordance with Article 44 of these General Standards, financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund, and who have served in the General Secretariat under a fixed-term contract or series of fixed-term contracts for at least eight consecutive years since that competition, the last four of which must be under Series B Fixed-Term Contracts, shall be contracted under a Continuing Contract at the beginning of their ninth year of service, provided that: 

i.        The staff member has observed good conduct. A staff member shall be considered to have observed good conduct provided he/she has not received more than one written admonition during the last four years of employment as a staff member and has not been disciplined by the application of a more punitive measure recommended by a Disciplinary Committee under Article 56 herein or by a Hearing Officer in the Summary Dismissal process under Article 59 of these General Standards;

ii.         The staff member has received no unsatisfactory performance evaluations for the last four years and not more than one during his/her entire service with the General Secretariat;

iii.       The staff member’s supervisor has not shown cause as to why the continuing contract should be denied;

iv.       The staff member’s personnel file reflects that the staff member has, since joining the staff of the General Secretariat, satisfied the training requirements for his/her duties, and has kept his/her skills up to date as necessary for the efficient and competent performance of those duties;

v.       The Secretariat for Administration and Finance certifies, based on reasonable projections, that the post occupied by the staff member will not be eliminated in a reduction in force within the following twelve month period;

vi.       The staff member is not otherwise ineligible under Article 22(b) of these General Standards.

vii.      The staff member has satisfied the language and examination requirements established in Articles 20(b)(ii), and 44(g) of these General Standards.

b.       Eligibility List:  The General Secretariat shall maintain a list of all eligible staff members by order of seniority. The order of seniority shall be based on length of continuous service from the date the eligible staff member was first appointed by competition to a post under a fixed-term contract financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund. The General Secretariat shall regularly review and modify the list to add new eligible candidates and remove those who have since become ineligible, and it shall provide updated and relevant information to interested staff members upon request. 

c.       Duration, Termination, and Indemnification 

i.              Prior to reaching his/her 65th birthday, a staff member on a Continuing Contract may be terminated from service by the Secretary General only for cause.

ii.             A Continuing Contract shall expire without notice or right of indemnity on the final day of the month in which the staff member employed under that contract reaches his/her 65th birthday, or in the case of participants in the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan who joined the Plan prior to July 1, 1990, the final day of the semester in which the staff member employed under that contract reaches his/her 65th birthday.

iii.            Termination for cause shall entitle the staff member with a Continuing Contract to 60-days’ notice and a separation indemnity, except under those conditions under which an indemnity is not payable under Article 62 of these General Standards. For those Staff Members who satisfy all the eligibility requirements for a Continuing Contract prior to October 29, 2014, under the eligibility requirements in force prior to October 29, 2014, of these General Standards, the indemnity shall equal one month of the staff member’s final basic salary for each year of continuous employment service immediately prior to separation, up to a maximum of nine months.  For all staff members who satisfy all the eligibility requirements for a Continuing Contract after October 29, 2014, the termination indemnity shall be one half month of the staff member’s final basic salary for each year of continuous employment, not to exceed a total of six months of basic salary. 

iv.           Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subparagraph “a” of this Article, any staff member with a Series B Fixed Term Contract financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund awarded through competition and who has completed at least eight years of continuous service under a series of Fixed Term Contracts funded by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund as of October 29, 2014, shall be deemed eligible for a Continuing Contract as of that date for purposes of applying subparagraph (c)(iii) above, regardless of the date he/she was given his/her Series B Fixed Term Contract financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund, and provided that the staff member satisfies all the other requirements set out in subparagraphs (a)(i–vii). This subparagraph (c)(iv) is transitory and shall be deleted from these General Standards on December 31, 2016. 

d.       Mobility and Reemployment

i.        A staff member with a continuing contract who is transferred to or promoted to another post in the General Secretariat financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund shall remain contracted under that continuing contract. A staff member on a continuing contract may not be transferred to a post financed by non-Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund sources, except with his/her full consent, and, in the event of that consent, he/she shall not be entitled to remain under the continuing contract, for which purposes, once the above consent is given, the provisions contained in Article 62 of these Standards shall apply.

ii.       A staff member whose Continuing Contract is terminated and who is subsequently selected by way of competition to fill a Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund post in the General Secretariat may rejoin the staff of the General Secretariat under a Continuing Contract provided he/she had good conduct, he/she had not received an unsatisfactory performance evaluation while serving under a continuing contract, and the post for which he/she has been selected satisfies the requirements set out in section (a)(v) of this article above.

e.       Pension Rights: Staff members on Continuing Contracts are required to join the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan.

f.       Training: The General Secretariat shall encourage and assist staff members on continuing contracts in improving their skills and qualifications, subject to the availability of resources allocated for that purpose in the program-budget. Training programs shall meet, inter alia, the following objectives:  (a) to prepare staff in carrying out the various tasks specific to the Organization; (b) to provide opportunities for ongoing staff development, not only in their current posts but also for other duties for which the staff member may be considered, and (c) to motivate staff, in order to create a satisfactory working environment and increase their productivity.

g.       Salary and Other Benefits: The salary and other emoluments of personnel on Continuing Contracts are set out in Articles 40, 48-52, and 61-63, together with the corresponding provisions in the Staff Rules.

Article 20.  Personnel Appointed Under Fixed-Term Contracts Financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund

a.       General Characteristics:  A Fixed-Term Contract financed by the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund is an employment contract for a specific term of days, months, or years expressly stated in the contract. It expires without notice upon the termination date stated in the contract or stated on any extension or renewal thereof, and there is no right to renewal. It may be rescinded only for cause as stated in these General Standards and the Staff Rules. Except for staff members appointed under special mission contracts, as further specified below, all staff members with fixed-term contracts must be appointed through the competitive selection process established in Article 44 of these General Standards.

b.       Fixed-Term Contracts may be either Series A Contracts, Series B Contracts, or Special Mission Contracts, as further specified below:

i.        Series A Contracts:  Series A Contracts are contracts for no less than one year and for up to four years. No staff member may serve for more than four years under one or more Series A Contracts regardless of whether the service is nonconsecutive or consecutive.

ii.        Series B Contracts:  Series B Contracts are contracts for periods of up to four years. Any staff member under a Series A Contract who has served four years in a Series A Contract shall be contracted under a Series B Contract at the beginning of his fifth year of employment, provided: (i) the staff member has achieved satisfactory evaluations for at least three of those four years and the evaluation for the fourth year is satisfactory; (ii) the staff member has observed Good Conduct during his/her four years of service under a Series A Contract; (iii) the Secretary for Administration and Finance certifies that there is Regular Fund financing or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund resources, as appropriate, for the contract against the post in which the staff member is then serving; (iv) the staff member has passed the OAS Civics Exam; and (v) the staff member’s supervisor has stated in writing that there is no cause for denial of the contract. 

iii.       Special Mission Contracts (SMCs):  SMCs are contracts provided for special missions, chiefly financed with specific funds in member states away from headquarters, in accordance with the Staff Rules and other administrative issuances of the General Secretariat. The duration of an SMC shall be determined by the duration of the respective mission. No person may be contracted under an SMC to serve in a special mission carried out in a member state where he/she is a national or permanent resident.

c.       Salary and Other Benefits:  The salary and other emoluments of personnel on fixed-term contracts are set out in Articles 40, 48-52, and 61-63, together with the corresponding provisions in the Staff Rules. Salaries and other benefits, including severance pay, shall be borne exclusively by Regular Fund or Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund sources as appropriate. In the case of Special Mission contracts, the referred articles in these General Standards shall be applied in accordance with the Staff Rules and other administrative instruments of the General Secretariat. Staff members on Series A contracts and Special Mission contracts are ineligible for the dependency allowance. 

d.        Pension Rights:  All staff members, as soon as they receive a fixed-term contract are required to join the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan. However, those staff members who have a fixed-term contract and are participating in the OAS 401(m) Plan as of October 29, 2014, may continue to participate exclusively in same, but will be required to join the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan once they obtain a continuing contract. Likewise, those staff members who joined the General Secretariat after October 29, 2014, and who on May 31, 2017, had Series A fixed-term contracts and were participating in the OAS 401(m) Plan may continue to participate exclusively in that same plan but will have to join the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan upon obtaining a Series B fixed-term contract.

e.       Transitory Provision:  Persons on Series A Contracts as of October 29, 2014, who have not been hired pursuant to the competitive procedures established in  Article 44 shall not have their contracts renewed for periods extending beyond December 31, 2020, unless they are successfully confirmed in their positions pursuant to those procedures. Nonetheless, time spent in Series A Contracts prior to satisfying the competitive selection requirement shall be fully taken into account in considering their eligibility for Series B Contracts. In the event more time is required, the Permanent Council shall approve an extension of this provision. These provision shall be removed from these Standards on December 31, 2021.  

Article 20 bis.  Personnel Appointed Under Fixed-Term Contracts Financed by Funds Other than the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund

a.       General Characteristics:  A Fixed-Term Contract financed by other funds than the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund, including specific funds and the Indirect Cost Recovery Fund, is an employment contract for a specific term of days, months, or years expressly stated in the contract. It expires without notice upon the termination date stated in the contract or stated on any extension or renewal thereof, and there is no right to renewal. It may be rescinded only for cause as stated in these General Standards and the Staff Rules. Staff members with Series A contracts must be appointed through the following competitive selection process:

i.    Publication of announcement for two weeks, which can be extended if not enough qualified candidates apply;

ii.    Prescreening of candidates by the Department of Human Resources (DHR), to identify those who meet minimum requirements and any potential conflicts of interest, not national of a member state, etc.;

iii.    Selection of top candidates (at least three) and interview by hiring area;

iv.    Evaluation of candidates, including screening of at least two of the official languages: English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, and selection of candidate by hiring area;

v.    Submission of the memo by the hiring area with evaluation and recommendation to DHR;

vi.    Review of the documentation by DHR and submission of the recommendation to the Secretary for Administration and Finance (SAF); and

vii.    Approval by SAF.

b.       Fixed-Term Contracts may be either Series A Contracts, Series B Contracts, or Special Mission Contracts, as further specified below:

i.          Series A Contracts:  Series A Contracts are contracts for up to four years, and they may be extended based on the duration of the project for which they were granted.

ii.       Series B Contracts: Series B Contracts are contracts for up to four years, which may be extended in line with the duration of the project for which they were issued. Any staff member with a Series A contract who has served for four years with that contract may be granted Series B contract at the start of his or her fifth year of service, provided that: (i) the staff member has received satisfactory evaluations in three of the four years, with a satisfactory result in the fourth year; (ii) the staff member has observed good conduct during the four years of service under the Series A contract; (iii) the Secretary for Administration and Finance, in consultation with the secretary of the area involved, certifies that the resources exist in funds other than the Regular Fund to pay for the contract; (iv) the staff member has passed the OAS civics exam; and (v) the staff member’s supervisor has stated in writing that there is no cause for denial of the contract.

ii.       Special Mission Contracts (SMCs):  SMCs are contracts provided for special missions, chiefly financed with specific funds, in member states away from headquarters, in accordance with the Staff Rules and other administrative issuances of the General Secretariat. The duration of an SMC shall be determined by the agreed duration of the respective mission. No person may be contracted under an SMC to serve in a special mission carried out in a member state where he/she is a national or permanent resident. 

c.         Salary and Other Benefits:  The salary and other emoluments of personnel on fixed-term contracts are set out in Articles 40, 48-52, and 61-63, together with the corresponding provisions in the Staff Rules. Salaries and other benefits, including severance pay, shall be borne exclusively by non-Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund sources. In the case of SMCs, the articles referred to in these General Standards shall apply in accordance with the Staff Rules and other administrative instruments of the General Secretariat.  Staff members on Series A contracts and SMCs are ineligible for the dependency allowance.

d.           Pension Rights: All staff members, upon receiving a fixed-term contract are required to join the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan. However, those staff members who on May 31, 2017, had a fixed-term Series A contract and were participating in the OAS 401(m) Plan may continue to participate exclusively in that same plan, but they will be required to join the OAS Retirement and Pension Plan once they obtain a fixed-term Series B contract.

Article 21. Trust Personnel

a.       Identification of Trust Positions:  The following shall be considered positions of trust:  the Executive Secretary for Integral Development, designated Director General of the IACD, as well as the Secretaries, advisers and assistants to the Secretary General and to the Assistant Secretary General.

b.       Description and Special Provisions:

i.        Staff members in positions of trust are appointed at the discretion of the Secretary General to hold the posts that these General Standards define as positions of trust. Trust appointments shall last as long as the Secretary General is in office and the appointees enjoy his/her confidence.

ii.       The Secretary General may appoint to a position of trust any staff member, whether or not he/she is a member of the Career Service or has a continuing contract, or anyone outside the General Secretariat.

iii.       When the Secretary General terminates the services of a person who holds a position of trust, he/she shall give the person concerned the notice provided for in Article 58 of these General Standards, except in the case of a member of the Career Service. In the latter case, the member of the Career Service shall have the right to continue in that Service in a post of the same grade as that of the post he/she held before his/her appointment. 

iv.      A staff member under a continuing contract and who is appointed to a position of trust shall maintain his/her continuing contract status while in the position of trust and, subject to agreement with the Secretary General, may, upon the termination of the trust appointment, be placed under a continuing contract in a non-trust position at the grade he/she had immediately prior to accepting the trust appointment. 

v.       As a general rule, no person shall be appointed to a trust position below the P-4 level. Exceptions may be made for staff assigned to the Secretary General’s Office and household and the Office of the Assistant Secretary General. The number of trust appointments funded by the Regular Fund should not exceed 4 percent of the posts financed by that Fund.

vi.      A person who has been appointed to a position of trust may not after leaving his position work for the General Secretariat, whether as a staff member, a consultant, or an employee or consultant to an independent contractor of the General Secretariat, while the Secretary General who appointed him is still in office.   This provision is inapplicable to career service staff or staff members with a continuing contract. Similarly, it does not prevent a person whose appointment to a position of trust terminates from being appointed to another position of trust.

c.       Salary and Other Benefits: The salary and other emoluments of personnel on trust appointments are set out in Articles 40, 48-52, and 61-63, together with the corresponding provisions in the Staff Rules.

Article 22.  Executive Secretaries and Directors of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Specialized Agencies, and Entities

a.       Secretaries, executive secretaries, and directors, as the case may be, of the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the specialized organizations and other entities established pursuant to the last paragraph of Article 53 of the Charter will be recruited in accordance with their respective statutes. They will be contracted under Series B Contracts; however, any staff member who already has a continuing contract or is a member of the Career Service when appointed to one of these positions will retain his/her continuing contract or Career Service appointment, as the case may be. 

b.       The periods of employment of the secretaries, executive secretaries and directors mentioned in the preceding subparagraph will not be taken into account in establishing eligibility for a continuing contract. 

c.       Until the General Assembly approves any necessary modifications to the corresponding Statutes of the organs and entities referenced in this Article, for any organs or entities whose statutes do not provide for competitive selection of the corresponding Secretary, Executive Secretary, or Director, as the case may be, those officials will be appointed by the Secretary General in consultation with the organ or entity concerned, and following a competition in accordance with Article 44 of the General Standards.

Article 23.  Managerial Personnel Positions

         All Department Director positions shall be considered Managerial Personnel positions. Candidates for those positions will be recruited and selected through external competition, in accordance with Article 44 of these General Standards, and contracted under Series B Fixed-Term Contracts, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 6 of resolution AG/RES. 2755 (XLII-O/12).

Article 24. Local Personnel

a.       General Description: Local personnel are contracted locally and, to the extent feasible, in accordance with the conditions of the duty station in which they serve, for the purpose of providing professional or support services to temporary projects, special missions, and other temporary activities carried out by the General Secretariat in the Member States away from headquarters, or to provide cleaning, guard, or maintenance services to Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States away from headquarters. They must be nationals or permanent residents of the duty station or otherwise authorized to work in the duty station under a visa or other permit they have acquired independently and without the intervention of the General Secretariat.

b.       Special Provisions, Salary, and Benefits: Appointments of individuals as Local Personnel shall be governed by the following provisions:

i.              The General Secretariat shall include in the amount budgeted for each person contracted under a Local Personnel contract the necessary reserves for all benefits required under the local laws of the duty station, including, but not limited to, termination benefits, accumulated vacation, and termination notice.

ii.             Periods of employment under a Local Personnel contract shall not be counted for determining eligibility for Continuing Contracts or for any other purpose.

iii.            Local Personnel shall not be participants in the OAS Retirement and Pension Fund; however, they shall participate in the social security system provided under the laws of the duty station. In the event such participation is unfeasible, Local Personnel shall be provided a monthly lump-sum payment equivalent to the value of the required contributions to the national social security system or, alternatively, and as determined by the Secretary General, Local Personnel shall participate in the Provident Plan or other retirement-savings plans established by the General Secretariat for temporary employees and in insurance programs provided by the General Secretariat for temporary employees.

iv.           Salaries for Local Personnel shall be established in accordance with market conditions at a level no lower than the amount paid for work of a similar nature under the corresponding national legislation of the duty station, and no greater than the salaries paid by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for work of a similar nature.

v.            The following articles of the General Standards shall not apply to Local Personnel, unless otherwise stated in their individual employment contracts: Article 18 (Career Service); Article 19 (Continuing Contracts); Articles 20 and 20 bis (Personnel Appointed Under Fixed-Term Contracts); Article 38 (Classification of posts); Article 40 (Salaries); Article 43 (Medical examination); Article 44 (Selection to fill vacant posts); Article 46 (Probationary period); Article 48 (Vacations); Article 49 (Leave); Article 50 (Social security); Article 51 (Travel, installation, and repatriation expenses); Article 58 (Notice); and Article 61 (Separation indemnity). 

vi.           Unless otherwise provided by executive order or the express terms of the contract document under which a Local Personnel is contracted, the Staff Rules shall not apply to Local Personnel.

Article 25. Associate Personnel

a.       General Description: Associate staff members are persons appointed primarily to perform functions of a professional, technical, administrative, or scientific nature, in accordance with agreements or contracts concluded with other institutions participating in programs of common interest, or to provide services ad honorem with authorization of the institutions to which they belong. Associate staff members are considered staff members solely for the purposes of securing for them the privileges and immunities necessary for them to carry out their functions as personnel of the General Secretariat to the extent permitted under the corresponding agreements on privileges and immunities with the Member States and for integrating them into the administrative structure of the project or activity to which they are assigned. They are not staff members for any other reason.

b.       Special Provisions, Salary, and Other Benefits: Associate staff members are not entitled to any of the rights and benefits of staff members set out in these General Standards and the Staff Rules. The terms of their relationship with the General Secretariat, including their compensation and emoluments, shall be established exclusively in the agreement between the institution to which they belong and the General Secretariat.

Article 26. Document of Appointment 

At the time they are appointed or hired, staff members and the Secretary General or his/her authorized representative shall jointly sign a document that shall state the nature and conditions of the appointment or contract. Such document shall be in conformity with these Standards and with the applicable provisions in force, including the resolutions of the General Assembly.

 

SUBCHAPTER B:  STATUS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ALL STAFF MEMBERS AND LIMITATIONS ON THEIR ACTIVITIES

Article 27. Subjection to the Authority of the Secretary General

With respect to the performance of their duties, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary General. 

Article 28.Status of International Civil Servants

The staff members of the General Secretariat are international civil servants and, in the performance of their duties, are responsible only to the General Secretariat. In accepting appointment to a position in the General Secretariat, they shall undertake to perform their duties and to regulate their conduct in conformity with the nature, purposes, and interests of the Organization.

Article 29. Autonomy in the Performance of Duties

a.        In the performance of their duties, staff members shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any authority outside the Organization.

b.        The staff members of the permanent missions accredited to the OAS may not provide services as staff members, consultants, or independent contractors in the General Secretariat for six months from the conclusion of their respective appointments to those missions. The Permanent Council may grant exceptions, on a case-by-case basis, for trust personnel. Associate personnel defined in Article 17 of the General Standards are excepted.[3]

Article 30. Limitation of Activities and Public Statements

a.       Personnel shall refrain from any action that may be incompatible with their position as staff members of the Organization. In this regard, they may not conduct any activity that the Secretary General considers undesirable from the standpoint of the efficient performance of their duties or the prestige of the Organization.

b.       Staff members shall not act or express themselves publicly in any way that might damage or adversely affect the Member States.

Article 31. Discretion

Staff members shall exercise the utmost discretion with respect to all matters of official business. They shall not communicate to any person any restricted information except in the course of their duties or in accordance with the procedure for so doing established by the Secretary General. Nor shall they at any time use such information to private advantage. These obligations undertaken by staff members do not cease upon separation from service.

Article 32. Provision of Services and Acceptance of Benefits

No staff member shall render services to any government or entity under conditions other than those specifically approved by the Secretary General. No staff member may accept a decoration from any government. Neither may he/she accept honors, awards, remuneration, favors, or gifts when, in the opinion of the Secretary General, this is incompatible with his status as an international civil servant or with the interests of the Organization. No staff member shall be seconded to another international organization, governmental agency, or other entity unless the entity to which the staff member is seconded first agrees to reimburse the full cost of salary and benefits of the staff member as well as any other expenses incurred by the General Secretariat in relation to the secondment.

Article 33. Nomination for Elective Public Office

The acceptance by a staff member of nomination to an elective public office of a political character shall imply the staff member’s resignation from his/her post in the General Secretariat.

Article 34. Acceptance of a Governmental Post

The acceptance by a staff member of appointment to a governmental post shall imply his/her resignation from his/her post in the General Secretariat.

Article 35. Statement of Loyalty

Before beginning work, every staff member shall sign a statement in which he/she undertakes to perform his/her duties in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, these Standards, and other pertinent provisions.

Article 36. Government Influence and Support

No staff member may seek the influence or support of a representative or an organ or other entity of the Organization, or of any government, in matters affecting the administration of or discipline in the General Secretariat. All questions regarding these matters shall be settled in accordance with the applicable regulations.

Article 37. Privileges and Immunities

The privileges and immunities that should be granted to the staff members of the General Secretariat, necessary for the performance of their duties, shall be determined by multilateral agreements among the Member States or bilateral agreements between the General Secretariat and the Member States.

 

SUBCHAPTER C:  SALARIES, CLASSIFICATION, AND EVALUATION

Article 38. Classification and auditing of posts:

General Secretariat personnel who do not fall into the categories contained in Article 17, sections a. viii and ix, as well as the human resources covered by section (b), shall be classified under two categories based on their functions: Professional and General Services. The Secretary General shall issue the administrative provisions for the establishment of post profiles, applying the United Nations classification system and considering, inter alia, the following elements:

a.       Post identification: Precise title, place of work, and number of people at the same level of responsibility.

b.       Post objective: Position in the organization structure approved by the Secretary General.

c.       Post duties: A description of the functions performed by the post’s occupant. 

d.       Supervisory Controls. 

e.       Job requirements: The basic conditions to be satisfied by the post’s occupant, including:

i.        Education: Required minimum level and specialization of formal studies.

ii.       Specialization courses: Supplementary courses or activities that provide the unique expertise regarded as necessary for performing the post’s duties.

iii.       Experience: The minimum amount of experience needed for an average person with the above-described education qualifications to be capable of performing all the functions in a satisfactory way.

For a post to be properly classified or reclassified, the General Secretariat must have previously secured the necessary financing, be it from the Regular Fund, in accordance with the program-budget, or from other funds. Posts should be audited, taking into account the responsibilities, required skills, effort, and working conditions. The Secretary General shall include in the proposed program-budget the necessary funds for an audit of posts, which shall be conducted at intervals of no less than four years, subject to the availability of budget resources.

Article 39.  Work Performance Evaluation

Staff members’ performance shall undergo continuous, systematic, comprehensive evaluation. The evaluation shall be conducted by supervisors and designed to assess the overall attitude and performance of the staff members in fulfilling their functions in terms of timeliness, quantity, and quality of the results obtained, as well as to gauge and inform staff of their work performance.

Accordingly, the Secretary General shall issue regulations for an evaluation system pursuant to the provisions of Article 120 of the Charter, which provide for: 

a.       Evaluation of the staff once a year based on previously agreed goals for that period; 

b.       The manner of conducting the evaluation process and its stages;

c.       The guarantees for the staff subject to evaluation; and

d.       The consequences of the evaluation process. 

Article 40. Salaries

a.       The salaries in force for the staff of the General Secretariat shall be the salaries in force at the United Nations Secretariat, to the extent stated below as permitted within the framework of resolution AG/RES. 1319 (XXV-O/95), entitled “Modification and Clarification of Resolutions AG/RES. 1275 (XXIV-O/94) and CP/RES. 631 (989/94) for the Modification of the General Secretariat’s Staff Compensation System.”

b.       The salary scales in force for net basic salaries shall be those applied by the United Nations Secretariat for the corresponding duty station, based on salary schedules recommended by the International Civil Service Commission.

c.       The post adjustment schedules adopted for the United Nations Secretariat shall apply to the staff of the OAS General Secretariat.

d.       Pensionable remuneration, as set forth in the salary scales, shall be computed under the formula established in accordance with the objectives of the Retirement and Pension Plan and the resolutions of the General Assembly.

e.       The basic salary for the Secretary General shall be computed on July 1, 1995, by deducting from the June 30, 1995, OAS remuneration (basic salary plus cost-of-living adjustment and 2 percent transition payment) the corresponding UN post adjustment factors for Washington, D.C. Subsequent increases in basic salary shall correspond with the decisions of the United Nations to incorporate post adjustment factors into basic salary for all professional level staff members, and the post adjustment factors for Washington, D.C., shall apply to those basic salaries.

f.       The basic salary on the scale for staff with dependents for the Assistant Secretary General and the Secretaries shall be computed on July 1, 1995, by deducting from the June 30, 1995, OAS remuneration for those positions (basic salary plus cost-of-living adjustment and 2 percent transition payment) the corresponding UN post adjustment factors for Washington, D.C. Basic salaries for those positions on the “without dependent” scales shall be 90.3 percent of the basic salaries on the scales for a staff with dependents for those positions. Subsequent increases in basic salary shall correspond with the decisions of the United Nations to incorporate post adjustment factors into basic salary for all professional level staff members, and the post adjustment factors for Washington, D.C., shall apply to those basic salaries.  


SUBCHAPTER D:  RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND APPOINTMENT

Article 41. Basic Conditions

a.       In selecting the personnel of the General Secretariat, first consideration shall be given to efficiency, competence, and integrity; but at the same time, in the recruitment of personnel of all ranks, importance shall be given to the necessity of obtaining as wide a geographic representation as possible.

b.       Persons shall be selected for appointment as staff members without regard to race, creed, or sex.

Article 42. Nationality

Staff members shall be chosen from among nationals of the member states, except in special cases where the needs of the service require the appointment of nationals of other states.

Article 43. Medical Examination

In order to be appointed to the staff of the General Secretariat, the candidate must first prove by means of a medical examination that he/she meets the requirements to perform his/her duties.

Article 44. Recruitment, Selection, and Appointment

The following provisions shall govern selection of staff members to recruit, select, and appoint staff members, in accordance with Articles 113 and 120 of the Charter:

a.       The Advisory Committee on Selection and Promotion:  Except as otherwise provided herein, the Secretary General shall recruit, select, and appoint all General Secretariat staff members by external competition with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Selection and Promotion (“Selection Committee”).

(i)       The members of the Selection Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary General.  The President of the Staff Association shall be a member of the Selection Committee and of all subcommittees thereof and, if unable to participate, may delegate such participation to another member of the Staff Committee.

(ii)      When temporarily unavailable to attend a Selection Committee or subcommittee meeting, a member shall appoint a qualified alternate to serve in his/her place by notifying the Department of Human Resources (DHR).

(iii)     At least half of the members appointed by the Secretary General shall be above the P-3 level in a non-trust appointment and with at least eight years of experience as a General Secretariat staff member.

b.       Publication and Notice:  The recruitment process shall include advertisement of the post on the Internet, for a period of 21days, immediate notification of the recruitment announcement to the permanent missions to the OAS, and other effective means of publicizing the recruitment notice.

c.       Verification of Qualifications and the Interview:  The DHR shall review the backgrounds of the candidates who apply to a competition and shall determine which of candidates meet the minimum requirements for the post. At least three of these candidates, based on the determination of the director who requested the recruitment, shall undergo a personal interview with a panel of three or more persons.  In the case of a competition for a post in the general services category, the personal interview shall be with the director who requested the recruitment.

(i)           The panel shall include the director of the department that requested the recruitment, a specialist from the Department of Human Resource Services, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Selection and Promotion.

(ii)      The panel shall send its report to:  (a) the Secretary for Administration and Finance for the evaluation of candidates for positions in the general services, in accordance with subparagraph (d) of this article; or (b) the Advisory Committee on Selection and Promotion, for consideration in its evaluation of the candidates for positions in the professional category under subparagraph (e) of this article.

(iii)     The General Secretariat shall not pay or otherwise reimburse candidates with Regular Fund resources for their interview-related expenses; however, for those candidates that cannot be physically present at an interview, the General Secretariat shall make a reasonable effort to provide for video or teleconference interviews at its expense.

d.       Appointments to Posts in the General Services Category:  The Secretary General may authorize the Secretary for Administration and Finance to appoint all staff members in the general services category according to the following procedure:

(i)       After receiving all the corresponding files, including test results, the Director’s and/or other competent supervisor’s evaluation, and the interview report, the Secretary for Administration and Finance shall inform the members of the Selection Committee of the appointment decision and provide them with the opportunity to agree or disagree with the decision.

(ii)          The members of the Selection Committee shall have four working days to respond, following his/her receipt of the necessary documentation to evaluate the appointment decision. That documentation shall include the job description; the vacancy announcement; the applications of all candidates; the cover letters; the personnel file of the recommended candidate, including prior evaluations and possible disciplinary actions; the evaluations of the Department of Human Resources, the Director, and/or other supervisors; the interview report; and such other relevant and readily available documentation reasonably requested.

(iii)         If the members of the Selection Committee agree with the appointment decision or fail to respond in writing expressing agreement or disagreement within the period specified in subparagraph (d)(ii) above, the appointment shall be made.  If one or more members of the Selection Committee disagree with that decision, they shall state the reasons in a written response, and if the differences cannot be resolved with the Secretary for Administration and Finance within four working days thereafter, the competition shall be immediately submitted to the full Selection Committee for review and preparation of recommendations for the final decision of the Secretary General.

e.         Appointments to Posts in the Professional Category:  For all competitions for positions in the professional category, the corresponding documentation shall be sent directly to the Advisory Committee on Selection and Promotion for its review and recommendations to the Secretary General.   That documentation shall include:  the job description; the vacancy announcement; the applications of all candidates; the cover letters; the personnel file of the recommended candidate, including prior evaluations and possible disciplinary actions; the evaluations of the Department of Human Resources, the Director, and/or other supervisors; the interview report; and such other relevant and readily available documentation reasonably requested.  

f.       Language Proficiency:  The official languages of the Organization are English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.  No candidate for a position in the General Secretariat subject to the competition requirement shall be contracted until he/she has passed language proficiency exams administered by the DHR in at least two of the official languages. Nevertheless,

(i)       Any candidate, including staff member whose native language is one of those four languages shall only be required to demonstrate proficiency on an exam in one of the others; and

(ii)      Persons applying for G-1 and G-2 positions at Headquarters and G-3 driver/clerk positions in those Offices of the General Secretariat in the Member States where the language requirement unduly restricts the recruitment of otherwise qualified staff shall be exempt from this language proficiency requirement for as long as they occupy those positions. Subsequently, in order to be eligible to compete for a higher-level position, any staff member who has benefited from this exemption must demonstrate proficiency in a second official language of the Organization.

(iii)     A person selected as the best candidate may receive a fixed-term contract, which will be considered to have lapsed in case the person does not pass the required language examination within the 36 months following the appointment. 

g.       Geographical Distribution:  In every phase of the recruitment process, the importance of obtaining as wide a geographic representation as possible shall be taken into account in accordance with the methodology approved by the General Assembly through the pertinent resolutions. 

h.        Gender: Gender equity and equality shall be taken into account in every phase of the recruitment process.

i.        Exclusions from the Competition Requirement:  The Competition requirement under this Article shall not apply to:

(i)    Trust appointments under Article 21 of these General Standards;

(ii)    Positions identified in Article 22 of these General Standards that are exempted from the competition requirement;

(iii)    Assignments of members of the career service in the exercise of their rights under Article 18(b)(iv) of these General Standards during a reduction in personnel;

(iv)    Appointments to reclassified posts held by qualified incumbents with contract obtained through a competitive procedure in accordance with this article;

(v)    Fixed-term contracts funded by resources other than the Regular Fund or the Leo S. Rowe Pan American Fund pursuant to Article 20.bis of these General Standards;

(vi)    Special Mission Contracts, in accordance with Article 20 of these General Standards; and

(vii)    Contracts for local personnel under Article 24 of these General Standards.

Article 45. Preference in Filling Vacant Posts

In filling vacant posts, the Secretary General, other conditions being equal, shall give preference first, to career service personnel, and second to other staff members. This preference shall not apply to staff members contracted by means of new contracts after June 30, 2002, or whose contracts have been extended or renewed since then.

Article 46. Probationary Period

a.       Persons appointed for a period of one year or more shall be subject to a probationary period of six months.

b.       The Secretary General may terminate the appointment of a staff member who has not completed his probationary period, when he/she considers this advisable in the interest of the General Secretariat. The probationary period requirement shall not apply to members of the Career Service or staff members on Continuing Contracts, or to staff members awarded a Series B Fixed Term Contract pursuant to Article 20 or 20 bis of these General Standards.

Article 47. Register of Staff Members

The General Secretariat shall distribute each quarter to the member states an up-to-date register of the staff members, by dependency, indicating name, type of employment, grade and step, nationality, country of origin, duty station, fund and projects financing the post, gender, date of entry into the General Secretariat, date of entry into the grade and whether the staff member is receiving a special duties allowance. The register shall also include existing vacancies, statistics on average grade and ratio of supervisors to employees for each dependency of the General Secretariat and for the General Secretariat as a whole, together with statistics on the distribution of staff members by fund, grade, gender, and geographic distribution. Geographic distribution statistics shall be computed by methods similar to those used by other major international organizations and shall include both country of origin and nationality.

 

SUBCHAPTER E:  BENEFITS

Article 48. Vacations

a.  Staff members shall be entitled to annual leave in accordance with the following scale:

i.  Those with 1 through 3 years of service: 21 working days;

ii.  Those with 4 through 5 years of service: 24 working days;

iii.  Those with more than 5 years of service: 30 working days.

b.  The staff members may accumulate unused annual leave up to a maximum of 60 working days.

Article 49. Leave

        The Secretary General may authorize special leave in exceptional cases.

Article 50. Social Security

       The General Secretariat shall maintain a system of social security for the staff which shall include, to the extent determined by the competent organs of the Organization, provisions for health protection, sick leave and maternity leave, reasonable compensation in the event of illness, accident, or death resulting from the performance of official duties in the service of the General Secretariat, and retirement and pension or savings.

Article 51. Travel, Installation, and Repatriation Expenses

        In accordance with the General Standards and the budgetary provisions established by the General Assembly, the General Secretariat shall pay travel, installation, and repatriation expenses of staff members and their dependents, and shall issue pertinent regulations.

Article 52. Other Entitlements and Benefits

       Staff members shall enjoy those other additional entitlements and benefits resulting from provisions or rules issued by the competent organs of the Organization in accordance with such general standards and budgetary provisions as may be established by the General Assembly. The Secretary General may periodically recommend to the Permanent Council changes in benefits and benefit levels. Changes in benefits and benefit levels shall not be binding on the Organization unless the corresponding funding is expressly provided for and itemized in the program-budget.

 

SUBCHAPTER F:  LABOR RELATIONS

Article 53. The Staff Association and Staff Committee

a.  In order to maintain continuing contact between the staff and the Secretary General, there shall be a Staff Association, made up of all the members of the staff of the General Secretariat. The Staff Committee shall be the executive organ of the Association, and it shall be empowered to make proposals and to discuss them with the Secretary General or with the representative he/she designates, on all matters that are of common interest to the staff members or that affect their well-being, including their working conditions.

b.  In the membership of the Staff Committee, equitable representation shall be given to the various categories of personnel included in the classification system. The members of the Staff Committee shall be elected in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Association, adopted by the Association and approved by the Secretary General.

 

SUBCHAPTER G:  DISCIPLINE, SEPARATION FROM SERVICE, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, AND INDEMNITIES

Article 54. Adoption of Disciplinary Measures

       The Secretary General may adopt, in accordance with the pertinent regulatory provisions, disciplinary measures for unsatisfactory performance of work or for conduct not in conformity with these Standards.

Article 55. Types of Disciplinary Measures

       Disciplinary measures shall consist of oral or written admonition, written censure, suspension, and dismissal.

Article 56. Advisory Committee on Disciplinary Measures

        The Secretary General shall establish a committee to advise him/her on the subject and application of disciplinary measures. The Staff Association shall be represented on that committee.

Article 57. Separation from Service

        The Secretary General is empowered to terminate the appointment of a staff member:

a.  In case of prolonged illness, in accordance with the pertinent regulatory provisions;

b.  When with respect to a member of the Career Service it becomes necessary to abolish a post, as a result of the reduction in staff or of the reorganization of an office of the General Secretariat, after application of the provisions of Articles 18(b)(iv) and 45 of these Standards;

c.  When, with respect to all staff members other than members of the Career Service:

i.  The post occupied by the staff member is either abolished or assigned to a member of the Career Service under Article 18(b)(iv) as the result of a Secretariat-wide reduction in force or the reorganization of an office;

ii.  When the object of the staff member’s employment is to carry out a specific program or attain a stated purpose and the specific program ends or the stated purpose is attained; or

iii.  When funding for the post occupied by the staff member is not approved in the program-budget.

d.  When the staff member’s services are not satisfactory;

e.  Whenever the staff member fails to fulfill the requirements of service contained in these General Standards, in the Staff Rules, or in his/her employment contract;

f.  When he/she has reached the age of 65; and

g.  When, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary General, the Executive Secretary for Integral Development, the Assistant Secretaries, and the staff member's immediate supervisor, it is considered to be in the best interest of the Organization. In this case, the staff member concerned shall have the right to be heard by the Secretary General and shall be entitled to all the benefits and indemnities to which he/she would be entitled had his/her service been terminated for any of the other reasons specified in this article.

Article 58. Notice

        All staff members whose services are terminated under Article 57 above shall be entitled to a termination notice given prior to the effective termination date. Notice period shall be 60 days for career staff members. For all other staff members, the notice period shall be no less than seven days and no more than 60 days prior to the effective termination date, as determined by the General Secretariat and stated in the staff member’s document of appointment.

Article 59. Summary Dismissal

        The Secretary General may summarily dismiss any staff member for serious misconduct.

Article 60. Resignation

        A staff member may resign from his/her position in the General Secretariat by presenting his resignation to the Secretary General, with the advance notice stipulated in his/her document of appointment.

Article 61. Separation Indemnity

       Except as provided in Article 62, the General Secretariat shall provide a separation indemnity to all members of the Career Service and to all other staff members who are separated from service after having been employed continuously for more than three years under fixed-term contracts. Such indemnity shall be calculated and paid in accordance with the pertinent Staff Rules.

Article 62. Inapplicability of Indemnity Provisions

        A separation indemnity shall not be paid when:

a.  A staff member’s services are terminated during the probationary period of Article 46 of these Standards;

b.  A staff member resigns;

c.  A staff member under fixed-term contract is separated from service by way of termination or expiration of contract before completing more than three years of service under fixed-term contracts;

d.  A staff member’s appointment to a position of trust is terminated or otherwise expires in accordance with Article 21;

e.  The staff member's services are terminated or the staff member is dismissed for serious misconduct, including, but not limited to:

i.  Abandonment of post;

ii.  Having made serious false statements related to the staff member’s employment;

f.  The staff member is retired in accordance with the provisions for compulsory retirement of the Retirement and Pension Plan;

g.  A staff member on a continuing contract is separated from service on or after his/her 65th birthday.

Article 63.  Adjustment of the Termination Indemnity and Repatriation Grant for Payments Already Received for Prior Service

 

a.  The number of months of basic salary of any separation indemnity paid upon separation from service to a staff member under any contract of employment shall be deducted from any separation indemnity that the staff member may otherwise be entitled to receive under any future contract with the General Secretariat, so that the staff member may not receive a total number of months of basic salary as termination indemnity from the General Secretariat during his/her lifetime in excess of the maximum nine months payable under these General Standards and the Staff Rules.

 

b.  The amount of any repatriation grant paid upon separation from service to a staff member under any contract or appointment shall be deducted from any repatriation grant entitlement that the staff member may otherwise have under any future contracts with the General Secretariat, so that the staff member may not receive during his/her lifetime a total number of weeks of basic salary as repatriation grant in excess of the maximum payable under the Staff Rules in accordance with his/her dependency status.

Article 64. Right to Hearing

        Every staff member shall be entitled to a hearing with respect to the application of disciplinary measures or other administrative measures that affect his/her interests.

Article 65. Right to Reconsideration

        Every staff member shall be entitled to request the Secretary General to reconsider any disciplinary measure taken against him/her, or any administrative measure with respect to which he/she alleges noncompliance with the conditions set forth in his/her appointment or with any pertinent provisions of these General Standards or of the Staff Rules.

Article 66. Advisory Committee on Reconsideration

       The Secretary General shall establish a committee to advise him/her in those cases of reconsideration referred to in the preceding article. The Staff Association shall be represented on that committee.

Article 67. Appeal to the Administrative Tribunal

       When the procedures set forth in these Standards and in the other provisions in force in the General Secretariat have been exhausted, an interested party who considers himself/herself injured shall have the right to appeal to the Administrative Tribunal of the Organization, in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of that Tribunal.

 

SUBCHAPTER H:  THE OMBUDSPERSON[4]

Article 68. The Ombudsperson

(a) The Ombudsperson is a professional who provides assistance by informally addressing situations, or concerns regarding internal organizational policies and/or broader systemic problems, with due respect for confidentiality and anonymity, and provides recommendations for responsibly handling them.

b) The Ombudsperson acts in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the Organization of American States, these General Standards, pertinent resolutions of the General Assembly, the Code of Ethics of the General Secretariat, the Staff Rules the General Secretariat, any relevant norms and procedures of the General Secretariat, including the terms of reference of the post, as well as generally accepted international standards of practice for institutional Ombudspersons, such as the International Ombudsman Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

c) No official of the Organization or any person may interfere with, control, limit, threaten, retaliate against or penalize the Ombudsperson in the performance or as a result of his/her duties.

d) The articles of the General Standards and the Staff Rules pertaining to disciplinary measures do not apply to the Ombudsperson.

Article 69. The Office of the Ombudsperson

 (a) The Office of the Ombudsperson, created as an oversight body, is an informal mechanism for addressing work-related problems in the General Secretariat, whose purpose is to promote the observance of the rights of Personnel and Other Human Resources.

(b) Use of the Office of the Ombudsperson is voluntary and not a required step in any grievance process.

(c) Access to and use of the Office by all members of personnel and other human resources of the General Secretariat shall be encouraged and facilitated by the General Secretariat.

(d) The Office of the Ombudsperson shall enjoy the functional autonomy needed to perform its functions.

(e) The Office of the Ombudsperson shall be afforded the necessary protections and guarantees from the General Secretariat for the independent handling of information, in order to safeguard confidentiality in the Office itself and in its record-keeping systems, databases, and communications.

(f) The Office of the Ombudsperson shall be protected by the General Secretariat from retaliation and/or threats, whether actual or potential, based on any interaction with the Office of the Ombudsperson. Any member of the Staff and Other Human Resources involved in acts of retaliation may be subject to disciplinary measures, in accordance with the Code of Ethics, and Chapters X, XI, and XII of the Staff Rules.

(g) Recommendations issued by the Office of the Ombudsperson should be taken into account to adopt prompt corrective measures in accordance with the Charter and these General Standards.

Article 69 bis. Guiding Principles

General Principles

i. The Ombudsperson shall be empowered to provide assistance in addressing workplace-related problems. The term “problem” should be interpreted in its broadest sense and include professional issues related to conditions of employment, administration of employment benefits, and management practices.

ii. The Ombudsperson shall have unrestricted access to information in the General Secretariat, in accordance with his/her powers and in conformity with the legal framework of the General Secretariat, and shall be free of any interference that could affect the autonomy, neutrality, and confidentiality of the Office or the independent and impartial performance of his/her functions.

iii. Requests for information relating to the substantive work of the Office shall take into account the guiding principles of independence, autonomy, neutrality and impartiality, confidentiality and informality. Parties involved are expected to respond promptly and effectively to requests for information.

iv. The Ombudsperson shall endeavor to hear all parties involved in a matter on which his/her assistance is sought. Notwithstanding the duty of all staff members and other human resources to render full, prompt and good faith cooperation, all interactions with the Ombudsperson will be voluntary. As necessary, the Ombudsperson may refer staff members and other human resources to other appropriate bodies.

v. The Ombudsperson may not compel any person of the General Secretariat to implement his/her recommendations.

Independence and Autonomy

vi. The Ombudsperson enjoys functional independence for the fulfillment of his/her mandate. The Office is autonomous from the General Secretariat and from any other organ, agency or entity of the Organization.

vii. The Office shall have access to all personnel records, with the exception of:

a. Personal information. Unless pertinent rules, procedures, and practices allow it, the GS/OAS does not provide access to:

i. Medical information and personal communications.
ii. Information whose disclosure is considered by the GS/OAS to be an invasion of the privacy of staff, independent contractors, their family members, or third parties.
b. Auditors' reports or investigative reports of the Office of the Inspector General, unless they are requested by the permanent mission of an OAS member state.
c. Information that could compromise the security of staff and independent contractors and their families.
d. Information on bidding processes.
e. Information subject to professional secrecy, including, inter alia, communications effected and/or received by attorneys in the Department of Legal Services and other legal advisors of the GS/OAS.
f. Information bound by confidentiality agreements.
g. Commercial or financial information whose disclosure could be harmful to the commercial or financial interests of the GS/OAS or of other parties involved, except when disclosure is requested by the permanent mission of an OAS member state.
h. Deliberative information, whether internal or exchanged with representatives and officials of member states or third parties, including e-mails, letters, memorandums, reports, and other communications.
i. Information provided by a member state or a third party on the understanding that it is confidential, unless that member state or that third party expressly grants prior consent to its disclosure.
j. Information whose disclosure could compromise the security and/or the international and intergovernmental relations of the member states or permanent observers.
k. Information protected by copyright.
l. Information on individual petitions and cases, precautionary measures, and any document relating to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its Executive Secretariat, which are governed by pertinent rules and procedures on the provision of information.

viii. The Office shall also have access to all individuals within the General Secretariat who can provide it with advice, information, or expert opinions on a particular matter. Requests for information from the Office should be responded to promptly and effectively.

ix. The Ombudsperson has full discretion as to whether and how to act on the concern of a user, a trend, or an issue identified through direct observation.

Neutrality and impartiality

x. The Ombudsperson, as a designated neutral party, should have no personal interest or stake in, nor stand to benefit from, the outcome of an issue.

xi. The Ombudsperson shall endeavor to consider the legitimate concerns and interests of all persons affected by the matter under consideration.

xii. The Ombudsperson shall advocate for fairness and shall not advocate for a particular individual.

xiii. The Ombudsperson, in the exercise of his/her judgment, will identify and discuss with personnel all options available to them, including formal avenues to address their concerns.

xiv. The Ombudsperson holds no other position within the General Secretariat, nor shall he/she align him/herself with any formal or informal association within the General Secretariat. The Ombudsperson holds no other position outside the General Secretariat that compromises, or could be reasonably perceived as compromising his/her independence and impartiality. If the Ombudsperson has other duties, those duties must not interfere with his/her duties as an Ombudsperson. The Ombudsperson must clearly communicate to users and any other relevant party when he/she is not acting as the Ombudsperson.

xv. The Ombudsperson must decline involvement in any matter in which he/she determines that he/she may have a conflict of interest.

Confidentiality

xvi. All staff members and other human resources of the Office of the Ombudsperson shall observe strict confidentiality about matters brought to their attention and shall take all reasonable steps to safeguard the confidentiality of privileged information, including the following:

(a) They shall not reveal, and must not be required to reveal, the identity of any user, nor will they disclose information provided in confidence that could lead to the identification of a user without the prior express authorization of that person, and

b) They will adopt specific measures in relation to a matter brought by a user only with the prior express authorization of that user and only to the extent permitted, unless such measures can be taken in a manner that protects the identity of the individual, and then only at the sole discretion of the Ombudsperson;

xvii. The Ombudsperson shall not be compelled to provide information about concerns that have been brought to his/her attention by any official of the General Secretariat or in the context of any other internal or external administrative or judicial proceeding.

xviii. The Ombudsperson does not testify or participate in any formal process inside or outside the General Secretariat regarding a user’s contact with the Ombudsperson, even if given permission or requested to do so and must not be required to reveal the identity or identifiable information of any individual contacting the office.

xix. Information or documents obtained or generated by the Office in the exercise of its mandate, including requests for assistance from staff members or other human resources and subsequent communications, are strictly confidential and shall not be sought, obtained, or used for any other purpose.

Informality

xx. The Ombudsperson shall address work related issues through informal means, such as conciliation, mediation, fact-finding or helping users identify and assess the options available to them. The Ombudsperson does not conduct investigations which could serve as substitute to other formal processes.

xxi. The Ombudsperson supplements, but does not replace, other formal channels or entities within the General Secretariat. The Ombudsperson can collaborate, with the prior consent of users, with other offices and dependencies of the General Secretariat to resolve work-related concerns and problems.

xxii. The Ombudsperson does not make binding decisions, mandate policies, or formally adjudicate issues for the Organization. However, the Ombudsperson may be consulted on matters of internal policy where his/her views and experience may be useful.

xxiii. The Ombudsperson may advise and make suggestions or recommendations, as appropriate, on measures necessary to address problems, taking into account rights, fairness, and existing obligations between the General Secretariat and staff members or other human resources.

xxiv. The Ombudsperson shall not keep records or accept notifications on behalf of the General Secretariat.

Compliance

xxv. The office of the Ombudsperson is expected to obtain and remain in compliance with the Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioner (CO-OP®) certification of the International Ombuds Association (IOA).

xxvi. The results of the certification process shall be presented to the Permanent Council, the Audit Committee, and the Secretary General, for review and action as needed.

xxvii. The Ombudsperson is expected to pursue regular training to ensure he/she remains aware of and incorporates best practices.

Article 70. Reporting

       The Ombudsperson shall present an annual work plan for the current year to the Permanent Council by January 31st each year, and an annual activities report of the previous year to the General Assembly, through the Secretary General in simultaneous distribution to the Permanent Council.  Recommendations from the Office of the Ombudsperson should be taken into account to adopt corrective measures in accordance with the Charter, these General Standards and resources available.

Article 71. Access [Article repealed in its integrity by AG/RES. 2985(LII-O-22)]

Article 72. Qualifications of the Ombudsperson

       The Ombudsperson must have the skills, training, and substantial technical experience in multilateral/multinational/multicultural organizations to assist in addressing complex situations and resolving work-related issues and/or grievances. Required skills, training, and experience to fulfill these functions include those related to mediation, conciliation, facilitation, coaching, and training design. Other personal and professional attributes should also include integrity, discretion, and a proven ability in one or more of the following disciplines: alternative dispute resolution, public administration, psychology, human resources management, law, or related fields.

Article 73. Appointment, length of appointment, and removal of the Ombudsperson

a) The Secretary General, in consultation with the Permanent Council, shall appoint the Ombudsperson from a list of three candidates selected according to the following process:

i. The candidates for Ombudsperson shall be selected in an open competition publicized broadly throughout the member states. Candidates for the Ombudsperson position shall be external to the OAS and not have been employed or have a family member employed by the OAS currently or during the two years prior to the competition.
ii. The process of selecting the candidates for Ombudsperson shall be conducted by an internationally prestigious company specializing in human resources and executive recruitment, selected by the General Secretariat for this specific purpose, with all relevant stakeholders and the Permanent Council duly apprised.
iii. The terms of reference for the selection of the company charged with the selection of the candidates for Ombudsperson shall be approved in advance by the Permanent Council.
iv. The terms of reference for the selection of candidates for Ombudsperson shall be approved in advance by the Permanent Council, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders. These terms of reference shall reflect the requirements provided in Article 72 of these General Standards.
v. In selecting the candidates, paramount consideration shall be given to technical competence, experience in international organizations, and integrity, with due regard for the principles of rotation and equitable geographical representation that are priorities in the Organization.
vi. The company chosen shall submit the qualifications of those candidates to the Audit Committee for certification and interview.
vii. The Audit Committee shall submit to the Secretary General a list of three candidates for the post of Ombudsperson.
viii. The Ombudsperson shall serve an initial term of a period of four years, which may be renewed, for one additional period not exceeding four years, except for a transitional period of up to 30 days after the new hired Ombudsperson takes office. A person who has served as Ombudsperson may not work for the General Secretariat, in any capacity after leaving the post.
ix. In the event that the Ombudsperson’s post becomes vacant, the Secretary General, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and the Permanent Council, may appoint an Interim Ombudsperson, with the minimum qualifications in accordance with Article 71 of this subchapter, to perform these functions. No more than 12 months shall elapse between the time the post becomes vacant and the time the new Ombudsperson assumes it.

b) The Ombudsperson may not be terminated without due process and just cause, such as neglect of duties or gross misconduct, or in retaliation for any recommendation made or for any political reason. In order for the Secretary General to terminate the Ombudsperson, or to apply any other disciplinary measure, he/she shall consult with the Permanent Council on his/her decision and inform it of the reasons for it. Before consulting with the Permanent Council, the Secretary General shall offer the Ombudsperson a special hearing to hear his/her statement on the decision he intends to make. The Chair of the Permanent Council shall also be present at that hearing and, for purposes of the consultation, the file on the special hearing shall be made available to the Permanent Council, which shall take such measures of confidentiality as it deems necessary.

c) The Secretary General shall keep the Staff Association and all relevant stakeholders apprised during the selection, appointment, renewal and/or termination processes. The Permanent Council shall receive comments from the Staff Association and all relevant stakeholders, and take them into consideration prior to exercising its role in these processes. 

SUBCHAPTER I  MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 74. Scope of the Term "Staff Members"

       For the purposes of these General Standards, it shall be understood that the term "staff members" shall include the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary General, the Executive Secretary for Integral Development, and the Assistant Secretaries, in any matters that may be applicable to them.

Article 75. Applicability of the General Standards on Personnel Matters

       The standards in this chapter shall apply, according to the provisions established in each one and unless otherwise stated herein, to all staff members.

Article 76. Amendments to the General Standards on Personnel Matters

       These General Standards may be amended only by the General Assembly.

 


[1].  Adopted by the General Assembly through resolution AG/RES. 123 (III-O/73) and amended through resolutions AG/RES. 248 (VI-O/76), AG/RES. 256 (VI-O/76), AG/RES. 257 (VI-O/76), AG/RES. 301 (VII-O/77), AG/RES. 359 (VIII-O/78), AG/RES. 404 (IX-O/79), AG/RES. 438 (IX-O/79), AG/RES. 479 (X-O/80), AG/RES. 671 (XIII-O/83), AG/RES. 672 (XIII-O/83), AG/RES. 731 (XIV-O/84), AG/RES. 791 (XV-O/85), AG/RES. 842 (XVI-O/86), AG/RES. 981 (XIX-O/89), AG/RES. 1036 (XX-O/90), AG/RES. 1137 (XXI-O/91), AG/RES. 1321 (XXV-O/95), AG/RES. 1322 (XXV-O/95), AG/RES. 1. (XXV-E/98), AG/RES. 3 (XXVI-E/99), AG/RES. 1725 (XXX-O/00), AG/RES. 1839 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1873 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 1909 (XXXII-O/02), AG/RES. 2059 (XXXIV-O/04), AG/RES. 2156 (XXXV-O/05), AG/RES. 2157 (XXXV-O/05), AG/RES. 2302 (XXXVII-O/07), AG/RES. 2353 (XXXVII-O/07), AG/RES. 2754 (XLII-O/12), AG/RES. 2755 (XLII-O/12), AG/RES. 2756 (XLII-O/12), AG/RES. 2778 (XLIII-O/13), AG/RES. 2817 (XLIV-O/14), AG/RES. 1 (XLVIII-E/14), AG/RES. 2889 (XLVI-O/16), AG/RES. 1 (LII-E/17), AG/RES. 2923 (XLVIII-O/18), AG/RES. 1 (LIII-E/18), AG/RES. 2940 (XLIX-O/19), AG/RES. 2942 (XLIX-O/19), and by the Permanent Council through resolutions CP/RES. 652 (1033/95), CP/RES. 703 (1122/97), CP/RES. 761 (1217/99), CP/RES. 910 (1568/06), CP/RES. 919 (1597/07) and CP/RES. 1062 (2069/16) pursuant to the authority conferred by the General Assembly in resolutions AG/RES. 1319 (XXV-O/95), AG/RES. 1382 (XXVI-O/96), AG/RES. 1603 (XXVIII-O/98), AG/RES. 2257 (XXXVI-O/06) and AG/RES. 1 (L-E/15), respectively.

[2]. Several of the articles of Chapter III were modified through the following resolutions: Resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXV-E/98); Resolution AG/RES. 3 (XXVI-E/99; Resolution CP/RES. 761 (1217/99) of the Permanent Council [these amendment were approved by the General Assembly through Resolution AG/RES. 1725 (XXX-O/00)]; Resolution AG/RES. 1909 (XXXII-O/02); Resolution AG/RES. 2048 (XXXIV-O/04); Resolution AG/RES. 2156 (XXXV-O/05); Resolution AG/RES. 2157 (XXXV-O/05); Resolution CP/RES. 910 (1568/06) of the Permanent Council [these amendments were approved by the General Assembly through Resolution AG/RES. 2353 (XXXVII-O/07)]; Resolution AG/RES. 2755 (XLII-O/12); Resolution AG/RES. 1 (XLVIII-E/14); Resolution AG/RES. 1 (LII-E/17); and Resolution AG/RES. 1 (LIII-E/18).

Chapter III was also modified and reorganized as a result of resolution AG/RES. 1873 (XXXII-O/02) of the General Assembly. For a complete section-by-section analysis of Chapter III see document entitled "Draft Resolution: Career Service," (CP/CAAP-2618/02 rev. 1, May 9, 2002), adopted by the Permanent Council on May 15, 2002 (CP/doc.3601/02) at www.oas.org/legal/english/Standards/cp09888e06.doc

See the old versions of Chapter III of the General Standards at general_standards_chapter_III_old.pdf and general_standards_chapter_III_old_June_14_2016

[3]. Article amended by resolution AG/RES. 2942 (XLIX-E/19) of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth regular session in June 2019.

[4]. Subchapter H modified by the General Assembly by resolution AG/RES. 2985 (LII-O/22).