THE SECRETARY GENERAL,

    In the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Articles 108 and 112 of the Charter and Articles 4, 8, and 12 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, and

CONSIDERING:

    That, by Resolution AG/RES. 1286 (XXIV-O/94), the General Assembly requested that the Permanent Council "evaluate the Inter-American Program of Action for Environmental Protection, and bring its activities up to date, in line with the results of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, with particular focus on the implementation of Agenda 21 and the General Policy Framework and Priorities: Partnership for Development";

    That in the Declaration of Montrouis (AG/DEC. 8 (XXV-0/95), the OAS Member States pledged to support the efforts of the Organization to develop Hemispheric cooperation for environmental conservation and the rational use of natural resources, in accordance with commitments assumed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, particularly Agenda 21;

    That at its Twenty-sixth Regular Session, the General Assembly reaffirmed the OAS' mandate to serve as a Hemispheric forum for facilitating dialogue and analysis on sustainable development, accepted the Secretary General's proposal to establish the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment within the General Secretariat, and approved funding in the second year of the 1996-97 Program-Budget for that Unit.

RESOLVES:

I. CREATION OF THE UNIT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT,
AND ABOLITION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT

1. The Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment (the "Unit") is hereby created as a dependency of the Office of the Secretary General and as the principal entity within the General Secretariat responsible for matters directly related to sustainable development and the environment.

2. The Department of Regional Development and Environment, currently a dependency of the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, is hereby abolished.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE UNIT FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT

    The Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

1. To provide technical and administrative support for the Organization's efforts to become the principal Inter-American forum for formulating sustainable development and environmental policy for the region, by: (a) assisting in the identification of collective environmental problems; (b) developing solutions to those problems; (c) analyzing their political, economic and social consequences; and (d) proposing priorities for preventive and remedial action;

2. To provide technical and administrative support in the area of sustainable development and environment to the General Assembly, the Permanent Council, the Inter-American Council for Integral Development ("CIDI"), the Permanent Executive Committee of CIDI ("CEPCIDI"), the Inter-American Committee on Sustainable Development ("CIDS"), and other organs of the Organization, and to carry out their mandates as required;

3. To provide technical and administrative support in the area of its competence to Hemispheric and subregional conferences, to workshops and seminars, and to other agencies, organs, and entities of the Organization;

4. To provide advice and technical support to other sectors of the General Secretariat engaged in activities related to sustainable development and environment, including programs focused on the development and codification of environmental legislation, the transfer of environmentally sound technology, and environmental education;

5. To formulate, evaluate, and undertake execution of selective technical cooperation projects, consistent with its expertise and available internal or external financial resources, concentrating on activities of a multinational character in the fields in which the Organization has a comparative advantage.

Those fields include, but are not limited to: integrated development of water resources, especially international river basins; sustainable development of border areas; coastal zone management; biodiversity conservation; environmental management in emerging trade corridors; mitigation of natural disasters; and economic valuation of natural resources;

6. To facilitate the exchange of information related to sustainable development and environment in the Region by providing access to data bases and utilizing modern electronic methods to supplement traditional information systems;

7. To collaborate and cooperate with other public international organizations and non-governmental organizations working in its area of competence, including, but not limited to: the World Bank, and its related institutions; the Inter-American Development Bank; the Secretariat of the Global Environment Facility ("GEF"); the Pan American Health Organization; the United Nations Environmental Program; the United Nations Development Program; and the European Union.

8. Where a technical project or program which is predominantly focused in the area of one of the General Secretariat's Units or Offices (the "first Unit") contains a distinct component related to the area of another Unit that is specialized in the subject of that distinct component (the "second Unit"), responsibility for implementation of that component shall be upon the second Unit in coordination with the first Unit.

III. BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE UNIT

1. The Unit is a dependency of the Office of the Secretary General. The chief of the Unit is its Director, who is directly responsible to the Chief of Staff of the Secretary General.

2. The Director administers, coordinates, and has technical responsibility for the Unit's work product and personnel. The Director is responsible for establishing an internal Unit structure in accordance with applicable norms regarding personnel, program-budget, and related matters, which will enable the Unit to function responsively and properly in fulfilling its responsibilities and mandates.

IV. TRANSITION AND COORDINATION WITH THE INTER-SECTORAL UNIT FOR TOURISM

1. Those staff members of the former Department of Regional Development and Environment ("DRDE") who are not assigned to the Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism (the "Tourism Unit)") or to other dependencies of the Organization are hereby transferred to the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment.

2. The Unit is responsible for all current programs and projects formerly administered by DRDE, with the exception of those projects, programs, and distinct project components directly related to tourism, which are assigned to the Tourism Unit. For this purpose, tourism includes activities whose viability or justification depends on foreign or national tourism.

3. The Unit shall cooperate and coordinate with the Tourism Unit.

4. All funds allocated to the DRDE under the 1996 Program-Budget in connection with all personnel and items transferred to the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment in Paragraphs IV,1 and IV,2, above, are hereby transferred to that Unit. Likewise, all funds assigned to the DRDE pertaining to contracts, agreements, and/or Memoranda of Understanding with collaborating institutions under which the DRDE has been serving as the executing agency for externally funded activities on behalf of the General Secretariat, except for those funds determined, in consultation with the Chief of Staff, to be intended to fund tourism-related programs, projects, distinct project components, and other activities, are hereby transferred to the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment.

5. Any disputes regarding the area of competence of the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment in relation to other areas of the General Secretariat shall be resolved definitively by the Secretary General.

V. AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS

    This Executive Order supersedes all present norms, regulations and practices of the General Secretariat to the contrary.

VI. EFFECT

    This Executive Order shall take effect on the date on which it is signed.

Date: June 28, 1996
Original: English