OEA - CP - Resolución CP CAAP SA 808

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CAAP/SA.808/25 23 December 2025

COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE Original: English AND BUDGETARY AFFAIRS Summary of the meeting of December 9, 2025 This regular meeting of the CAAP was presided over by Mr. Eric Luguya, Alternate Representative of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the OAS, in his capacity as Vice Chair of this Committee. The statutory quorum was established with the presence of representatives of Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, United States, and Uruguay. The audio recording of the meeting can be found at the following link: CP/CAAP-4171/25 12-09-2025 Prior to the consideration of the items on the agenda, the Committee observed a minute of silence in honor of Mr. Luis Fernando Solano Carrera, a distinguished jurist in Costa Rica and father of the CAAP Chair, Ambassador Alejandra Solano. On behalf of the Committee, the Vice Chair conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the Chair on his passing.

1. Adoption of the order of business The order of business, document CP/CAAP-4171/25 rev. 1, was adopted with one modification on the order to consider item 7 as item 3, after the presentation by the Administrative Tribunal.

2. Draft reform of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal The Chair recalled that the Administrative Tribunal had submitted for the CAAP’s consideration a draft reform of the Statute of the Tribunal, circulated as document CP/CAAP-3960/24, which the CAAP was unable to analyze last year due to competing priorities.

The President of the Administrative Tribunal, Judge Pablo Sandonato de León, who joined the meeting via KUDO noted that the Tribunal had transmitted a communication to the CAAP identifying three priority provisions—Articles III, VI, and X—which was distributed as document CP/CAAP4167/25. Judge Sandonato recalled that the Administrative Tribunal had adopted Resolution 416/24, which approved the modification of ten articles, the updating of fifteen articles, the revision of two articles, and the addition of two articles. He explained that these reforms aim to simplify existing2 procedures, strengthen legal certainty through the clarification of procedural time limits, eliminate redundant provisions, incorporate best practices from other international administrative tribunals, and ensure the highest standards of access to justice. The Delegations of Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina made comments and posed questions. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and agreed to entrust the Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs, once established in January, with initiating deliberations on the identified priority items. The CAAP further agreed to transmit this decision to the incoming Chair of the CAAP, whose election will take place at the Permanent Council meeting to be held on December 17, 2025. Additionally, the Chair requested that delegations submit their questions to the Secretary of the CAAP for transmission to the Administrative Tribunal. The responses will be reviewed in a timely manner by the Working Group once it is established next year.

3. General Secretariat proposal to amend the relevant articles of the General Standards to establish that payments from the Regular Fund to the Medical Benefits Trust Fund shall not exceed eight percent (8%) of the net assessments per calendar year ( CP/CAAP-4170/25) ( CP/CAAP 4172/25) The Chair explained that with the assistance of the General Secretariat, the CAAP distributed

a draft resolution ( CP/CAAP 4173/25 rev. 2 ), as a proposal from the Chair, thus delegations could review and agree to it through the “silence procedure” so that it could be considered by the Permanent Council at its last regular session of the year. The Chair offered the floor to Ms. Lili Romero from the Office of the Executive Director to present the General Secretariat’s proposed text. Ms. Romero provided context on the proposal and explained that there was collaboration between several areas of the Organization, as well as with the technical support of the Department of Human Resources. Language was agreed upon and elevated to the Office of the Secretary General, which authorized its presentation of the language to be considered today. The Delegation of the United States proposed two additions to the language, Argentina supported the U.S. proposal and Saint Lucia made a comment. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and taking into account the proposal by the delegation of the United States, the Committee agreed to move forward with the silence procedure, the Chair will wait until noon on Thursday, December 11, 2025, after which the final version will be transmitted to the next Permanent Council for consideration.3

4. Consideration of the proposal for the development of the new OAS website on the Drupal content management system and the terms of reference for the development of the registration systems for civil society organizations, Political Bodies, and external communications

(CP/CAAP-4169/25) The Chair recalled that the General Assembly approved US$275,000 for the modernization of the OAS main website and its portals and the civil society website. “Instruct the General Secretariat to secure the services of a qualified consultant or external service provider to implement a comprehensive modernization of the Organization’s main website and portals in addition to the civil society website. The modernization will include

upgrading technological infrastructure, optimizing content management systems, and enhancing security features to better serve member states, civil society organizations, and the general public. The CAAP shall receive monthly reports for consideration and further action”. The Chair offered the floor to the Director of the Department of Press and Communications, Mr. Gonzalo Espariz, who informed the Committee that as of today U$75,800 had been spent for this purpose. This presentation was distributed as CP/CAAP-4169/25 rev. 1 add. 1. Mr. Espariz explained that the current website is based on old modules and fragmented technologies, and that the maintenance cost is high. In this sense, he presented the proposal to implement the new Drupal CMS and its cloud infrastructure with Pantheon, including maintenance, with an annual cost of US$24,500. This will permit the development of three key functional modules: Political Bodies, Civil Society, and Press and Communications. Additionally, he proposed the hiring of an external consulting company for the development and implementation in the Drupal CMS for a maximum amount of up to US$125,000. The Delegations of Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina made comments and asked questions that were addressed by Gonzalo Espariz, Director of the Department of Press and Communications. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and agreed to submit to the Permanent Council the recommendations to approve the terms of reference and the proposal. Before concluding this item, the Chair welcomed the Executive Director and requested him to consult with DOITS on the questions made by delegations. The Chair also requested that General Secretariat treat this project as a priority.

5. Report on the status of the Offices and Units of the General Secretariat in the Member States The Chair recalled that, during the presentation of the Semiannual Resources Management Report at the meeting held on November 6, the Assistant Secretary General made a presentation on the National Offices’ activities, and that she committed, in the framework of the preparation of the strategy, to present an assessment of the different Offices.

In this sense, the Chair offered the floor to Ambassador Laura Gil, Assistant Secretary General; she explained that the OAS has 27 national offices, only 16 have a representative, administrative4

National Offices’ activities, and that she committed, in the framework of the preparation of the strategy, to present an assessment of the different Offices. In this sense, the Chair offered the floor to Ambassador Laura Gil, Assistant Secretary General; she explained that the OAS has 27 national offices, only 16 have a representative, administrative4 assistant and driver; only 10 have administrative assistant and driver; and 1 only has a driver. The presentation was distributed as CP/CAAP 4175/25. Ambassador Gil informed that the cost of personnel is around US$4 million, and maintenance is around US$ 1 million, making a total of US$5 million. Some of the representatives have P3 and P4 level. According to the budget approved by Member states, from 2026 onward, the new representatives recruited will be at the P3 level, but this does not mean that representatives with P4 level will be downgraded. The former Coordinator of National Offices visited ten offices and made an analysis, concluding that there were shortcomings in document preservation and other reported issues. Several of these problems were partially addressed; however, without higher-level local leadership in the offices, the root causes cannot be resolved. Ambassador Gil highlighted the importance of the review of Fund 118 in consultation with Member States. Regarding the National Office in Haiti, Ambassador Gil indicated that two years of financial account reconciliations were missing. She underscored the need to put in place appropriate safeguards to ensure that established procedures are followed. The Chair requested that the Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the Assistant Secretary General look further into the matter.

With the consideration of these issues, the Assistant Secretary General committed to deliver the Strategy by December 31, 2025. The Delegations of Saint Kitts & Nevis, Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Saint Lucia made comments and posed questions, which were addressed by

Ambassador Gil, and Ms. Melissa Cossio, Director of the Department of Legal Services. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and looks forward to receiving the strategy, in order to continue its consideration and ultimately proceed with its adoption.

6. Report of the Office of the Inspector General on the status of the mandates of the General Assembly assigned to it The Chair offered the floor to the Acting Inspector General, Mr. Pedro Ruz, to proceed with the presentation providing a status update on certain mandates arising from the Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026, which was circulated as document CP/CAAP-4176/25 rev. 1.

Mr. Ruz provided updates on the Internal Audit Preliminary Observations based on data from 2021–2025; the Indirect Cost Recovery System and the External Evaluation Terms of Reference; and the Investigative Procedures for Allegations Against the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General.5 The Delegations of The Bahamas and Colombia made comments and posed questions, which were addressed by Mr. Ruz. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations, and agreed to continue consideration of this matter, requesting that the Office of the Inspector General keep the Committee informed of the progress of the audits and related activities.

7. Consideration of the following extension requests submitted by the Secretary General, in accordance with the deadlines established in resolution AG/RES. 1 (LVIII-E/25):  Request for an extension to submit the terms of reference of the Internal Oversight and Implementation Committee (CP/doc.6158/25)  Request for an extension to submit the Comprehensive Strategic Plan of the Organization of American States for 2026-2030 (CP/doc.6160/25) The Chair recalled that, at its meeting held on November 5, the Permanent Council decided to

refer the consideration of these extension requests to the CAAP. The Committee initially considered the matter at its meeting of November 6 and agreed to include it on the agenda of the next meeting. The Chair further noted that the requests concerned, on the one hand, the submission of the terms of reference of the Internal Oversight and Implementation Committee, whose deadline expired on October 31, and, on the other, the Comprehensive Strategic Plan of the Organization of American States for 2026–2030, whose deadline expired on November 1. The Chair offered the floor to Ms. Lili Romero, who provided an update on the feedback provided by the delegations to the Secretary General. She reported that the newly appointed Executive Director has held a series of meetings, including with the new Secretary General, as part of an effort by the new administration to translate its vision for the next five years of the Organization into a comprehensive strategic document. In this context, four key objectives have been identified for consideration in the Strategic Plan. With respect to the terms of reference of the Internal Oversight and Implementation Committee, Ms. Romero requested an additional extension, citing existing budgetary constraints and the 156 recommendations arising from the external review, 152 of which have financial implications for Member States. She indicated that, given the need to analyze these recommendations prior to their consideration, it was not possible at this stage to establish a specific submission deadline, and that this work would need to proceed in parallel with the development of the Strategic Plan. The Delegations of Colombia and Argentina made comments and posed questions, which were addressed by Ms. Lili Romero and Mr. Michael Bogachek, Executive Director. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and agreed to grant an extension until the end of February for the submission of the terms of reference of the Internal Oversight and Implementation Committee, and until March 31, 2026, for the submission of the

Comprehensive Strategic Plan of the Organization of American States for 2026–2030, on the understanding that the Committee will continue to receive monthly progress updates.6

8. Consideration of the request for an extension until December 15, 2025, for the presentation of the new events policy The Chair recalled that the Executive Director requested to present the new Events Policy by December 15, 2025, and noted that the corresponding communication was circulated to all delegations as document CP/CAAP-4162/25 corr. 1.

The Chair further mentioned that the CAAP had received a note from the Assistant Secretary General (document CP/CAAP/INF.601/25 corr. 1 ), advising Member States that the areas under her supervision involved in this process—the Department of Conferences and Meetings Management and the Art Museum of the Americas—had not participated in the most recent discussions. The Chair also indicated that the Department of Legal Services had not been consulted as of that date. The Chair offered the floor to the Executive Director, Mr. Michael Bogachek, who explained that his office was requesting an extension in order to continue examining the matter from different perspectives, including identifying opportunities to generate additional revenue, while ensuring full compliance with applicable requirements and standards. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and agreed to call upon the General Secretariat to engage all relevant stakeholders and interested areas in the elaboration of the Events Policy. The Committee further agreed to establish February 15, 2026, as the new deadline for its submission.

9. Consideration of the proposed timeline for the presentation of the Code of Ethics The Chair recalled that the General Assembly, through its resolution entitled “Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026,” stated the following in its section III. Paragraph 1.e: “To extend the deadline for the General Secretariat to present the updated Code of Ethics of

the Organization, as mandated by the General Assembly in resolution AG/RES. 1 (LV-E/24) by November 30, 2025. This shall include among the conduct to be evaluated the substantive and verifiable nonperformance of functions that gives rise to the direct failure on the part of the General Secretariat of the OAS to comply with mandates.” The Chair further noted that the General Secretariat had submitted a proposed timeline that requires an additional extension for the presentation of the updated Code of Ethics. The Director of the Department of Human Resources, Mr. Daniel Freitas, reported that his team has been working on the update of the Code of Ethics by developing a draft document, conducting an internal review, and preparing a comparative document outlining the proposed changes and their rationale. He indicated, however, that the feedback received thus far demonstrates the need to ensure that the final document reflects the perspectives of all relevant internal stakeholders. For these reasons, Mr. Freitas requested an extension with the following deadlines: the submission of a preliminary version of the document by January 31, 2026, and the presentation of the final updated Code of Ethics by March 31, 2026, incorporating the provisions mandated by the General Assembly regarding the evaluation of conduct related to substantive and verifiable nonperformance of functions that results in failure to comply with mandates (CP/CAAP-4168/25).7 The Delegations of Colombia and Costa Rica made comments and posed questions, which were addressed by Mr. Daniel Freitas, Director of the Department of Human Resources. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and agreed to grant the proposed extension. The Chair will convey the CAAP’s recommendation to the Permanent Council to proceed accordingly.

10. Other business The Chair informed that, earlier that morning, the General Secretariat held the Awards Ceremony and Holiday Celebration, with the participation of the Secretary General and the Assistant

Secretary General. The Chair acknowledged Mr. Javier Arnaiz, who received his pin commemorating 30 years of service to the Organization; Mr. Rodrigo Cortes, who received a recognition for his outstanding performance in 2024; and Mr. Fernando Solé, who was honored with the Organization’s highest institutional distinction, the Leo S. Rowe Memorial Award. The Delegation of Brazil informed the Committee that its government had paid its quota for the year 2026. The Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Laura Gil, noted that December 3 marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and recalled that the General Secretariat has a mandate to obtain a cost estimate for the modification of the OAS buildings to ensure compliance with accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities. She indicated that, to date, her office has received a cost estimate of approximately US$20,000 to conduct the necessary analysis for the proposed modifications, and requested that Member States, when the proposal is formally presented, authorize the use of the Reserve Fund to fulfill this mandate. There being no further matters to consider, the meeting was adjourned at 5:35 p.m.