OEA - CP - Resolución CP CAAP SA 810

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CAAP/SA.810/26 3 March 2026

COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE Original: Portuguese AND BUDGETARY AFFAIRS Summary of the meeting held on February 17, 2026 The meeting of the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs (CAAP) was presided over by Ambassador Benoni Belli, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the OAS, in his capacity as chair of the Committee. A quorum was established with the presence of representatives of Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, and Uruguay. The audio recording of the meeting can be found at the following link: CP/CAAP-4201/26 17-02-2026

1. Adoption of the order of business.

The order of business, document CP/CAAP-4201/26 rev. 1, was adopted without amendment.

2. Consideration of the draft reply to the recommendations of the Audit Committee The chair recalled that the Audit Committee had presented to the Permanent Council its report on the Annual Audit of Accounts and Financial Statements for the years ended 2024 and 2023, which was distributed as document CP/doc.6093/25.

According to the report of the chair of the Working Group to Conduct the Technical Review of the Program-Budget, distributed as document CAAP/GT/RTPP-309/26 at the meeting of February 10, 2026, a draft response was agreed upon and distributed as document CAAP/GT/RTPP-306/26 rev. 1. The CAAP decided to forward the draft response to the Permanent Council for adoption and

formal transmission to the Audit Committee.2

3. Recommendation of the Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs on the analysis of legally viable alternatives presented by the General Secretariat to enable member states to participate in the administration, planning, and policy formulation mechanisms of the Medical Benefits Plan The Chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026,” operative paragraph III.2(d), the General Assembly resolved: d) To instruct the Permanent Council, through the CAAP, to consider, during the first quarter of 2026, legally viable alternatives presented by the General Secretariat in document CP/CAAP-4090/25 to enable member states to participate in the administration, planning, and policy formulation mechanisms of the medical benefits plan.

According to the report of the chair of the Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs, distributed as document CAAP/GT/RVPP-565/26, at the meeting of February 10, 2026, it was decided to forward a recommendation proposing that states participate as observers in the Joint Committee on Insurance Matters, and guests at certain meetings of the Medical Benefits Trust Fund. The CAAP welcomed the recommendation and decided to forward it to the Permanent Council for consideration and adoption.

4. Consideration of the draft resolution “Release of the Remainder of the Contingency Amount Authorized as a Special Measure to Sustain OAS Operations and Human Resources in Response to the Executive Order on the Foreign Aid Realignment of the United States” The chair recalled that at the last meeting of the CAAP, held on February 3, the General Secretariat advised that it was no longer necessary to set aside the resources approved by the Permanent Council to safeguard the positions of human resources affected by the suspension of United States funding in the first half of 2025. The presentation was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4188/26.

At that time, the Committee requested the Secretariat to prepare a draft resolution releasing the

remaining funds from the initial authorization and to provide detailed information on the number of staff members separated as a result of the termination of programs and projects. This information was distributed as document CP/CAAP/INF.616/26. The Committee accepted an amendment proposed by the delegation of Mexico and decided to forward the draft resolution—distributed as document CP/CAAP-4198/26 rev. 1 —to the Permanent Council for its consideration, with the recommendation that it be adopted.

5. Consideration of the next steps for the external audit of the Indirect Cost Recovery Policy The chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026,” section I “Follow-up on Technical Assessments, Audits, and Evaluations,” the General Assembly had instructed the General Secretariat to: “b. Submit draft terms of reference for the consideration of the CAAP for the execution of the comprehensive evaluation of the ICR policy, which will include a comparative assessment of cost competitiveness, an evaluation of controls for calculation of the cost recovery system and3 of usage policy no later than November 28, 2025. The General Secretariat shall commence the execution of the requisite external audit by no later than April 30, 2026.” At the meeting of the CAAP of December 9, 2025, the Office of the Inspector General presented proposed terms of reference for the external audit, which were distributed to the delegations in document CP/CAAP-4174/25.

The Committee decided to take note of the presentation and instructed the Office of the Inspector General to continue reporting on the mandates assigned to it. As the CAAP had not reached agreement on the terms of reference at that time, the issue was included on the agenda of the present meeting in order to fulfill the mandate. Following consultations with the officers of the CAAP prior to the meeting, the Acting Inspector General submitted a revised version of the Terms of Reference, which was presented by

Ms. Milagros de la Vega, Representative of the Office of the Inspector General. After hearing comments from the delegation of Chile, the CAAP took note of the presentation and decided to submit the terms of reference, which were distributed as document CP/CAAP-4203/26 rev. 1, to the Permanent Council, with the recommendation that they be adopted.

6. Consideration of the terms of reference for the General Secretariat-wide Workforce Audit, including CPRs, and the Workforce Planning Initiative The chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026,” section I “Follow-up on Technical Assessments, Audits, and Evaluations,” the General Assembly had instructed the General Secretariat: “pursuant to the mandates approved in resolution AG/RES. 1 (LV-E/24), to: a) Commence the General Secretariat-wide workforce audit and the General Secretariatwide Workforce Planning (SWP) initiative by April 30, 2026. The CAAP is instructed to consider and approve the requisite terms of reference by December 19, 2025.” On December 19, 2025, a note, distributed as document CP/CAAP-4180/25, had been received from the Office of the Executive Director presenting a timetable and requesting additional time to fulfill the mandate.

Further to that request, the Secretariat sent the member states proposed terms of reference, distributed as document CP/CAAP-4196/26, as well as information about the next steps in the bidding process once the terms of reference were approved. The latter was distributed as document CP/CAAP4200/26. Following the presentation of the terms of reference by Mr. Daniel Freitas, Director of the Department of Human Resources, the delegations of Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Colombia made comments and queries, which Mr. Freitas answered.4

The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by delegations and decided to forward the terms of reference to the Permanent Council, recommending their approval. In addition, the General Secretariat was requested to proceed with the competition process as soon as possible and to keep the Committee apprised of progress in the process.

7. Consideration of a revised draft Code of Ethics of the General Secretariat The chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026", at section III.1(e), the General Assembly resolved: e) To extend the deadline for the General Secretariat to present an updated version of the Code of Ethics of the Organization, as mandated by the General Assembly in resolution AG/RES. 1 (LV-E/24), until November 30, 2025. This shall include, among the conduct to be evaluated, substantive and verifiable nonperformance of functions that results in the direct failure of the OAS General Secretariat to fulfill mandates.

At its meeting of December 17, 2025, the Permanent Council granted a further extension, until March 31, 2026, for the presentation. The General Secretariat had distributed a revised draft Code of Ethics as document CP/CAAP4195/26, which had been consulted internally with all relevant parties. Following a presentation by Mr. Daniel Freitas, Director of the Department of Human Resources, of a comparison document highlighting the differences between the current Code and the proposed version, the delegations of Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, the United States, El Salvador, Colombia, and Brazil made comments and observations on the matter. The CAAP took note of the presentation and of the comments made by the delegations. In addition, the Committee instructed delegations to submit their written comments to the Secretariat as soon as possible. The comments would be consolidated by the Department of Human Resources and

submitted to the Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs so that it might make a recommendation to the CAAP.

8. Status report on the processes that have been concluded and tested, along with a proposal for the implementation of OASCORE.

The chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026", operative paragraph III.16, the General Assembly resolved: “To instruct the General Secretariat to present a status report on the processes that have been concluded and tested, along with a proposal for the implementation of OASCORE, by October 31, 2025, and to submit monthly reports to the CAAP identifying challenges, opportunities for improvement, and plans to address them. The report should also include financial statements and timelines for milestones.” The Executive Director, Dr. Michael Bogachek presented a progress report and explained that they were evaluating and analyzing the evolving impact of artificial intelligence on ERP systems globally. He stressed that the current system was stable and that work was progressing in a controlled5 manner. The documents were distributed with the classifications CP/CAAP-4199/26 and CP/CAAP4192/26. The delegations of the United States, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, and Canada made comments and asked questions, which were answered by the Office of the Executive Director. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments made by the delegations and agreed to request the General Secretariat to include detailed information in the next monthly report on: – challenges identified; – corrective measures foreseen; – implementation deadlines; and – updated schedules and financial statements. In addition, the importance of strict fulfillment of the mandate contained in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026" was reiterated, particularly with regard to the periodicity and content of reports, which must be monthly.

9. Progress report on the implementation of the Comprehensive Long-Term Real Assets Strategy The chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026",

operative paragraph IV.1(d), the General Assembly resolved: d) To instruct the General Secretariat to present annually to the CAAP a report on progress made in implementing the Comprehensive Long-Term Real Assets Strategy, to be presented to the member states.” The presentation, delivered by the Acting Director of the Department of General Services, Mr. Alexandre Rossin, was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4205/26. The delegations of Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Brazil made comments and queries, which the Executive Director, Dr. Michael Bogachek; the Acting Director of the Department of General Services; and Ambassador Laura Gil, Assistant Secretary General, answered. The CAAP took note of the presentation and of the comments of the delegations, and requested the General Secretariat to continue reporting on the progress of this strategy in accordance with the current mandate.

10. Monthly report on the execution of funds allocated for the return to the office The General Assembly, through the resolution on the program-budget for 2026, instructed the General Secretariat to: “present to the Permanent Council, through the CAAP, monthly reports on the execution of the funds allocated for the return to office, including projections for the following months.

Based on this information, the CAAP may recommend to the Permanent Council the authorization of additional funds to cover the corresponding costs.”6 The Acting Director of the Department of General Services, Mr. Alexandre Rossin, presented information on the execution of the funds earmarked for the return to office, as well as projections for the following months. He also unveiled a new dashboard with updated information that member states could access directly. The report containing the link to the dashboard was distributed as document

CP/CAAP-4206/26.

The delegations of the United States and Colombia made comments and commended the initiative. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the remarks of the delegations, and decided to continue monitoring the matter. The availability of the new tool meant that it was no longer necessary

to submit monthly reports. The Committee decided to revisit the topic in May, when it would be able to verify the status of execution of the authorized funds and assess any possible need for additional resources. The chair noted that the Committee would include this item on the CAAP agenda before May at the request of any delegation that so wished.

11. Report on the implementation of technical reviews, audits and, evaluations mandated by the General Assembly in resolution AG/RES. 1 (LV-E/24) The General Assembly, in its resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2025," section II, operative paragraph 4, resolved: “To request General Secretariat to report to the Permanent Council, through the CAAP, on a quarterly basis, a detailed report on implementation of the expenditures from the ICCRS, continuing until all the projects are completed.” The projects referred to are: - Organizational/General Secretariat-wide workforce audit - General Secretariat-wide Workforce Planning initiative - Comprehensive evaluation of the Indirect Cost Recovery Policy - Review of the Organization’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and the OASCORE system - Modernization of the OAS main website and portals and civil society website Regarding website modernization, the chair gave the floor to the Director of the Department of Press and Communication, Mr. Gonzalo Espariz, who presented the status of the subscription with the company Pantheon for hosting and maintenance of the content management system. The report was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4204/26.

The delegations of Colombia, Canada, Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador made comments and queries, which Mr. Espariz answered. The CAAP took note of the report and of the comments made by the delegations, and decided to request that priority be given to the modernization of the civil society website, that DocuVera be

harmonized with the new website, and it continue to receive reports on progress in this regard.7

12. Other business The delegation of Colombia requested clarification on the next steps for moving forward with the audit of the indirect cost recovery policy. The Office of the Inspector General was required to report on progress.

There being no further requests for the floor, the meeting adjourned at 1:14 p.m.