OEA - CP - Resolución CP CAAP SA 812

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CAAP/SA.812/26 26 March 2026

COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE Original: Portuguese AND BUDGETARY AFFAIRS Summary of the meeting held on March 24, 2026 The formal 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, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, and Uruguay. The audio recording of the meeting can be found at the following link: CP/CAAP-4231/26 03-24-2026

1. Adoption of the order of business.

The order of business, document CP/CAAP-4116/25, was adopted without any changes.

2. Consideration of the request by the Assistant Secretary General to finance the Accessibility study of the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) in relation to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act The chair recalled that resolution AG/RES. 3028 (LIVO/24), “Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,” instructed the General Secretariat “to take all appropriate steps to adapt the Organization’s facilities so that persons with disabilities can access the services, facilities, programs, and activities offered with dignity and without restrictions.” The document with the details and proposals received to date was distributed with the classification CP/CAAP-4220/26.

The Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Laura Gil, presented a proposal to fulfill that mandate and indicated that the request amounted to US$22,000, in order to ensure that the improvements were in line with the required standards. The presentation was distributed to delegations as document CP/CAAP/INF.629/26. The delegations of Uruguay and the United States made comments and queries, which were answered by the Assistant Secretary General.2 The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments and agreed to fund the initiative. In that regard, it requested the secretariat to present a draft resolution for consideration by CAAP and referral to the Permanent Council for approval of the funds, which, as mandated by the General Assembly, were to be drawn from the Indirect Cost Recovery Reserve Subfund. The draft resolution would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.

3. Financial implications of the proposed “Mechanism for Systematizing Information under the Inter-American Democratic Charter” pursuant to a mandate from the Permanent Council The chair recalled that at its March 4 meeting, the Permanent Council decided to entrust the CAAP with the analysis of the financial implications of this proposal. The note was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4218/26.

The Secretary for Strengthening Democracy, Ambassador Sebastian Kraljevich, made a presentation on the benefits of having this system and indicated that the total cost of the proposal was approximately US$39,000. The document and presentation were distributed as document CP/CAAP4225/26. The delegations of Uruguay, the United States, and Canada made comments and posed questions, which were answered by the Secretary for Strengthening Democracy. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments and agreed to inform the Permanent Council that the Committee considered that there would be no budgetary impact as a result of the adoption of the proposed mechanism.

That assessment was based on the fact that the recurring expenses corresponded to work hours assigned by the Secretariat for Strengthening Democracy, while the additional costs would be covered with voluntary contributions, not with resources from the Regular Fund. It was also indicated that an accountability report would be submitted to the Permanent Council.

4. Recommendation of the Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs on the merger of the functions related to civil society, as mandated by the Permanent Council The chair recalled that the CAAP received the report of the chair of the Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs distributed as ( CAAP/GT/RVPP-580/26) , in which he reported on the recommendation to agree on the draft resolution "Implementation of the General Assembly Mandate on the Merger for the Office of Relations with Civil Society and the Civil Society Component of the Department Of Summits,” distributed as document CAAP/GT/RVPP-579/26.

The CAAP decided to forward the draft resolution to the Permanent Council with the recommendation that it be considered and adopted.

5. Terms of reference for the establishment and operation of the Internal Oversight and Implementation Committee The Working Group on the Review of OAS Programs agreed on the terms of reference, which were distributed as document CAAP/GT/RVPP-575/26 rev. 1.3

Subsequent to that agreement, the General Secretariat forwarded a revised version that included the participation of the Staff Committee as part of this internal committee. This revised version was distributed as CAAP/GT/RVPP575/26 rev. 1 add. 1. The delegations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia made queries and comments on the matter. The CAAP took note of the comments and decided to accept the recommendation of the

Working Group to forward to the Permanent Council the terms of reference contained in document CAAP/GT/RVPP-575/26 rev. 1 for consideration and approval.

6. Analysis of mandates from previous years included in SIGMA that do not meet the mandate definition, with a view to their elimination and status of the work carried out in other political bodies in compliance with operative paragraph III.6.e of resolution AG/RES. 1 (LVIII-E/25) The Chair recalled that the General Assembly instructed: “Mandates from previous years included in SIGMA that do not meet the above definition shall be analyzed by the General Secretariat and submitted for consideration by the various committees of the Permanent Council and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) with a view to their elimination in accordance with any of the following criteria”.

Mr. Luis Alberto del Castillo of the Office of the Executive Director presented and explained the mandate rationalization exercise. The presentation and proposal were distributed as documents CP/CAAP-4222/26 rev. 1 and CP/CAAP-4221/26. The delegations of Chile, Brazil, and Mexico made queries and comments, which were answered by Mr. Luis Alberto del Castillo. The Chair referred to the importance of ensuring that mandates are aligned with the Organization’s institutional tools, such as its Strategic Plan and its program-budget, and of having a cycle that incorporates the costs of new mandates into the program-budget. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments and decided to validate the mandate analysis exercise presented.

7. Request from the Office of the Executive Director to consider the proposal to incorporate into the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat two complementary mechanisms under the category “Other human resources”: fellows and visiting scholars Mr. Daniel Freitas, Director of the Department of Human Resources, presented the proposal for the Fellows and Visiting Scholars Program, which was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4219/26.

The delegations of Uruguay, Canada, Ecuador, and Colombia made comments and posed questions, which were answered by Mr. Daniel Freitas, Director of the Department of Human Resources, and Ms. Melisa Cossio, Director of the Department of Legal Services.4 The CAAP took note of the proposal and the comments and agreed to incorporate that human resources category into the General Standards. It requested the Department of Human Resources to present the corresponding text for consideration by the Committee within the framework of the discussions on the draft resolution “Program-Budget of the Organization for 2027.” That text should take into account the comments of the delegations.

8. Presentation by the Office of the Executive Director on the possibility of leasing unused space in the General Secretariat Building (located on F Street) to generate additional income for the Organization, at the request of the Permanent Mission of the United States The note from the Permanent Mission of the United States was distributed as document

CP/CAAP/INF.626/26.

Mr. Alexandre Rossin, Acting Director of the Department of General Services, presented OAS leasing practices and trends in their performance from 2018 to date. The presentation was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4227/26. The delegations of the United States and Chile commented on the subject and the latter invited the other delegations to visit the facilities. The CAAP took note of the comments and agreed to revisit this topic with a follow-up presentation by the Executive Director in April.

9. Executive order from the Secretary General for the administration of General Secretariat facilities and buildings at headquarters for special events in compliance with operative paragraph III.10.k of resolution AG/RES. 1 (LVIII-E/25) The Chair recalled that in the resolution "Program-Budget of the Organization for 2026" the General Assembly resolved: To reiterate the mandate for the General Secretariat to submit a draft executive order from the

Secretary General to establish a policy for management of General Secretariat headquarters facilities and buildings for special events, establishing November 1, 2025, as the new deadline, in view of the repeated failure to comply. At its meeting of December 17, 2025, the Permanent Council approved an extension of this mandate until February 15, 2026. Ms. Lili Romero, from the Office of the Executive Director, presented the progress made in the implementation of this mandate and indicated that, following extensive internal negotiations, the draft executive order had been sent to the Department of Legal Services on March 23. The CAAP took note of the presentation and decided to revisit this issue in April, based on the draft executive order.5

10. Report on execution of the transition budget of the administration The Chair recalled that through resolution “Program-Budget of the Organization for 2025,” in operative paragraph 1 of section V, “Supplementary appropriation to cover expenditures associated with the administration change in 2025,” the General Assembly had authorized a budget to cover expenses related to the change of administration in 2025 for an estimated maximum amount of up to US$2,501,451, with resources from the Reserve Subfund of the Regular Fund.

The Chair further recalled that the annex detailing the authorized amount instructed the thenSecretary for Administration and Finance to submit a monthly report to the CAAP on the execution of the transition budget. In addition, the Office of the Inspector General would conduct a closing audit of the transition budget, which would be submitted to the Audit Committee and the CAAP for subsequent forwarding to the Permanent Council no later than 30 days after the completion of the transition and final disbursement. The Director of the Department of Finance, Mr. Javier Arnaiz, presented the report on the execution of the transition budget and indicated that there was an unobligated balance of approximately

US$699,000. The presentation was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4230/26. The delegations of Colombia, Canada, and Uruguay made queries and comments. The Secretariat undertook to submit an updated report as of December 31, with greater detail by category, and to include it in the final audited report. The CAAP took note of the presentation and the comments and agreed that the reporting mandate had been fulfilled. The Committee would also await the results of the audit to be conducted by the Inspector General on the accounts and would then report to the Permanent Council.

11. Options for displaying other categories of contracts with natural persons, such as CPRs and local staff, under a separate expenditure category in the budget presentation and execution reports in compliance with operative paragraph III.1.m of resolution AG/RES. 1 (LVIII-E/25) The chair recalled that the General Assembly had resolved: To request that the General Secretariat present an analysis of the options for displaying other categories of contracts with natural persons, such as CPRs and local staff, under a separate expenditure category in the budget presentation and execution reports, with the objective of improving transparency. The analysis should include a proposed implementation plan and an indicative timeline for its completion and incorporation into future budget cycles.

In keeping with the mandate, the General Secretariat submitted document CP/CAAP-4229/26. The Director of the Department of Financial Services, Mr. Javier Arnaiz, presented the proposal for the addition of new expense categories, through their separation and the submission of semi-annual reports. The presentation was distributed as document CP/CAAP-4229/26 add. 1) The Director of the Department of Information and Technology Services, Mr. Andrew Vanjani, unveiled the new OATH tool, which can be fed with data from multiple areas containing information

that is currently included in the semiannual report and is public. As a pilot, he indicated that public data would be used initially and that authenticated access would subsequently be provided to the6 delegations. During the demonstration, the Director presented detailed information on the number of personnel, disaggregated by nationality, chapter, reclassification, and other variables. The delegations of Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador made comments and posed questions, which were answered by the Director of the Department of Finance and the Director of the Department of Information and Technology Services. The CAAP took note of the presentations and the comments and decided to accept the Secretariat’s recommendation that the proposed budget include other categories of individuals, such as local hires and performance-based contracts (CPRs). The Committee also indicated that it expected to see and be able to use the new OATH tool in the second quarter of the year.

12. Request for an exemption on the ICR rate to 5% for a contribution from CAF in support of the Office of National Identification of Haiti Mr. Javier Arnaiz and the Director of the Department for Effective Public Management, Mrs. Maria Fernanda Trigo, explained the merits of this request and the potential benefits of the initiative in the long term. The request was distributed as a document CP/CAAP-4228/26.

The delegations of Argentina, Brazil and Colombia made comments and queries, which were answered by the Director of the Department of Finance. The CAAP took note of the presentation and comments and decided to forward the draft resolution to the Permanent Council with the recommendation that it be considered and adopted.

13. Other business The chair reported that the report on the execution of funds allocated for the return to office had been distributed as a document CP/CAAP-4226/26.

He also recalled that an informal meeting of the CAAP would be held on Friday, March 27, at 10:00 a.m. to consider the draft program-budget of the Organization for 2027. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:27 p.m.