Review of OAS Mandates

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Review of OAS Mandates Status Report
SECRETARIAT FOR ADMINISTRATION AND
FINANCE December 2008
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What is covered in this presentation?

• Background
• Mandates in the OAS Context
• Narrowing the Scope
• Where is the GS/OAS in the process?
• Next Steps
• Annexes

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I Background
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BackgroundOAS Regulations What is the OAS
mandate for this exercise?

• General Standards
• Article 88a
• Maintain a database with the current mandates,
  which contains, among other things, the following
  information the beginning and end of the
  mandate, origin of the mandate, program area,
  organ responsible for its execution, etc. This
  information must be used as a basis for
  determining actions to be undertaken by the
  General Secretariat during the budget year and
  should be made available to the Member States.
  (CP/RES. 703 (1122/97) dated May 27, 1997.
• Article 88b
• Prepare, as far as possible, a classification
  of the mandates in each area, according to the
  level of priority the General Secretariat
  believes they should have. (CP/RES. 703
  (1122/97)) dated May 27, 1997.

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BackgroundOAS Regulations What is the OAS
mandate for this exercise? (cont.)

• General Assembly AG/RES. 2437 (XXXVIII-O/08)
  rev. 1 (Jun. 3, 2008)
• General Provision II.A.1.c
• To request the General Secretariat to provide
  the following reports on an annual basis a
  comprehensive report regarding the resources
  allocated for compliance with the mandates of the
  member states of the Organization, listed by
  effective date, object of expenditure (e.g.,
  travel, contracts), and responsible area of the
  Secretariat, taking into account the four pillars
  of the Organization
• General Assembly AG/RES. 1 (XXXVI-E/08) rev. 1
  (Sep. 30, 2008)
• General Provision III.2.d
• To instruct the Permanent Council to conduct,
  beginning in October 2008, a thorough review of
  all resources and expenditures of the
  Organization in the context of existing mandates,
  in order to prioritize and optimize the use of
  resources for future program-budgets

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BackgroundUN Experience

• Like the OAS, the UN is addressing the issue of
  mandate reform and is three years into the
  project.
• UN document Mandating and Delivering analysis
  and recommendations to facilitate the review of
  mandates (A/60/733). Distributed to CAAP on
  October 31,2008 at the request of the member
  states.
• That UN experience includes development of a
  web-based repository of mandates.
• The UN is also re-examining the Mandate
  Generation Cycle
• who can create a mandate,
• how are they funded and implemented,
• who follows up and evaluates the progress
  continuation, change or elimination.

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II Mandates in the OAS Context
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Mandates in the OAS Context Key challenges

• Challenges identified by the UN
• Burdensome reporting requirements
• Overlap between and within organs
• Duplicative architecture for implementation
  (proliferation leads to overlapping what to do
  with older mandates? whos responsible for
  implementing or eliminating them?)
• Gap between mandates and resources
• UN identified tools required
• Searchable database
• Better reporting
• Monitoring and evaluation (e.g. better
  information on effectiveness)
• Phraseology used in resolutions they should
  provide strategic direction, set objectives,
  establish measures of accountability.

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Mandates in the OAS Context Key challenges
(cont.)
Building on the UN experience, five key
challenges for the OAS have been identified

• Sources
• Multiple sources of mandates. Policy bodies other
  than the General Assembly issue mandates for the
  OAS.
• Many resolutions and mandates are directed at
  multiple technical areas, resulting in overlap.
• Timeline
• Fiscal year and mandate-generation cycle (GA,
  Summits etc) are out of sync.
• Specific Funds do not reflect the Fiscal Year.
• Funding
• Mandates generally do not specify source of
  funding.
• The structure of the Regular Fund budget is not
  mandate-based.
• The OAS often resorts to multiple funding sources
  (Regular, Voluntary and Specific) to finance
  activities required to meet the mandate.
• Definitions/Results
• Need to define what is to be considered an OAS
  mandate.
• Articulate within the mandate the desired result.
• Communication
• How we inform member states in a coherent and
  decision-oriented format the work of the GS/OAS
  and the results obtained.

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Mandates in the OAS ContextKey challenges (cont.)

• Like at the UN and other Multilateral
  Organizations, there are many sources of
  mandates
• a) Internal Legislation
• Charter of the Organization
• Democratic Charter
• General Standards
• b) Organs of the Inter-American System
• General Assembly (In 2008, 87 Resolutions with
  767 operative paragraphs were issued)
• Meetings of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign
  Affairs (e.g. Colombia-Ecuador)
• Permanent Council
• CIDI Integral Development
• Summits of the Americas
• Ministerial Meetings

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Mandates in the OAS ContextKey challenges (cont.)

• I-A Commission of Human Rights (IACHR)
• I-A Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)
• I-A Committee against Terrorism (CICTE)
• I-A Telecommunications Commission (CITEL)
• I-A Committee on Ports (CIP)
• I-A Childrens Institute (IIN)
• I-A Commission on Women (CIM)

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Mandates in the OAS ContextKey challenges (cont.)
Current OAS Policy-Making Framework
Summit of the Americas
General Assembly
Permanent Council
CIDI
Ministerial Sectoral Meetings
Specialized Commissions Committees
CEPCIDI
Sectoral Commissions
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Mandates in the OAS ContextExample of the
challenge
General Assembly AG/RES. 2389
(XXXVIII-O/08)ERADICATION OF HUNGER 2008 -
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE POTATO

• THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES
• To welcome with satisfaction the declaration of
  2008 as the International Year of the Potato.
• To request the organs, agencies, and entities of
  the inter-American system to contribute, within
  their areas of competence, to the efforts of the
  member states to reduce rates of malnutrition in
  the Hemisphere by providing support for food
  crops, inter alia, the potato.
• To request that the Inter-American Council for
  Integral Development (CIDI), with the support of
  the General Secretariat, report to the General
  Assembly at its thirty-ninth regular session on
  the implementation of this resolution, the
  execution of which shall be subject to the
  availability of financial resources in the
  program-budget of the Organization and other
  resources.

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Mandates in the OAS ContextExample of the
challenge (cont.)
Using AG/RES. 2389 (XXXVIII-O/08) to further
illustrate the challenge

• Scope
• Paragraphs 2 and 3 contain two instructions
  (i.e., mandates) given to the General
  Secretariat as an entity of the Inter-American
  System, namely
• To contribute to the efforts of member states to
  reduce rates of malnutrition by supporting a
  specific indigenous crop.
• To request CIDIs Secretariat to present a report
  at the XXXIX session of the General Assembly
• Timeline
• Under paragraph 2, efforts (which are
  unspecified) may be assumed to commence
  immediately, but no specific timeline has been
  set for completion.
• Paragraph 3 identifies a deliverable to be
  presented in June 2009.
• Funding
• Paragraph 3 specifies that the source of funding
  for the activities required by the resolution
  shall be the Regular Fund, funds are contingent
  upon their availability (it may be assumed that
  funds should be secured in FY 2009, but there is
  no express authorization to do so).
• No specific amounts have been either estimated,
  nor earmarked in the Regular Fund to support the
  activities.

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Mandates in the OAS ContextExample of the
challenge (cont.)
It can be determined from a review of the GA
resolutions that there are mandates directed to

• Member States themselves,
• other Policy Bodies,
• the General Secretariat to lend support to the
  Member States,
• the policy bodies and others organs directing the
  General
• Secretariat to take specific actions.

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Mandates in the OAS ContextBottom Line
Over the years, mandates from multiple sources
have proliferated without reference to the
limitation of the OAS Regular Fund budget and
often with unclear measures of results intended.
Further, the current Regular Fund budget is not
mandate-based.
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III Narrowing the Scope
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Narrowing the Scope
For the purpose of this study, the Permanent
Council through CAAP may consider

• Restricting the scope of the initial phase to the
  mandates contained in the resolutions of the
  General Assembly in 2006 and 2007.
• Mandates from other sources (e. g. Summits of the
  Americas Process) incorporate later.
• Definition of an OAS Mandate
• For purposes of this exercise, consider defining
  an OAS mandate as an operative paragraph of the
  General Assembly resolutions, which contains a
  request, directive or action by the General
  Secretariat or other implementing entities in the
  OAS.
• General Assembly resolutions which not contain a
  direct reference to the source of funding, will
  be considered declarations and excluded from
  this exercise.

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Narrowing the Scope
Agreement is needed on the following principles

• Define what constitutes an OAS mandate and the
  corresponding reporting format required.
• Define timeline. OAS mandates should contain or
  define a time frame for start and completion
  aligned with the fiscal cycle of the
  Organization.
• Define funding. OAS mandates should specify
  funding required. The goal is to pave the way
  towards a mandate-based budget.
• Define results. OAS mandates should explicitly
  define the expected results of the activities.
• Communicate results. OAS mandates should define a
  mechanism by which results are communicated to
  the member states.

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Narrowing the ScopeReporting Format
Sample Annual Report to Permanent Council
(through CAAP)
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Narrowing the ScopeReporting Format (cont.)
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Narrowing the ScopeReporting Format (cont.)
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Narrowing the ScopeReporting Format (cont.)
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IV Where is the GS/OAS in the process?
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Where is the GS/OAS in the process?Repository -
Basic Data

• Like the UN, the OAS started with an
  inventory/database, which includes
• The resolution number, year (session), section or
  paragraph (mandate), and title.
• Policy Body (e.g. Permanent Council or any of its
  committees).
• Technical area within the General Secretariat
  responsible for carrying out the activities.
• The start and end dates of the mandate.
• The current status of the mandate, i.e.
  completed, in process, postponed.
• A listing of activities engaged by the technical
  areas in response to the mandate.

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Where is the GS/OAS in the process? Repository -
Basic Data (cont.)

• The expected result (s) of those activities.
• An explanation of why and how those activities
  were carried out in response to the mandate.
• A field indicating whether or not resources were
  identified (budgeted) in the Regular Fund.
• The estimated cost of the activities and source
  of funding.

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V Next Steps
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Next Steps
To honor the objectives of the mandate given by
the member states, there are a few things that we
need to do

• Validate sample report and approach to mandate
  review.
• Define, in operational terms, what is a mandate.
• Agree on the sources of mandates.
• Develop a methodology to cost and fund mandates
  before they are approved.
• Articulate mandates with a result in mind.
• Communicate results to the member states.

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Next Steps

• Once the technical areas have defined the results
  of the mandate-driven activities, the Member
  States will have an analytical tool at their
  disposal to begin the process of establishing its
  priorities.
• Emphasis will be on funding outcomes, less on
  inputs (travel, CPRs, etc.).
• Mandates should articulate expected results.
• Focus on performance measurement.
• The Organization is gradually moving from an
  input-driven budget to a mandate-driven
  (results-driven) budget.

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VI ANNEXES
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Annexes1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
List of Mandates for the Department of Legal
Cooperation in 2006
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
Mandate Status, Activities, Results and Budgetary
Information Reported by Department
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
Resolution
Mandates
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
General Report
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Annexes 1. Database - Sample Screen Shots
Statistical Report
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