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OEA/Ser.G

CP/SA.2051/16

11February 2016

Original: English

Record of the regular meeting held on January21, 2016

CP/ACTA 2051/16[1]/

The regular session was declared open at 10:15 a.m.; AmbassadorRonald Sanders, Permanent Representative ofAntigua and Barbudaand Chair of the Permanent Council, presiding.

The statutory quorum was constituted by the Representatives ofAntigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The audio recording of the meeting may be accessed at the following link:

Before taking up consideration of the items on the order of business for the meeting, the Chair congratulated Ambassador Nestor Mendez who was celebrating his birthday.

Then, the Chair, on behalf of the Permanent Council, presented a commemorative gavel to Ambassador Bernardo Álvarez Herrera, Permanent Representative of the BolivarianRepublic of Venezuela for his work as Chair of the Permanent Council from October 30th to December 31st, 2015.

  1. Adoption of the order of business (CP/OD-2051/15)

The Permanent Counciladopted the order of business (CP/OD-2051/16) without amendment.

  1. Remarks by the Chair of the Permanent Council, Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the OAS

The Chair of the Permanent Councildelivered his inaugural remarks which were published as document CP/INF. 7320/16.

  1. Presentation by the Secretary for Administration and Finance on the financial situation of the OAS

The Chair thanked the Permanent Mission of Canada which requested the inclusion of this item in today’s order of business.

Then Ambassador Jay Anania, Secretary for Administration and Finance made a presentation on the financial situation of the OAS and referred to the revised version of the Program-Budget of the General Secretariat of the OAS for the second year of the 2015-2016 biennium, which was submitted by the Secretary General pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1 (L-E/15) and published as document CP/doc.5162/16 rev. 1.

The presentation made by Ambassador Anania was published as document CP/INF. 7300/16.

The delegations thanked Ambassador Anania for his presentation. They also thanked the Permanent Mission of Canada for requesting the inclusion of this important topic in the order of business of this session.

After that the delegations of Bahamas; Barbados; Brazil; Bolivia; Canada; Chile, Colombia; Dominica; Ecuador; Haiti; Jamaica; Mexico; Nicaragua; Paraguay (on behalf of the ALADI Group); Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; United States of America; Uruguay; and Venezuela referred to different aspects related to the topic in consideration.

Then the Chair proposed the following:

  • That the draft budget circulated by the General Secretariat in accordance with OAS General Assembly Resolution AG/Res.1(L-E/15) “Program Budget of the Organization for 2016” be sent to CAAP for consideration; the Committee shall take into account the comments made by Member States on this issue.
  • The Ad Hoc Working Group on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan for Management Modernization, whose mandate includes the revision and elaboration of proposals for improving the management of the OAS, will be asked to also consider the overall financial future of the OAS.
  • In order to address the immediate financial crisis resulting from the arrears, the Chair proposes the establishment of a Working Group to develop recommendations for the Permanent Council. For purposes of quorum, this group will be made up of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Permanent Council, and a representative of each of the regional groups. The countries that are in arrears will be part of the discussions. The Working Group will report to the Permanent Council by February 17, 2016.

The Permanent Council agreed on the three proposals made by the Chair.

  1. Presentation on the Individual Petition System Portal (IPSP), by Emilio Álvarez Icaza Longoria, Executive Secretary of the IACHR

The consideration of this item will be included in a future session of the Permanent Council.

  1. Adoption of minutes of the Permanent Council

The Permanent Counciladopted without amendment the following minutes:

  • CP/ACTA 2026/15 (regular meeting of July 9, 2015);
  • CP/ACTA 2027/15 (special meeting of July 13, 2015);
  • CP/ACTA 2030/15 (regular meeting of July 29, 2015);
  • CP/ACTA 2033/15 (regular meeting of August 26, 2015); and
  • CP/ACTA 2037/15 (special meeting of October 9, 2015).
  1. Farewell to Ambassador Juan Federico Jimenez Mayor, Permanent Representative of Peru

The Permanent Councilbade farewell to AmbassadorJuan Federico Jimenez Mayor, Permanent Representative of Peru,wishing him all the best in his new posting.

The delegations ofBarbados (representing CARICOM), Canada, Honduras (representing the SICA Group), Paraguay (on behalf of the ALADI Group), United States, andVenezuelabade farewell to AmbassadorJimenez.

AmbassadorJimenezexpressed his appreciation for the remarks of the delegations andreferred to different aspects of the work made by the OAS. He also reaffirmed the commitment of his country with the Organization.

  1. Other business

The Delegation of Panama invited to the exposition “The Theory of the Tropical Movement” of the Panamanian painter Miky Fábrega; which is being held in the Marcus Garvey Hall.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.

[1].The statements and comments of the delegations are contained in the minutes of the meeting, CP/ACTA 2051/16.