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2018 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

12. Implementation of the Duty of Care by the Organization of American States

verfasst von : Leonardo Soares Nader, Samila Inácio Dutra

Erschienen in: The Duty of Care of International Organizations Towards Their Civilian Personnel

Verlag: T.M.C. Asser Press

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Abstract

The Organization of American States (OAS) does not have specific rules pertaining to a duty of care in its normative framework. The organization’s charter does not clearly define its responsibility towards staff, but certain Staff Rules and internal bulletins create systems to deal with harassment, gender discrimination, disaster risk management, social security, absence from work in special cases, and logistics. Although it has redress mechanisms, ‘reconsideration by the Secretary-General’ and the ‘Administrative Tribunal’, these mechanisms are yet to deal with a clear-cut case of a staff member sent on mission. There are contractual differences between career and continuous service personnel stationed at Headquarters (HQ) and country representation offices on official travel, and ‘Mission Staff’ hired under Special Observer and Performance Contracts. It seems that a substantial part of the OAS exposure to mission situations is its Human Rights and Electoral missions, which use overwhelmingly the latter forms of contract for its staff.

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Vorheriges Kapitel Implementation of the Duty of Care by the Council of Europe

Nächstes Kapitel Implementation of the Duty of Care by the African Union

Organization of American States, Who We Are. http://www.oas.org/en/about/who_we_are.asp. Accessed 9 October 2017.

Ibid.

See Rosande and Beltrand 1997.

For more a more detailed account, see http://www.oas.org/sap/peacefund/peacemissions/. Accessed 1 February 2018.

Between 05 September and 05 October 2017, the authors interviewed a total of 13 OAS staff and consultants, of varied rank, departments and contractual conditions, on condition of anonymity. This work was supplemented by OAS mission reports and materials, as well as OAS Administrative Tribunal case law when relevant.

Dahl 1999, ‘non-delegable duties of master’ entry.

For an example of the term applied in South American legal scholarship, see Mazuelos Coello 2003.

An example can be found in Menendez 2015.

A landmark example is the guide produced by CEJIL 2010.

As examples, the insurance providers Chubb, Captio and International SOS have published guides in Spanish in which they use the ‘deber de proteccion’ translation. See: Chubb, ‘Duty of Care’: El deber de proteccíon de la empresa a sus empleados. El caso moral y legal. https://www2.chubb.com/es-es/_assets/documents/c1110_05-dutyofcare_brochure_spain-0817.pdf. Accessed 22 February 2018; Captio, Duty of care o deber de proteccíon: la seguridad del trabajador viajero. https://landing.captio.net/guia-gratuita-duty-of-care-la-seguridad-del-trabajador-viajero. Accessed 22 February 2018; International SOS, Deber de proteccíon. https://www.internationalsos.es/WEB_SOS/prensa_info_dutyofcare.aspx. Accessed 22 February 2018.

See de Guttry, Chap. 2 of this volume.

Charter of the Organization of American States, open for signature on 30 April 1948, entered into force 13 December 1951, subsequently amended by the Protocol of Buenos Aires on 27 February 1967, the Protocol of Cartagena on 5 December 1985, the Protocol of Washington on 14 December 1992, and the Protocol of Managua on 10 June 1993, OAS Document A-41. http://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/docs/inter_american_treaties_A-41_charter_OAS.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017, Article 1 [OAS Charter].

ICJ, Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations, Advisory Opinion, 11 April 1949, I.C.J. Rep. 1949, p. 174.

OAS Charter, Chapter XVI, Articles 107–121.

OAS Charter, Article 113(b).

OAS Charter, Articles 118–119.

OAS Charter, Article 120.

General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, OAS document OEA/Ser.D/I.1.2 Rev. 18, first adopted by the General Assembly through resolution AG/RES. 123 (III-O/73) and subsequently amended. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/standards/genstindex.htm. Accessed 09 October 2017 [OAS General Standards].

OAS General Standards, Article 14.

The OAS lists all executive orders, both in effect and superseded, in its website. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/exindexall.htm. Accessed 28 October 2011. The examples cited in this paragraph can be found therein.

The hierarchy of norms is defined by Executive Order 81-5 on Internal Regulatory Instruments of the General Secretariat: Executive Orders, Directives of the Secretary-General, and Administrative Memoranda, issued on 15 April 1981. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EX-OR-81-5htm.htm. Accessed 9 October 2017.

See http://www.oas.org/legal/english/indxadmeall1.htm. Accessed 2 February 2018, for the current list of administrative memoranda still in effect.

See Creta, Chap. 7.

Emphasis added.

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Sara Buchholz et al., Beatriz Perazzo et al., and Linda Poole et al. v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 3 November 1978, Judgment No. 37.

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Anna Chisman et al. and George P. Montalván et al. v. Secretary General, 30 April 1982, Judgment No. 64 (See Annex II, Case 31).

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Rules of Procedure, Chapter I, 3. This has been used in, among others, Brunetti et al. v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, where both the complainant and the organization used decisions of UN and other international organizations to illustrate their points. See OAS Administrative Tribunal, Marilyn Brunetti et al. v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 31 October 1986, Judgment 95.

OAS General Standards, Article 17.

The definition of ‘staff member’ is contained in Staff Rule 104.1, with 104.1a defining which category of personnel shall be deemed staff, and 104.1c listing those personnel that shall not. Article 10 of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Organization of American States (C-13) confers privileges and immunities to ‘officials and members of staff’. Several bilateral agreements, including the Headquarters Agreement with the United States of America, and the bilateral accords with Haiti and the Dominican Republic, provide immunities to ‘officials (fonctionaires, funcionários), indicating staff members. The agreements made for special missions, however, extend the immunities to all international ‘members’ of the mission, thus extending to contractors.

Articles 64 and 65 of the OAS General Standards restrict the rights of hearing and reconsideration to ‘staff members’. The Statute of the OAS Administrative Tribunal provides, in its Article II.2.a, that the Tribunal shall be open to ‘any staff member of the organization, even after his employment or duties have ceased, and to any person who has succeeded to the staff member’s rights upon his death’. Staff members are defined by Article II.3 as those ‘connected to the Secretariat by an appointment, a contract of employment, or some other employer-employee relationship in accordance with the provisions of the General Standards’. The OAS administrative tribunal has in Judgment 60, Carmen Mallarino v the Secretary General, judged itself competent to look into the case’s merits in order to ascertain whether a performance contract had been misused; ultimately dismissing the complaint altogether. The Tribunal did likewise in Judgment 111, hearing a case of someone hired using consultancy funds, but whose relationship to the organization had all the hallmarks of employment (OAS Administrative Tribunal, Carmen Mallarino v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 1981, Judgment No. 60).

OAS Executive Order 05-04, Corrigendum No 1, Performance Contract Rules of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, 2005. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EXOR-05-04-CORR1.htm. Accessed 9 October 2017.

Ibid.

OAS Executive Order 92-05, Special Short Term Contracts for Special Observers and Other Special Democratic Development Personnel, 1995 (superceded by Annex C of the Staff Rules). http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EX-OR-95-2.htm. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Personnel Circular 36-01, Special Observer Contracts, 2006. www.oas.org/legal/english/Otheradministrativeinstruments/PERSCIRC3106.doc. Accessed 9 October 2017.

In June 3, 2009, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Americas adopted resolution AG/RES. 2438 (XXXIX-O/09), that resolves that the 1962 resolution, which excluded the Government of Cuba from its participation in the inter-American system, ceases to have effect in the Organization of American States (OAS). The 2009 resolution states that the participation of the Republic of Cuba in the OAS will be the result of a process of dialogue initiated at the request of the Government of Cuba, and in accordance with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS.

Information derived from the OAS Website http://www.oas.org/en/about/offices.asp. Accessed 9 October 2017.

See http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=S-015/16. Accessed 01 February 2018.

Adding the listed missions for every year in the period.

The Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia was created in 2004 via a bilateral agreement, which has since received 5 amendments via additional protocols, which renewed and broadened the functions of the mission. The current protocol foresees the mission’s mandate until December 2018. The mission works on peacebuilding, transitional justice, and monitoring conditions of security, monitoring social conflicts that could constitute a threat to peace. It has around 45 civilian personnel, working in 17 field locations, some very remote. It has presented 21 reports with finding and recommendations to the Colombian State, and the mission claims that that 80% of its recommendations in the field of transitional justice have been incorporated into Colombian law. The mission is partly financed by the OAS regular budget, but receives economic and political support from several developed countries within and outside of the hemisphere. The work tasks include accompanying victims in exhumation processes, monitoring the implementation of laws regarding peace and transition justice and monitoring conditions of incarceration. For more details, see https://www.mapp-oea.org/mision/. Accessed 20 February 2018; http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=S-017/16. Accessed 22 February 2018.

The Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) is a judicial system reform mission, focusing on the prevention and accountability of corruption in the country. It began in 2016, as the government of Honduras invited the OAS to facilitate a national dialogue on corruption and impunity, brought about by a large scandal involving the country’s institute of social security. The mission advises on matters of corruption prevention, criminal justice system reform, political-electoral reform and public security. While working closely with the authorities and civil society, it provides international prosecutors and judges as advisors to Honduran justice system actors, and certifies those Honduran prosecutors and judges conducting investigations to dismantle corruption networks. Its 2017 work plan stated it had 50 personnel working in the field, representing 67% of total planned staffing. About half of its budget comes from a voluntary donation by the United States, with another 37% by Canada, 8% by Germany and 6% by the European Union. Chile, Italy, Peru and the United Kingdom donate less than 1% each. For more information, see http://www.oas.org/en/spa/dsdsm/maccih/new/mision.asp. Accessed 10 December 2017; and MACCIH 2017.

See Smith-Cannoy 2012.

Ibid.

Organization of American States 2010, p. 36.

OAS Executive Order 16-4, Institutional Policy on Disaster Risk Management, 2016. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EXOR1604.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Executive Order 16-8, Alternative Work Arrangements Policy, 2016. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EXOR1608.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Personnel Circular 02/10, Secretariat Policy for Special Events, Emergency, or Inclement Weather Excusal, 2010. www.oas.org/legal/english/Otheradministrativeinstruments/PERSCIRC0210.doc. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Administrative Memorandum 122, Travel Policy, 2013. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/admmem/admmen122.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017.

Ibid.

Staff Rules of the General Secretariat, OEA/Ser.D/I.6 Rev. 5, 2008. http://www.oas.org/36ag/english/doc_referencia/reglamento_personal.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017. [OAS Staff Rules] Staff Rule 107.5.

The memorandum cites ‘animals, motorcycles, boats, motors, jewelry, works of art, cash, financial instruments, securities, tickets, documents, or any article which the General Secretariat does not consider to have been reasonably required by the staff member while performing official duties’. See OAS Administrative Memorandum 71, Compensation for Loss or Damage of Personal Effects, 1985. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/admmem/admmem71.htm. Accessed 9 October 2017.

Ibid.

According to interviewed sources, some professionals have been engaged with the OAS for over a decade under performance contracts. This is also a sore point for the professionals working under these conditions—several were approached in the preparation for this research, and a significant number replied that they would not feel comfortable discussing duty of care issues, even anonymously. Some of the interviewed sources, speaking confidentially, noted that several consultants under performance contracts retain this unfavorable relationship because they rely on them to maintain their immigration status, allowing them to legally reside and work in the United States under G4 visas.

See Chap. 7.

OAS Staff Rules, Staff Rule 101.8.

See above discussion 12.4.1.

OAS Executive Order 16-03, The General Secretariat’s Institutional Policy on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Human Rights, 2016. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EXOR1603.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Executive Order 15-02, Policy and Conflict Resolution System for Prevention and Elimination of All Forms of Workplace Harassment, 2015. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EXOR1502.pdf. Accessed 01 February 2018.

Ibid.

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Janet Ector v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 7 June 1991, Judgment No. 114.

OAS General Standards, Article 65.

OAS General Standards, Article 67.

OAS Executive Order 14-03, Procedures for Whistleblowers and Protections Against Retaliation, 2013. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/gensec/EXOR1403.htm. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Secretary-General’s Memorandum SG/58/83, General Guidelines on Investigation of Staff Members, 1983. http://www.oas.org/legal/english/Directives/SG581983.doc. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Staff Rules, rule 108.23.

Inter-American Democratic Charter, adopted 11 September 2001. http://www.oas.org/en/democratic-charter/pdf/demcharter_en.pdf. Accessed 05 February 2017, Article 24.

Statute of the OAS Administrative Tribunal, adopted 16 July 1971, through resolution CP/RES 48 (I-O/71), subsequently amended. https://web.oas.org/tribadm/en/Pages/estatuto.aspx. Accessed 9 October 2017.

OAS Staff Committee (2017) Preocupacíon del Comité Del Personal Ante La Decision del Tribunal Administrativo, Staff News 57.

Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional – CEJIL (2010) Debida Diligencia en la Investigacion de Graves Violaciones a Derechos Humanos. https://www.cejil.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/debida_diligencia_en_la_investigacion_de_graves_viol_a_dh.pdf. Accessed 9 October 2017

Dahl H (1999) Dahl’s Law Dictionary: Dictionario Juridico Dahl, Spanish-English/English Spanish, 5th edn. William S. Hein & Co. Inc

MACCIH (2017) Workplan 2017. http://www.oas.org/en/spa/dsdsm/maccih/new/docs/PPT-Plan-de-Trabajo-2017-Ver-Eng-22-marzo-de-2017.pdf. Accessed 19 January 2017

Mazuello Coello JF (2003) El delito imprudente en el Código penal peruano: La infracción del deber de cuidado como creación de un riesgo jurídicamente desaprobado y la previsibilidad individual, Anuario de Derecho Penal 2003. https://www.unifr.ch/ddp1/derechopenal/anuario/an_2003_09.pdf. Accessed 09 October 2017

Menendez U (2015) Guía Práctica sobre deberes y régimen de responsabilidad de los administradores en el ámbito mercantil, Uria Menendez Law Firm. http://www.uria.com/documentos/publicaciones/4558/documento/guia_UM.pdf?id=5679. Accessed 9 October 2017

Organization of American States (2010) Manual for OAS Electoral Missions. http://www.oas.org/es/sap/docs/manual_misiones_publicado_en.pdf. Accessed 20 February 2018

Rosande R, Beltrand D (1997) The CIAV‐OAS mission in Nicaragua (1990–96): Human rights verification and strengthening civil society. International Peacekeeping, 4:1:149–151

Smith-Cannoy H (2012) Defending Democracy? Assessing the OAS’ 2002 Diplomatic Intervention in Haiti. Civil Wars 14:3:451–476

ICJ, Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations, Advisory Opinion, 11 April 1949, I.C.J. Rep. 1949, p 174

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Marilyn Brunetti et al. v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 31 October 1986, Judgment 95

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Sara Buchholz et al., Beatriz Perazzo et al., and Linda Poole et al. v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 3 November 1978, Judgment No. 37

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Anna Chisman et al. and George P. Montalván et al. v. Secretary General, 30 April 1982, Judgment No. 64 (see Annex II, Case 31)

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Janet Ector v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 7 June 1991, Judgment No. 114

OAS Administrative Tribunal, Carmen Mallarino v. Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 1981, Judgment No. 60

Titel: Implementation of the Duty of Care by the Organization of American States
verfasst von: Leonardo Soares Nader
Samila Inácio Dutra
Verlag: T.M.C. Asser Press
Buch: The Duty of Care of International Organizations Towards Their Civilian Personnel
Print ISBN: 978-94-6265-257-6

Electronic ISBN: 978-94-6265-258-3

Copyright-Jahr: 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-258-3_12

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