II 

Calendar No. 426 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3087 

[Report No. 111–205] 

To support revitalization and reform of the Organization of American States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2010 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. LUGAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 10, 2010 

Reported by Mr. KERRY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To support revitalization and reform of the Organization 

of American States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Organization of Amer5 ican States Revitalization and Reform Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The Charter of the Organization of Amer4 ican States recognizes that— 

5 (A) representative democracy is indispen6 sable for the stability, peace, and development 

7 of the Western Hemisphere; and 

8 (B) a purpose of the Organization of 

9 American States is to promote and consolidate 

10 representative democracy, with due respect for 

11 the principle of nonintervention; 

12 (2) The United States supports the purposes 

13 and principles enshrined in— 

14 (A) the Charter of the Organization of 

15 American States; 

16 (B) the Inter-American Democratic Char17 ter; and 

18 (C) the American Declaration on the 

19 Rights and Duties of Man. 

20 (3) The United States supports the Organiza21 tion of American States in its efforts with member 

22 states to meet their commitments under the docu23 ments set forth in paragraph (2). 

24 (4) Congress supports the Organization of 

25 American States as it operates in a manner con26 sistent with its Charter and Articles 1, 3, and 7 of 


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1 the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which 

2 state— 

3 (A) ‘‘[t]he peoples of the Americas have a 

4 right to democracy and their governments have 

5 an obligation to promote and defend it’’, and 

6 that ‘‘[d]emocracy is essential for the social, po7 litical, and economic development of the peoples 

8 of the Americas’’; 

9 (B) ‘‘[e]ssential elements of representative 

10 democracy include, inter alia, respect for human 

11 rights and fundamental freedoms, access to and 

12 the exercise of power in accordance with the 

13 rule of law, the holding of periodic, free, and 

14 fair elections based on secret balloting and uni15 versal suffrage as an expression of the sov16 ereignty of the people, the pluralistic system of 

17 political parties and organizations, and the sep18 aration of powers and independence of the 

19 branches of government’’; and 

20 (C) ‘‘[d]emocracy is indispensable for the 

21 effective exercise of fundamental freedoms and 

22 human rights in their universality, indivisibility 

23 and interdependence, embodied in the respective 

24 constitutions of states and in inter-American 

25 and international human rights instruments’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 It is the policy of the United States— 

3 (1) to promote democracy and the rule of law 

4 throughout the Western Hemisphere; 

5 (2) to promote and protect human rights and 

6 fundamental freedoms in the Western Hemisphere; 

7 and 

8 (3) to support the practices, purposes, and prin9 ciples expressed in the Charter of the Organization 

10 of American States, the American Declaration on 

11 the Rights and Duties of Man, the Inter-American 

12 Democratic Charter, and other fundamental instru13 ments of democracy. 

14 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the Organization of American States (here17 after referred to as the ‘‘OAS’’) should be the pri18 mary multi-lateral diplomatic entity for regional dis19 pute resolution and promotion of democratic govern20 ance and institutions; 

21 (2) the Summit of the Americas institution and 

22 process embodies a valuable complement to regional 

23 dialogue and cooperation; 

24 (3) the Summit of the Americas process should 

25 be formally and more effectively integrated into the 

26 work of the OAS, and the OAS should play a central 


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1 role in overseeing and managing the Summit proc2 ess; 

3 (4) the OAS General Assembly and the Summit 

4 of the Americas events should be combined geo5 graphically and chronologically in the years in which 

6 they coincide; 

7 (5) all contributing member states to the OAS 

8 would benefit from and should adopt a transparent, 

9 results-based, and deliberative budget process that is 

10 guided by International Public Sector Accounting 

11 Standards; 

12 (6) to ensure an appropriate balance of prior13 ities, the OAS should review its core functions at 

14 least annually and seek opportunities to reduce the 

15 number of other mandates; 

16 (7) any changes to OAS mandates should only 

17 be accepted by the member states after the financial 

18 costs have been calculated and formally presented, 

19 and any new mandates should include a calculation 

20 of the financial costs and an identification of the 

21 source of funding, including if such funding is inter22 nal or external to the OAS; 

23 (8) key OAS strengths lie in strengthening 

24 peace and security, promoting and consolidating rep25 resentative democracy, regional dispute resolution, 


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1 election assistance and monitoring, development pro2 motion, and stewardship of the Inter-American 

3 Human Rights System; 

4 (9) the core competencies referred to in para5 graph (8) should remain central to the strategic 

6 planning process of the OAS and the consideration 

7 of future mandates; 

8 (10) OAS member states would benefit from 

9 the OAS Permanent Council’s implementation of a 

10 framework to establish— 

11 (A) standard reporting requirements for 

12 each project and grant agreement, such as 

13 measurable goals and clear roles and respon14 sibilities; and 

15 (B) a process to ensure that agreements 

16 adhere to such requirements; 

17 (11) all contributing OAS member states would 

18 benefit from the implementation of— 

19 (A) transparent and merit-based human 

20 resource standards and processes; and 

21 (B) transparent hiring standards and proc22 esses, including with respect to factors such as 

23 gender, national origin, and citizenship; 


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1 (12) the OAS is a valuable platform from which 

2 to launch initiatives aimed to benefit the countries 

3 of the Western Hemisphere; 

4 (13) multi-lateral diplomacy is a critical compo5 nent of United States foreign policy; and 

6 (14) in order to foster a corps of diplomats 

7 skilled in this environment, service in multilateral 

8 assignments should be encouraged for and sought 

9 after by the best talent possible at the Department 

10 of State. 

11 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZA12 TION AND REFORM STRATEGY. 

13 (a) STRATEGY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of the Organization 

16 of the American States Revitalization and Reform 

17 Strategy, the Secretary of State shall submit a 

18 multiyear strategy to the Committee on Foreign Re19 lations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 

20 Affairs of the House of Representatives that— 

21 (A) outlines a recommended approach to 

22 the OAS to encourage the adoption of— 

23 (i) International Public Sector Ac24 counting Standards; 


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1 (ii) a results-based budgeting process 

2 in order to strategically prioritize current 

3 and future mandates; and 

4 (iii) transparent hiring practices; and 

5 (B) reflects the inputs and coordination 

6 from other Executive Branch agencies, as ap7 propriate. 

8 (2) NOTIFICATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

9 Secretary of State shall— 

10 (A) proactively inform Executive Branch 

11 agencies about the role and importance of the 

12 OAS and encourage increased use of the OAS 

13 as a forum through which to publicize hemi14 spheric initiatives and encourage increased use 

15 of the OAS as a forum through which to pub16 licize hemispheric initiatives; 

17 (B) promote donor coordination among 

18 OAS member states; and 

19 (C) help set priorities for the OAS. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 on which the strategy is submitted under subsection (a), 

22 the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the commit23 tees referred to in subsection (a)(1) that analyzes the 

24 progress made by the Organization of American States— 


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1 (1) to adopt and implement International Pub2 lic Sector Accounting Standards, a results-based 

3 budgeting process in order to strategically prioritize 

4 future mandates; 

5 (2) to adopt and implement transparent and 

6 merit-based human resource standards and practices 

7 and transparent hiring standards and processes, in8 cluding with respect to factors such as gender, na9 tional origin, and citizenship; and 

10 (3) to adopt the practice of soliciting member 

11 quotas to be paid on a quarterly basis, without dis12 counts, to improve the consistency of its operating 

13 budget. 

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Organization of Amer16 ican States Revitalization and Reform Act of 2010’’. 

17 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

18 Congress makes the following findings: 

19 (1) The Charter of the Organization of American 

20 States recognizes that— 

21 (A) representative democracy is indispen22 sable for the stability, peace, and development of 

23 the Western Hemisphere; and 

24 (B) a purpose of the Organization of Amer25 ican States is to promote and consolidate repVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:00 Jun 10, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3087.RS S3087

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1 resentative democracy, with due respect for the 

2 principle of nonintervention; 

3 (2) The United States supports the purposes and 

4 principles enshrined in— 

5 (A) the Charter of the Organization of 

6 American States; 

7 (B) the Inter-American Democratic Charter; 

8 and 

9 (C) the American Declaration on the Rights 

10 and Duties of Man. 

11 (3) The United States supports the Organization 

12 of American States in its efforts with member states 

13 to meet their commitments under the documents set 

14 forth in paragraph (2). 

15 (4) Congress supports the Organization of Amer16 ican States as it operates in a manner consistent 

17 with its Charter and Articles 1, 3, and 7 of the Inter18 American Democratic Charter, which state— 

19 (A) ‘‘[t]he peoples of the Americas have a 

20 right to democracy and their governments have 

21 an obligation to promote and defend it’’, and 

22 that ‘‘[d]emocracy is essential for the social, po23 litical, and economic development of the peoples 

24 of the Americas’’; 


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1 (B) ‘‘[e]ssential elements of representative 

2 democracy include, inter alia, respect for human 

3 rights and fundamental freedoms, access to and 

4 the exercise of power in accordance with the rule 

5 of law, the holding of periodic, free, and fair 

6 elections based on secret balloting and universal 

7 suffrage as an expression of the sovereignty of the 

8 people, the pluralistic system of political parties 

9 and organizations, and the separation of powers 

10 and independence of the branches of govern11 ment’’; and 

12 (C) ‘‘[d]emocracy is indispensable for the ef13 fective exercise of fundamental freedoms and 

14 human rights in their universality, indivisibility 

15 and interdependence, embodied in the respective 

16 constitutions of states and in inter-American 

17 and international human rights instruments’’. 

18 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

19 It is the policy of the United States— 

20 (1) to promote democracy and the rule of law 

21 throughout the Western Hemisphere; 

22 (2) to promote and protect human rights and 

23 fundamental freedoms in the Western Hemisphere; 

24 and 


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1 (3) to support the practices, purposes, and prin2 ciples expressed in the Charter of the Organization of 

3 American States, the American Declaration on the 

4 Rights and Duties of Man, the Inter-American Demo5 cratic Charter, and other fundamental instruments of 

6 democracy. 

7 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) the Organization of American States (here10 after referred to as the ‘‘OAS’’) should be the primary 

11 multi-lateral diplomatic entity for regional dispute 

12 resolution and promotion of democratic governance 

13 and institutions; 

14 (2) the Summit of the Americas institution and 

15 process embodies a valuable complement to regional 

16 dialogue and cooperation; 

17 (3) the Summit of the Americas process should 

18 be formally and more effectively integrated into the 

19 work of the OAS, the Inter-American Development 

20 Bank, and the Members of the Joint Summit Working 

21 Group, and the OAS should play a central role in 

22 overseeing and managing the Summit process; 

23 (4) the OAS General Assembly and the Summit 

24 of the Americas events should be combined geographiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:00 Jun 10, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3087.RS S3087

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1 cally and chronologically in the years in which they 

2 coincide; 

3 (5) the OAS General Assembly and the Summit 

4 of the Americas that relate specifically to economic 

5 development should be coordinated with similar ef6 forts by the Inter-American Development Bank; 

7 (6) all contributing member states to the OAS 

8 would benefit from and should adopt a transparent, 

9 results-based, and deliberative budget process that is 

10 guided by International Public Sector Accounting 

11 Standards; 

12 (7) to ensure an appropriate balance of prior13 ities, the OAS should review its core functions at least 

14 annually and seek opportunities to reduce the number 

15 of other mandates; 

16 (8) any changes to OAS mandates should only be 

17 accepted by the member states after the financial costs 

18 have been calculated and formally presented, and any 

19 new mandates should include a calculation of the fi20 nancial costs and an identification of the source of 

21 funding, including if such funding is internal or ex22 ternal to the OAS; 

23 (9) key OAS strengths lie in strengthening peace 

24 and security, promoting and consolidating represent25 ative democracy, regional dispute resolution, election 


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1 assistance and monitoring, development promotion, 

2 and stewardship of the Inter-American Human 

3 Rights System; 

4 (10) the core competencies referred to in para5 graph (9) should remain central to the strategic plan6 ning process of the OAS and the consideration of fu7 ture mandates; 

8 (11) OAS member states would benefit from en9 hanced coordination between the OAS and the Inter10 American Development Bank on issues that relate to 

11 economic development; 

12 (12) OAS member states would benefit from the 

13 OAS Permanent Council’s implementation of a 

14 framework to establish— 

15 (A) standard reporting requirements for 

16 each project and grant agreement, such as meas17 urable goals and clear roles and responsibilities; 

18 and 

19 (B) a process to ensure that agreements ad20 here to such requirements; 

21 (13) all contributing OAS member states would 

22 benefit from the implementation of— 

23 (A) transparent and merit-based human re24 source standards and processes; and 


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1 (B) transparent hiring standards and proc2 esses, including with respect to factors such as 

3 gender, national origin, and citizenship; 

4 (14) the OAS is a valuable platform from which 

5 to launch initiatives aimed to benefit the countries of 

6 the Western Hemisphere; 

7 (15) multi-lateral diplomacy is a critical compo8 nent of United States foreign policy; and 

9 (16) in order to foster a corps of diplomats 

10 skilled in this environment, service in multilateral as11 signments should be encouraged for and sought after 

12 by the best talent possible at the Department of State. 

13 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZA14 TION AND REFORM STRATEGY. 

15 (a) STRATEGY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

17 the date of the enactment of the Organization of 

18 American States Revitalization and Reform Act of 

19 2010, the Secretary of State shall submit a multiyear 

20 strategy to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

21 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

22 House of Representatives that— 

23 (A) outlines a recommended approach to the 

24 OAS to encourage the adoption of— 


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1 (i) International Public Sector Ac2 counting Standards; 

3 (ii) a results-based budgeting process 

4 in order to strategically prioritize current 

5 and future mandates; and 

6 (iii) transparent hiring practices; and 

7 (B) reflects the inputs and coordination 

8 from other Executive Branch agencies, as appro9 priate. 

10 (2) NOTIFICATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

11 Secretary of State shall— 

12 (A) proactively inform Executive Branch 

13 agencies about the role and importance of the 

14 OAS and encourage increased use of the OAS as 

15 a forum through which to publicize hemispheric 

16 initiatives and encourage increased use of the 

17 OAS as a forum through which to publicize hem18 ispheric initiatives; 

19 (B) promote donor coordination among 

20 OAS member states; and 

21 (C) help set priorities for the OAS. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date on 

23 which the strategy is submitted under subsection (a), the 

24 Secretary of State shall submit a report to the committees 


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1 referred to in subsection (a)(1) that analyzes the progress 

2 made by the Organization of American States— 

3 (1) to adopt and implement International Public 

4 Sector Accounting Standards, a results-based budg5 eting process in order to strategically prioritize future 

6 mandates; 

7 (2) to adopt and implement transparent and 

8 merit-based human resource standards and practices 

9 and transparent hiring standards and processes, in10 cluding with respect to factors such as gender, na11 tional origin, and citizenship; and 

12 (3) to adopt the practice of soliciting member 

13 quotas to be paid on a quarterly basis, without dis14 counts, to improve the consistency of its operating 

15 budget. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 426 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3087 

[Report No. 111–205] 

A BILL 

To support revitalization and reform of the Organiposes. zation of American States, and for other purJUNE 10, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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