About the OAS

• Who We Are
• What We Do
• Our Structure
  • General Assembly
  • Meetings of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
  • Councils
  • Inter-American Juridical Committee
  • Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
  • General Secretariat
    • Secretary General
    • Assistant Secretary General
    • Secretariats
    • Other Autonomous and/or Decentralized Organs, Agencies, Entities, and Dependencies
  • Specialized Conferences
  • Specialized Organizations
• Our Locations
• Offices in Member States
• Our History
• Logo
• Authorities

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat is the central and permanent organ of the Organization of American States. It shall perform the functions assigned to it in the Charter, in other inter-American treaties and agreements, and by the General Assembly, and shall carry out the duties entrusted to it by the General Assembly, the Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, or the Councils.

The General Secretariat shall also perform the following functions:

1. Transmit ex officio to the Member States notice of the convocation of the General Assembly, the Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, and the Specialized Conferences;
2. Advise the other organs, when appropriate, in the preparation of agenda and rules of procedure;
3. Prepare the proposed program-budget of the Organization on the basis of programs adopted by the Councils, agencies, and entities whose expenses should be included in the program-budget and, after consultation with the Councils or their permanent committees, submit it to the Preparatory Committee of the General Assembly and then to the Assembly itself;
4. Provide, on a permanent basis, adequate secretariat services for the General Assembly and the other organs, and carry out their directives and assignments. To the extent of its ability, provide services for the other meetings of the Organization;
5. Serve as custodian of the documents and archives of the inter­American Conferences, the General Assembly, the Meetings of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the Councils, and the Specialized Conferences;
6. Serve as depository of inter-American treaties and agreements, as well as of the instruments of ratification thereof;
7. Submit to the General Assembly at each regular session an annual report on the activities of the Organization and its financial condition; and
8. Establish relations of cooperation, in accordance with decisions reached by the General Assembly or the Councils, with the Specialized Organizations as well as other national and international organizations.