From the Staff Committee 2011-2012
(202) 458-6230
June 19, 2012
FYI # 8 /11-12 Original: English
Did you know that OAS staff members are International Civil Servants?
International civil servants are public sector employees who work for international organizations such as the United Nations or the Organization of American States.
In these organizations, national labor law does not apply to them. Instead, staff conditions of service are governed by rules and regulations defined by the organizations and approved the Member States. If staff have grievances, they are handled by Administrative Tribunals.
As established by the OAS Charter in article 118 y 119, Secretariat personnel shall not seek or receive instructions from any Government or from any authority outside the Organization, and shall refrain from any action that may be incompatible with their position as international civil servants. Moreover, Member States pledge themselves to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the personnel of the General Secretariat, and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their duties.
Also, the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat establish in articles 27 and 28 that staff members shall undertake to perform their duties and to regulate their conduct in conformity with the nature, purposes, and interests of the Organization.