REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE STAFF ASSOCIATION
RENE L. GUTIERREZ
DURING THE ANNUAL REGULAR STAFF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2003
(July 23, 2003)

Welcome, dear colleagues:

We shall now initiate the work of our Annual Staff General Assembly. In accordance with our Statutes, the first item will be the report of the 2002 staff General Assembly.

As we all recall, on July 9, 2002, the General Secretariat staff gathered for the 2002 annual regular General Assembly, held in the Padilha Vidal Room, at which time the 2002-2003 Staff Committee was installed. On that occasion, the President, Dr. Martha Braga, initiated the work of the Assembly by reporting to the staff on the activities carried out during the 2001-2002 term. Subsequently, Mr. Héctor Rocha, Chair of the Nominating Committee, presented a report on the results of the elections held on June 20 and 21, 2002. Lastly, the 2002-2003 Staff Committee was installed and, in my capacity as President, I delivered an address (Staff News No. 5/02-03).

On January 16, 2003, the first Special Assembly was held to inform members of the Staff Committee’s activities in November and December 2002 and to announce the winner of the Association’s logo contest.

Our second Special Assembly took place on April 23, 2003, for the sole purpose of informing the staff of the Committee’s action in response to problems encountered in the budget execution process in fiscal period 2003. You will all recall that these actions made it possible to extend the contracts of 26 colleagues. In my view, this achievement was a clear demonstration of constructive dialogue between the members of the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs and the Secretariat for Administration.

Second, I would like to address the issue of the 2002-2003 Staff Committee. In my inaugural address of July 9, 2002, I highlighted that our main task was to protect the rights of all General Secretariat staff members, especially with regard to working conditions, and that the defense of those rights would be governed by our statutes, rules of procedure, and General Assembly resolutions. For the record, I would like to say that, with the exception of the isolated case of a Permanent Council resolution on repatriation, this Committee has been consulted by the General Secretariat whenever amendments were made to internal rules that could have affected the staff, such as reimbursement for education expenses. We are hopeful that the Administration will continue to consult the Staff Committee on questions affecting us directly.

As of the close of our term, the 2002-2003 Staff Committee members have participated in 30 regular meetings and seven special meetings. Further, two meetings were held to pay tribute to our former colleagues Betty Robinson and Luis Illanes. The Committee received assistance from 16 subcommittees comprising 54 staff members.

I want to express my profound appreciation to our colleague Sara Meneses for her outstanding work as Chair of the Joint Committee on Insurance Matters. Her four years in this position were very difficult but she managed to move forward. Today our premiums are not expected to increase because our financial accounts are sound.

The outcome of our work is reflected in the reports we have presented to our members, either electronically or in hard copy, in the two working languages, Spanish and English. It bears mentioning that the last two reports were monthly. Consequently, each of you is already familiar with the Committee’s work.

Nonetheless, I would like to refer to some activities which I think deserve special mention. One of our initial activities was the Handicraft of the Americas Exhibition, in October 2002, followed by the Christmas Bazaar, in December 2002. These activities brought in $2,919.75 for the Association’s Legal Fund.

The Fourth Art Exhibition of the Art Group of the Staff Association was very successful thanks to the dedication and participation of the Art Group members. Since the start of the year, the Art Group has launched an electronic publication, “Pinceladas,” and a group of girls, the daughters of General Secretariat and permanent mission staff, painted a mural commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM). Our fifth exhibition will be launched on August 11, and you are all invited to play an active role in it.

I would also like to draw to your attention that at the end of our campaign to update Staff Association contributions, a total of 79 new members had regularized their contributions.

On behalf of all staff members and on my own behalf, I would like to thank the 2002-2003 Staff Committee for the services they provided during the past year: Raul Plata (Vice President), Jane L. Thery (Secretary), Nubia González (Treasurer), Luis Batlle, Gladys Berly, Gillian Bristol, Armando Espinoza, Rafael Franzini, Ivonne Zúñiga, and our representatives on the Retirement and Pension Committee, Oscar Harasic and Daniel Vilariño. I would also like to thank our Administrative Secretary, Corina Alvarez.

The progress achieved by this Committee would not have been possible without the selfless participation of the following interns: Oscar Aldana, Rafael Vayá de León, Roxana Vargas Juárez, and Marlyn Adriana Suárez. Our thanks go out to them.

Many thanks to all of you for your support and participation. I wish to reiterate that our Association will be what its members want it to be and will cease to exist when we stray from our mandates and our ideals.