- 12 - AG/RES. 1977 (XXXIV-O/04) APPOINTMENT OF WOMEN TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AT THE OAS (Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 8, 2004) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HAVING SEEN the report of the General Secretariat to the Permanent Council on the appointment of women to senior management positions at the OAS (CP/doc.3878/04); BEARING IN MIND Article 120 of the Charter of the Organization of American States and Article 41 of the General Standards to Govern the Operations of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, which stipulate that first consideration shall be given to efficiency, competence, and integrity in the recruitment of General Secretariat personnel, but that importance shall also be attached to the criterion of the widest possible geographic distribution in hiring personnel at all grade levels; and Article 137 of the OAS Charter, which states that the Organization does not allow any restriction based on race, creed, or sex with respect to eligibility to hold positions in the Organization and to participate in its activities; CONSIDERING that, in its resolutions AG/RES. 1627 (XXIX-O/99), AG/RES. 1790 (XXXI-O/01), AG/RES. 1872 (XXXII-O/02), and AG/RES. 1954 (XXXIII-O/03), “Appointment of Women to Senior Management Positions at the OAS,” it urged the Secretary General to establish as an objective that, by the year 2005, women should occupy 50 percent of posts in all categories of the OAS system; CONSIDERING ALSO that the Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equity and Equality, which the General Assembly adopted by resolution AG/RES. 1732 (XXX-O/00), calls for the General Secretariat to “implement measures to ensure full and equal access by men and women to all categories of posts in the OAS system, particularly in decision-making positions”; REAFFIRMING the commitment expressed at the highest levels in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, to promote gender equity and equality and women’s human rights by strengthening and fostering women’s full and equal participation in decisionmaking at all levels, women’s empowerment, and their equal opportunity to exercise leadership; REAFFIRMING ALSO that the Declaration of Nuevo León recognized that “the empowerment of women, their full and equal participation in the development of our societies, and their equal opportunities to exercise leadership are fundamental for the reduction of poverty, the promotion of economic and social prosperity, and for people-centered sustainable development”; ACKNOWLEDGING that ensuring equal opportunity for women in leadership and decisionmaking positions is only one important element of a continuum of actions, policies, and activities required to achieve gender equality in the workplace and improve gender mainstreaming throughout the OAS;