Media Center

Press Release

Uruguay Receives On-Site Visit of the OAS Anticorruption Mechanism

A commission from the Anti-Corruption Mechanism of the Organization of American States (OAS), paid a visit to Uruguay on April 8 - 10, 2013, as part of the review process of said Mechanism, carried out in accordance with the Methodology adopted by consensus by its Member States.

The Commission of the Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) was composed of Annette Mark, Legal Counsel of the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy of Antigua and Barbuda and Nestor Baragli, Deputy Director for Transparency Policy Planning of the Anti-Corruption Office of Argentina, and was supported by the General Secretariat of the OAS in the visit, held with Uruguay’s consent.

During three days, the members of the Commission met with representatives of the Transparency and Public Ethics Board, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Court of Accounts, the Office of the Attorney General and Prosecutor, the National Directorate of Customs, as well as a representative of the Legislative Branch, in order to obtain objective and complete information and reveal potential difficulties in the implementation of the Inter-American Convention.

Likewise, the Commission had the opportunity to meet with organizations from civil society and the private sector, as well as academics, in order to address issues related to the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of acts of corruption in Uruguay as well as civil society’s views on the role of oversight bodies in that country.

The results and information gathered during this visit are part of the review process that is currently being carried out by the Committee of Experts of the MESICIC, and which will conclude with the adoption of the Uruguay country report by the Committee at its next plenary meeting to be held in September 2013, in Washington DC at OAS Headquarters.

The MESICIC is a cooperation mechanism between States, with the participation of civil society organizations, established within the framework of the OAS, in which the legal/institutional framework of each country is reviewed for suitability with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption as well as the objective results achieved therein. The incorporation of on-site visits as a stage and integral part of the MESICIC represents an innovative and pioneering initiative of the OAS, which, with the support of the Technical Secretariat, has further strengthened this review process.

For more information, please visit the Anti-corruption Portal of the Americas here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-145/13