On March 20, at its Twenty-Fifth Meeting, the Committee of Experts of the OAS Anticorruption Mechanism (MESICIC) adopted for the first time a report on the implementation in Saint Kitts and Nevis of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption.

This report, available here, provides a comprehensive review of the progress achieved by Saint Kitts and Nevis in implementing the provisions of the Convention relating, among other, on standards of conduct to prevent conflicts of interest, systems for the declaration of assets, income and liabilities, as well as mechanisms to encourage participation of civil society and nongovernmental organizations in the fight against corruption.

In the second part of this report, a comprehensive review was carried out on the structure, operation and results obtained in four oversight bodies responsible for preventing, detecting and punishing corruption in Saint Kitts and Nevis: the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions, the Magistrates Court, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Royal Saint Christopher and Nevis Police Force.

This review was performed taking into account the information provided to the MESICIC Technical Secretariat by the country under review, and the information gathered during the on-site site visit held in Basseterre in October, 2014 by representatives of Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago, with the support of the Technical Secretariat.

Besides the review, this report contains a set of recommendations formulated to Saint Kitts and Nevis that refer to important aspects such as design and implement outreach campaigns, targeting all public servants, on the existence, nature, and scope of the Public Service Act 2011, its Codes, and the Public Service Standing Orders 2014, and adopt the necessary steps for the prompt implementation of the provisions of the Integrity in Public Life Act of 2013 as well as in creating and setting up the Integrity Commission referred to in that statute.

As for the four bodies selected by Saint Kitts and Nevis which are reviewed in the report, the recommendations to be considered by the State address the following:

- Appoint the Director of Public Prosecutions in accordance with the terms of section 81 of the Constitution and develop instruments, manuals, and/or guides for directing prosecutors in effectively and correctly initiating and pursuing criminal proceedings for the commission of corrupt acts.

- As regards the Magistrates Court, provide the Court with the financial resources necessary to ensure permanent, appropriate training for all its officers, including the Magistrates, particularly on topics related to the correct prosecution of cases involving acts of corruption and on ethics, integrity, and transparency in judicial functions.

- With respect to the Office of the Ombudsman, adopt, as promptly as possible, the relevant measures to provide this Office with the human and financial resources necessary for due compliance with its legal functions, and establish mechanisms to ensure effective compliance by the public agencies subject to its oversight with the recommendations issued by the Ombudsman in its investigations.

- Concerning the Royal Saint Christopher and Nevis Police Force, complement the documents that describe the functions of its personnel with documented procedures, manuals, or guides related to the functions of investigating corruption crimes and develop regular training programs for the Police Force on proper and effective investigations of corruption crimes.

Along with the country report of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the reports for Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, the United States, and Venezuela were also adopted, which are available here.For more information, please visit the Anti-corruption Portal of the Americas.