Anti-Corruption Road Map

Did you know that OAS Anti-Corruption activities are guided by an overall road map known as the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption? The Program is a framework which outlines Anti-Corruption activities to be carried out by the OAS. Among other topics, the Program addresses:

• The strengthening of MESICIC
• Exchange of information between states
• Recovery of assets
• Technical cooperation and cooperation on extradition
• Cooperation with other international agencies
• Participation of civil society

The OAS General Assembly originally adopted the Inter-American Program on June 5, 1997. To reflect the changes that have taken place in the intervening nine years, the Conference of States Parties of the MESICIC drafted a revised version of the Program during its second meeting in November of 2006. The revised Program will be considered and adopted by the General Assembly at its next meeting in June of 2007.

For the revised Program please click here.

MESICIC Update

The Technical Secretariat is currently preparing six draft preliminary reports for Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago. The draft preliminary reports will be sent to the review subgroup by March 27, 2007.

MESICIC is in the midst of its second round of review, which began in April of last year. Please visit our website for a full schedule of the second round, as well as copies of the country reports adopted to date.

Country Pages Updated on OAS Anti-Corruption Website

We’ve been busy updating our website! Each OAS country now has a unique page on the OAS Anti-Corruption website. On the far left of the Anti-Corruption homepage is a list of OAS countries. Click on a country link and you will find a wealth of information, including:

• Names of the Experts serving on the Committee of Experts
• Replies to the questionnaire from the first and second round
• National Progress Reports
• Anti-Corruption Legislation

Civil Society Should be Preparing Comments

May 25, 2007 is the deadline for civil society to submit comments regarding the next set of countries to be reviewed within the MESICIC framework: Colombia, Panama, Chile, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, and Bahamas.

Comments must adhere to guidelines established in the MESICIC Rules of Procedures.

For examples of past input from civil society, click on a country, and look for the documents submitted by civil society. (Please note: civil society did not necessarily contribute a report for all countries).

OAS attends XIII Corruption Forum at the University of Calgary

Rodrigo Silva, from the Office of Legal Cooperation, participated in the XII Corruption Forum held at the University of Calgary, Canada, on January 24, 2006. This Forum brought together speakers from the governmental, inter-governmental, private and academic sphere to discuss the various ways corruption is being addressed. Presentations were made regarding the effect of corruption on economic progress and international business; the manner in which to deal with conflicting cultures of ethics; efforts to define corruption; the work of the World Bank on this issue; and the Canadian government's focus on values and ethics in the public sector. Mr. Silva made a presentation on mechanisms to fight corruption in the Americas and how the OAS assists countries in this regard.

Read more here...