ANTI-CORRUPTION WORKSHOP IN COSTA RICA

From today, Thursday October 28th, until tomorrow, the OAS’ Department of Legal Cooperation, of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs, in conjunction with Costa Rica’s Office of the Attorney General , will hold a Workshop to review the Draft Action Plan for the implementation of the recommendations that the Committee of Experts of the Mechanism for the Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), made to Costa Rica during their First, Second, and Third Rounds of Review. The Workshop will be held in the Hotel Barceló San José Palacio in San José. Costa Rica’s Attorney General, Ana Lorena Brenes Esquivel, will deliver the opening remarks for the ceremony.

Gilberth Calderón Alvadro, Costa Rica’s Director of the Office of Public Ethics, reflects upon the importance of the Action Plan Program in following up on the recommendations of the MESICIC for its hemispheric signatories. He contends that the MESICIC Action Plan is a “valuable tool in detecting the most vulnerable areas (of our society) that require immediate action. Furthermore, it has an end goal of implanting concrete mechanisms to address the fight against corruption at every level.”

He goes on to explain the importance of the MESICIC workshop for Costa Rica, “The workshop will be a suitable place to analyze the recommendations that Costa Rica has received on the fight against corruption. (Costa Rica) will be able to take advantage of the participation of public officials from the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches in order to hone its approach on anti-corruption policies and actions.”

While the participants from the public sector are essential for the success of the workshop, Mr. Calderón believes that members from civil society are equally important: “The possible attendance of high-level representatives from private entities and professional colleges will enrich the workshop experience.”

The workshop participants, who are either policy makers or experts in their respective anti-corruption fields, will review and strengthen the Draft Action Plan prepared by National Consultant Alexander Rodríguez. His comprehensive Draft Action Plan reviews Costa Rica’s compliance with the recommendations of the MESICIC Committee of Experts, specifically on the subjects of government hiring, conflict of interest, the training of public servants, the procurement of goods and services and the use of public resources, reporting income, assets and liabilities, access to information, preventing bribery, and the protection of whistleblowers, among other areas. The document makes recommendations on how the Costa Rican government and legislative body can strengthen anti-corruption mechanisms on these topics, and outlines the processes, actors, timeframe, and costs necessary in implementing a specific recommendation. With their particular insight, along with their sector-based experience, the workshop participants will have the chance to suggest ways in which the implementation of the MESICIC’s recommendations for Costa Rica can be facilitated. 

Importantly, this workshop will reflect an effective synergy among the Costa Rican Government, national civil society organizations, and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. Indeed, Mr. Calderón notes, “It is necessary to insist that, on all possible fronts and on every single level, the fight against corruption is only possible if we do it with the support of one another.”

What is the MESICIC?

The Mechanism For Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, known as MESICIC for its Spanish acronym, is a tool to support the development of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption through cooperation between States Parties.

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