Combating Corruption
“We recognize that
corruption and impunity weaken public and private institutions,
erode social values, undermine the rule of law, and distort
economies and the allocation of resources for development.”
–Declaration of Nuevo León, Special Summit of the Americas (
January 2004)
Corruption has been an ongoing concern of the OAS
member states. In 1996 they adopted the
Inter-American
Convention against Corruption – the first treaty of its kind in
the world – and in 2002 they began a monitoring process to
examine how countries that have ratified the treaty are
complying with its key provisions. This process is underway, and
so far reports have been completed on 23 countries.
The OAS member states are cooperating closely in
the fight against corruption. In July 2004, representatives
of the states that have ratified the Inter-American Convention
against Corruption met in Managua, Nicaragua, to examine
concrete ways to enhance their efforts. Responding to mandates
from the highest levels of political leadership, they agreed to
adopt measures to strengthen cooperation among law enforcement
authorities, deny safe haven to corrupt officials, strengthen
domestic laws related to extradition and the seizure of assets,
and promote legislation to allow repatriation of assets that
have been illegally derived from public funds, among other
steps. In April 2005, high-level anti-corruption experts met at
the OAS to discuss strategies and recommendations related to
some of these issues.
One area of particular concern – in fact, it was
the central theme of the 2004 OAS
General Assembly, held in
Ecuador – is the impact of corruption on social development and
democracy. In the Declaration of Quito, the hemisphere’s foreign
ministers stated that corruption “jeopardizes democracy and
democratic governance, weakens institutions, undermines economic
and social development and the fight against poverty, erodes
public trust, and disrupts political stability.”
The Special Summit of the Americas, held in
January 2004, also looked at this issue. The region’s leaders
pledged to strengthen a “culture of transparency” and combat
unethical practices in both the public and private sectors.
Follow-Up
Mechanism
The majority of OAS member states now participate
in the Mechanism for Follow-Up on Implementation of the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption (known by its
Spanish acronym, MESICIC). This mechanism tracks how states
parties to the anti-corruption treaty are implementing its
provisions and recommends concrete measures the states can take
to improve compliance.
The OAS coordinates and provides support services
for the follow-up mechanism.
In April 2004, the states that participate in the
process agreed to a series of measures designed to provide more
administrative, financial and technical support. Efforts to
strengthen the mechanism continue.
This is a peer review process much like the
Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), which measures progress
against illegal drugs. As with the MEM, the analysis of
anti-corruption efforts is carried out by government-appointed
experts. The process does not impose sanctions, but is intended
to increase cooperation and strengthen compliance with the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption. During the review
process, the experts collectively assess each country's
performance on the basis of data collected and make
recommendations for action. Representatives of civil society
organizations are also given the opportunity to meet with the
experts and present information for their consideration.
Government anti-corruption experts thus far have
adopted reports assessing the progress against corruption in the
following countries:
Argentina, the
Bahamas,
Bolivia,
Canada, Colombia,
Chile,
Costa Rica, the
Dominican Republic,
Ecuador,
El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras,
Jamaica, Mexico,
Nicaragua,
Panama,
Paraguay,
Peru,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad
and Tobago, the United States, Uruguay and
Venezuela. They will meet at the OAS
later this year – from September 26 to October 1 – to review
reports on five more countries: Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States. Once
they have final approval, the reports are published on the OAS Web site
(www.oas.org
- see “Legal Affairs and Services.”).
The creation of the follow-up mechanism responds
to a mandate from the
April 2001 Summit of the Americas, held in
Québec City, Canada. Shortly after that Summit, the countries
that had ratified the Inter-American Convention met in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, to lay the groundwork for the follow-up
mechanism. In June 2001, concurrent with the OAS General
Assembly in Costa Rica, representatives of 20 states parties
signed a declaration reaffirming their commitment to cooperate
in creating effective measures to implement the treaty. Eight
other countries have since signed the declaration, for a total
of 28 participating states.
A
Groundbreaking Agreement
The Inter-American Convention against Corruption
states that "fighting corruption strengthens democratic
institutions and prevents distortions in the economy,
improprieties in public administration and damage to a society's
moral fiber."
Among other provisions, the treaty requires
parties to adopt domestic laws criminalizing certain activities,
including the acceptance or solicitation of bribes by public
officials. It also establishes extradition requirements and
calls for mutual assistance and cooperation in investigating and
prosecuting acts of corruption. Parties to the treaty agree to
consider an extensive list of measures to prevent corruption,
such as registering the income, assets and liabilities of
officials in certain public posts; assuring honest, open systems
for government hiring and procurement; and establishing measures
to deter bribery by publicly held companies.
Last updated: October 2005
