Combating Corruption 

In 1996 the OAS member countries adopted the comprehensive Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the first anti-corruption treaty in the world. In 2002 the nations that have ratified it* will begin to implement a mechanism to measure progress, improve compliance and strengthen cooperation against corruption in the hemisphere. 

Government anti-corruption experts from the ratifying countries met for the first time at OAS headquarters from January 14-18, 2002, to establish the methodology they will use in the evaluation process. The Committee of Experts agreed on the rules of procedure for the first round of evaluations, which will examine how each participating country is complying with selected articles of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption.  

Much like the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), which measures progress against illegal drugs, the anti-corruption mechanism will systematically and objectively gather data from countries (in this case only those that have ratified the Inter-American Convention) and will recommend actions to improve efforts against corruption. Each country will be evaluated collectively by the other countries, based on the answers it provides to a formal questionnaire. The process will not impose sanctions, but will seek to increase hemispheric cooperation. 

The creation of the follow-up mechanism responds to a mandate from the Third Summit of the Americas, held in April 2001. In their Declaration of Quebec City, the region’s leaders pledged to reinvigorate their efforts against corruption, a problem they said “undermines core democratic values, challenges political stability and economic growth and thus threatens vital interests in our Hemisphere.”  

Shortly after the Summit, the ratifying countries met in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to lay the groundwork for creating the mechanism. On June 4, 2001, concurrent with the OAS General Assembly in Costa Rica, representatives of 20 states parties signed a declaration reaffirming their commitment to combat corruption and to cooperate in creating effective measures to implement the Inter-American Convention. (Guatemala and Honduras have since signed the declaration as well, bringing the number to 22.)  

Other Anti-Corruption Measures 

In 1997, the OAS member countries adopted the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption, which calls for a range of measures such as strengthening national laws, supporting institutions that fight corruption, and improving cooperation with civil society groups and international organizations. The Permanent Council's Working Group on Probity and Public Ethics has been working to implement this program and promote adherence to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. 

Following are some OAS anti-corruption initiatives:  

·         A pilot program in Central America has been evaluating national laws designed to prevent corruption. The goal is to develop model legislation that will help ensure that domestic laws are in harmony with the measures to prevent corruption established in the Inter-American Convention. This project is being carried out in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

·         In the year 2000, the OAS and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in cooperation with Transparency International, sponsored a project  to strengthen anti-corruption laws and promote implementation of the Convention in 12 Latin American countries. 

·         The OAS Department of Legal Affairs and Information is working to establish the Inter-American Anti-Corruption Network, a virtual space where individuals and organizations involved in the fight against corruption can interact. Under the leadership of the Canadian government, the OAS is also establishing the Network on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, which is designed to help countries share legal information more easily. This virtual network will have an area where governmental officials from different countries can share confidential information and another area that will be open to the public.  

·         The OAS Trust for the Americas has sponsored meetings in Costa Rica and Colombia on the role of the media in the fight against corruption. These were followed by two weeks of intensive training for investigative journalists who specialize in covering corruption and government issues.   

*The following countries have ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption: Argentina, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. (Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname have signed the treaty but not yet ratified it.)

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A Groundbreaking Agreement  

The Inter-American Convention against Corruption frames the problem of corruption as a threat to democracy, and 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 Convention requires parties to adopt domestic laws criminalizing certain activities, including the acceptance or solicitation of bribes by public officials. Parties must also prohibit and punish the bribery of officials from other countries. The Convention establishes extradition requirements and calls for mutual assistance and cooperation in investigating and prosecuting acts of corruption.

Parties to the treaty agree to consider applying an extensive list of measures to prevent corruption. These include: setting and enforcing standards for government officials designed to prevent conflicts of interest; instructing government personnel on their ethical responsibilities; registering the income, assets and liabilities of officials in certain public posts; assuring honest, open systems for government hiring and procurement; adopting tax laws that deter corruption; and establishing measures to deter bribery by publicly held companies. Other preventive measures include creating oversight bodies, protecting citizens who report acts of corruption and encouraging the participation of civil society in anti-corruption efforts.

Jorge Garcia-Gonzalez
Director, OAS Department of Legal Cooperation
Phone: (202) 458 3040
Fax: (202) 458 3598
e-mail: jgarciag@oas.org

 Last updated: February 2002