(E-118/01)
June 5, 2001

TWENTY-ONE COUNTRIES ESTABLISH FOLLOW-UP MECHANISM
TO FIGHT CORRUPTION IN THE HEMISPHERE

 

San José, Costa Rica.- Today 21 countries in the Hemisphere took a decisive step in their fight against corruption, by officially adopting a follow-up mechanism for making concrete steps towards tackling one of the greatest threats to the democratic stability of the nations in the Americas.

During a ceremony conducted in the framework of the OAS General Assembly, currently meeting in San José, Costa Rica, the States Parties to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption signed a statement confirming their commitment to the fight against corruption and to the purposes enshrined in the Convention, adopted in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1996.

OAS Secretary General, César Gaviria, indicated that the mechanism is the result of a serious, intense effort of collective creation that began after the June 2000 General Assembly session in Windsor, Canada and culminated with the adoption of the Convention at the Conference of Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 2001.

"The mechanism that you are adopting today confirms that your States’ commitment to the fight against corruption is both sincere and real, that this is not a mere formality, and that you are open to follow-up on the obligations you made upon ratifying the Convention," the Secretary General added.

The minister of foreign affairs of Argentina, Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini, noted that the follow-up mechanism was an essential tool for tackling the problem of corruption in the region together. Canadian Foreign Minister, John Manley, expressed Canada’s willingness to associate itself with this objective and announced that his government would contribute $50,000 to the mechanism.

The follow-up mechanism will be impartial and objective in its operations and conclusions; will ensure fair implementation and equal treatment of States Parties; will not involve sanctions; and will establish an appropriate balance between confidentiality and transparency.

The States Parties to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption are: Argentina, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.