OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1785 (XXXI-O/01)
5 June 2001
Original: Spanish
ENHANCEMENT OF PROBITY IN THE HEMISPHERE AND FOLLOW-UP
ON THE INTER-AMERICAN PROGRAM FOR COOPERATION
IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on
June 5, 2001;
subject to review by the Style Committee)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on
enhancement of probity in the Hemisphere and follow-up on the
Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption (CP/doc. /01);
UNDERSCORING that, in its preamble, the Charter of the
Organization of American States affirms that
"representative democracy is an indispensable condition for
the stability, peace and development of the region" and
that "juridical organization is a necessary condition for
security and peace founded on moral order and on justice";
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the purposes of the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption are to promote and strengthen the
development, by each of the States Parties, of the mechanisms
needed to prevent, detect, punish, and eradicate corruption, and
to promote, facilitate, and regulate cooperation among the
States Parties to ensure the effectiveness of measures and
actions to combat acts of corruption in the performance of
public functions and those specifically related to such
performance;
RECALLING that, through resolution AG/RES. 1723 (XXX-O/00),
"Enhancement of Probity in the Hemisphere and Follow-up on
the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption," the Permanent Council was instructed to
analyze existing regional and international follow-up mechanisms
with a view to recommending, by the end of the year 2000, the
most appropriate model that States Parties could use, if they
should think fit, to monitor implementation of the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption. That
recommendation will be transmitted to the States Parties to the
Convention for them to choose the course of action they deem
most appropriate;
ACKNOWLEDGING the work of the Working Group on Probity and
Public Ethics, which laid the foundation for the documents on
the follow-up mechanism on implementation of the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption in a process that fostered broad
participation by all member states of the Organization;
HAVING TAKEN NOTE of the Recommendation of the Permanent
Council to the States Parties regarding the Mechanism for
Follow-up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention
against Corruption [CP/RES. 783 (1260/01)];
CONSIDERING that the Working Group on Probity and Public
Ethics convened the Meeting of Government Experts to Prepare for
the Conference of States Parties to the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption, held in Washington, D.C., from
March 21 to 23, 2001, which resulted in a set of recommendations
to be considered in the Conference of States Parties to the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, as recommended by
the Permanent Council;
THANKING the Argentine Republic for hosting the Conference of
States Parties to the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption on the Follow-up Mechanism on Implementation of that
Convention, held in Buenos Aires from May 2 to 4, 2001;
CONSIDERING that the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption has been signed by 26 member states and ratified by
22, which means that four new states ratified the Convention in
the past year;
RECOGNIZING that, pursuant to operative paragraph 7 of
resolution AG/RES. 1723 (XXX-O/00), "Corporate Social
Responsibility" has begun to be studied as a key topic in
the Organization of American States, as well as in other
multilateral forums, within the framework of their respective
mandates and addressing such aspects as the role of the private
sector in the prevention of and fight against corruption;
AWARE of the exchange of views among several delegations
regarding the possibility of establishing a specific voluntary
fund to finance activities aimed at providing the necessary
institutional support to the States Parties for implementing the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, pursuant to
operative paragraph 6 of resolution AG/RES. 1723 (XXX-O/00), in
the course of which various considerations were brought up
regarding the advisability of creating a new fund or using
existing OAS General Secretariat mechanisms, without a consensus
being reached on establishing the fund;
BEARING IN MIND the legal cooperation programs and activities
carried out by the General Secretariat in developing the
Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption, with a view to promoting ratification and
implementation of the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption, as well as the dissemination and exchange of
information through the Inter-American Network for Cooperation
against Corruption;
RECOGNIZING the importance of the proposals presented in the
framework of the Working Group on Probity and Public Ethics,
with a view to continuing to make progress in enacting the
Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption, along the lines indicated in operative paragraph 8
of resolution AG/RES. 1723 (XXX-O/00);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Declaration of Quebec City,
adopted at the Third Summit of the Americas, recognizes that
"corruption undermines core democratic values, challenges
political stability and economic growth and thus threatens vital
interests in our Hemisphere, we pledge to reinvigorate our fight
against corruption"; and
CONSIDERING likewise that the Plan of Action of the Third
Summit of the Americas devotes a special chapter to the fight
against corruption and that commitments are made therein on the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the Inter-American
Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption, and the
establishment of a follow-up mechanism for implementation of
said Convention, as well as the strengthening of the
Inter-American Network for Cooperation against Corruption, the
strengthening of the participation of civil society in the
respective states in the fight against corruption, and the
adoption of policies, processes, and mechanisms that protect the
public interest,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge the member states of the OAS that have not yet
done so to give prompt consideration to signing and ratifying,
or to ratifying, as the case may be, the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption.
2. To urge the States Parties to the Convention to take any
measures they deem appropriate to comply with the commitments
they undertook upon ratification of the Convention.
3. To invite states that are not members of the Organization,
in particular the OAS permanent observers, to accede to the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, in accordance with
Article XXIII thereof.
4. To pay tribute to the Permanent Council for its timely
adoption of the Recommendation to States Parties to the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption on the Mechanism
for Follow-up of its implementation.
5. To thank the Government of the Argentine Republic for
hosting the First Conference of States Parties to the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption on the Mechanism
for Follow-up of its implementation, held in Buenos Aires from
May 2 to 4, 2001.
6. To promote extensive cooperation among member states of
the Organization within the framework of the Inter-American
Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption, as well
as the establishment of mechanisms and incentives to encourage
states to sign, ratify, and implement the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption.
7. To request the countries that have not done so to reply
promptly to the Questionnaire on Ratification and Implementation
of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (CP/GT/PEC-68/00
rev. 3), so that the Permanent Council may continue to examine
replies from the member states in order to enhance
implementation of the Convention, strengthen cooperation, and
provide technical assistance to those that request it.
8. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue to foster
the exchange of experiences and information among the OAS,
multilateral organizations, and international financial
institutions, in order to coordinate, strengthen, and identify
cooperation activities in the area among the member states and
to foster the participation of civil society and, in particular,
the private sector, among other pertinent entities, in these
activities.
9. To request the Permanent Council to continue considering
alternative ways of financing activities aimed at providing the
necessary institutional support to the States Parties for
implementing the Inter-American Convention against Corruption.
10. To instruct the Permanent Council, in following up on the
Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption, to continue studying corporate social
responsibility.
11. To instruct the Permanent Council, in following up on the
Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption, to continue addressing, inter alia, the following
subjects: training, experience acquired by national
institutions, public sector procurement, incompatibilities
between public office and private sector interests, and analysis
of criminal laws on corruption and related offenses, with the
assistance of the General Secretariat.
12. To request the General Secretariat to continue carrying
out, though the Secretariat for Legal Affairs and in the course
of the activities of the Inter-American Program for Cooperation
in the Fight against Corruption, the technical cooperation
activities designed to contribute to the signing, ratification,
or implementation of, or accession to, the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption and to strengthen exchanges of
information and experiences among government authorities
responsible for this area, including those of the Inter-American
Network for Cooperation against Corruption.
13. To instruct the Permanent Council to report to the
General Assembly at its thirty-second regular session on the
implementation of this resolution.
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