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OAS Anti-Corruption Mechanism Releases Report on Nicaragua

The Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted Nicaragua’s report on the implementation of this treaty in the context of the Fourth Round of Review of the Mechanism, during its Twenty-Third Meeting held at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution.

The report provides a comprehensive review of the structure, operation and results obtained in the Public Prosecution Service (MP), the Office of the Attorney General (PGR), the Office of the Comptroller General (CGR), the National Police, and the Supreme Court, five of the oversight bodies responsible for preventing, detecting and punishing corruption in Nicaragua.

Aside from the review, the report contains a set of recommendations to be considered by Nicaragua in relation to the reviewed bodies. With respect to the MP, the report suggests the establishment of objective criteria for defining and determining the reasons for which a matter warrants the appointment of a special prosecutor; strengthening the Specialized Anti-Corruption Unit and providing it with personnel; the establishment of ongoing training programs primarily for auxiliary prosecutors and prosecutor assistants on substantive matters; and the establishment of additional public accountability mechanisms.

As regards the PGR, the report proposes the continued promotion of the effective implementation of the PGR’s 2011-2014 Strategic Plan; the establishment of additional public accountability mechanisms; and the development of statistical data on the investigations it conducts for all offenses that affect the interests and/or the property of the State.

Regarding the CGR, the report suggests complementing the training programs it offers internally with courses and/or modules in ethics, integrity, and transparency; and continuing to promote the implementation of its 2011-2015 Strategic Institutional Development Plan, among other recommendations.

With regard to the Supreme Court of Justice and the Judiciary, the report proposes guaranteeing the principle of due process in the procedure and grounds for separating or removing CSJ justices from office; concluding the process of updating the Judicial Career Service job descriptions; adopting additional accountability mechanisms regarding performance of the judiciary’s substantive functions; and preparing statistical data on judicial proceedings instituted for all corrupt practices, as well as for proceedings before the Full Court and its Criminal Chamber.

The second part of the report includes the progress made on the implementation of recommendations made to Nicaragua in the First Round of Review of the MESICIC, which highlights the actions being taken by the CGR pursuant to article 4 of the Civil Service Probity Law; the relatively recent adoption of the Public Sector Administrative Procurement Law; the adoption and publication of the “Manual of Administrative Procedures and Management Indicators of the General Directorate for Legal Affairs” by the CGR; and the establishment of the PN working group charged with implementing, monitoring, and evaluating anti-corruption recommendations, among others.

The last section of the report describes briefly a broad set of best practices on which Nicaragua provided information, such as the “Anti-Corruption Workshops;” the monitoring of cases of crimes against the Public Administration and the “Interagency Anti-corruption System;” the ongoing processes of dialogue between the PN and international cooperation in the framework of the so-called “Instancia de Diálogo;” the use of public procurement training tools available on the OAS electronic portal; the establishment of “help desks;” and the organization by the General Directorate for State Procurement of in-service training for personnel from other countries.

During the Twenty-Third Meeting, similar reports were adopted for Canada, Ecuador, Guyana, and the Dominican Republic, which are available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-125/14