MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE OAS, JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY

Source: OAS Press Department

December 9, 2012

The proclamation of December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day is a good opportunity to recall the pioneering commitments made by the States of the Americas, through the OAS Convention against Corruption, and to highlight recent progress we have made in addressing the issue.

At the OAS we will continue our efforts to prevent and combat corruption and to support our Member States and ensure they have appropriate legal and institutional tools to prevent, detect and sanction corruption, as provided for in our Convention.

For this reason, we have the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the Follow-Up Mechanism for its Implementation (known by its acronym in Spanish, MESICIC), which analyzes the implementation by States of the treaty and formulates recommendations on areas that require additional development. In this sense the progress made in the consolidation of the mechanism is worth highlighting, in particular the on site visits to gather information directly from the countries. This year we have successfully conducted on site visits to ten countries: Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, and Honduras. The visits are indicative of the prestige enjoyed by the MESICIC among its States Parties, while at the same time it is proof of their commitment to effectively implement the Convention against Corruption. The visits have allowed for the verification of the manner in which oversight bodies (such as comptrollers, prosecutors and judicial powers) are fulfilling their duties, and include the participation of the competent authorities and civil society organizations, the private sector, professional associations and academics and researchers.

The fight against corruption is a challenge that we must confront anew each day. Its strength comes from dialogue and consensus among all sectors of the societies of our countries. I hope this joint effort continues to yield more and better results.

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