BELIZE TO RECEIVE ON-SITE VISIT OF THE OAS ANTI-CORRUPTION MECHANISM

On April 23 to 25, 2014, a Commission from the OAS Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), will conduct an on-site visit to Belize, as part of the review process that the Mechanism is carrying out, in accordance with the Methodology for Conducting On-Site Visits, adopted by its member states.

The Commission will be composed of experts from Canada and Jamaica, and will be supported by the Department of Legal Cooperation of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs of the OAS, in its capacity as Technical Secretariat of the MESICIC. Meetings are to take place with representatives from oversight bodies responsible for preventing, detecting and punishing corruption, the purpose of which is to review the manner in which the Inter-American Convention against Corruption is being implemented in Belize and to provide first hand, objective and complete information for consideration of its national report, which will be adopted by the Committee of Experts of the MESICIC in a plenary meeting in September 2014.   

In addition, it is also expected that meetings will take place with civil society organizations, representatives of the private sector, and academics, among others, in order to address the topics that are currently being reviewed in the Fourth Round of Review of the Mechanism. It will also provide an opportunity to examine the implementation of the recommendations formulated to Belize in the First Round, in areas such as conflicts of interest, systems for registering income, assets and liabilities, and mechanisms for civil society participation, among others.  

The MESICIC is a cooperation mechanism between States, with the participation of civil society organizations, established within the framework of the OAS, in which the legal/institutional framework of each country is reviewed for suitability with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption as well as the objective results achieved therein. The incorporation of on-site visits as a stage and integral part of the MESICIC represents an innovative and pioneering initiative of the OAS, which, with the support of the Technical Secretariat, has further strengthened this review process.

For further information, please visit the Anticorruption Portal of the Americas

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