SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES RECEIVES ON-SITE VISIT OF THE OAS ANTICORRUPTION MECHANISM

On April 24, an on-site visit to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines carried out by the representatives from Panama and Saint Kitts and Nevis to the OAS Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MESICIC) was concluded successfully. This visit was also supported by the Department of Legal Cooperation of the OAS General Secretariat.

During the three days of the visit, the representatives of MESICIC reviewed, on-site, the principal oversight bodies responsible for combating corruption in this Eastern Caribbean Country. Meetings were held with the senior officers of the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Office of the Director of Audit, and the Service Commissions Department of the Public Service Commission. Also, the representatives of MESICIC had the opportunity to meet with civil society and private sector organizations to address cooperation issues between them and public institutions in the fight against corruption; citizen participation mechanisms; and access to public information.

The results and information obtained from this visit are part of the review process currently being conducted by the MESICIC with respect to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which will conclude with the adoption of a country report by that Mechanism’s Committee of Experts at its meeting in September this year, to be held at OAS headquarters.

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 more information, please visit the Anti-corruption Portal of the Americas.