Panama formally expressed its consent to receive an on-site visit as part of the Fifth Round of Review of the Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), in accordance with the Methodology for Conducting On-site Visits of MESICIC.

This will be the second time Panama receives an on-site visit from the MESICIC. The first visit took place successfully April 17-19, 2013, during the Fourth Round of Review of this Mechanism. The results of this visit formed part of the Panama country report adopted by the MESICIC Committee of Experts in September 2013.

With respect to the Fifth Round, the MESICIC will review, among others, the progress made by the States Parties to address the recommendations formulated in their country reports of the Second Round with respect to systems of government hiring, procurement of goods and services, and protecting those who, in good faith, report acts of corruption. Implementation of other provisions of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption will also be reviewed.

Panama joins Chile, El Salvador, Guyana, Mexico, Peru and the United States in having formally expressed their consent to on-site visits. The Technical Secretariat of the MESICIC expects to receive similar notifications from other States, which have reported that they are taking the necessary steps domestically to formalize their consent

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 review process represents an innovative and pioneering initiative in the context of the OAS, especially for a peer review mechanism and the importance of the issues it addresses.

For more information on the MESICIC, please visit the Anti-Corruption Portal of the Americas.