IDB to Support Inter-American Convention against Corruption and its Follow-up Mechanism

The OAS and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed on March 18, 2007 a Memorandum of Understanding to support the implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and its Follow-up Mechanism (MESICIC, for its acronym in Spanish).

“Corruption is one of the most serious threats to democratic governance,” said OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. “At the Organization of American States we believe there is a lot we can do jointly and that there are many ways in which we can help each other to address this issue.”

The agreement signed by the IDB and OAS establishes a legal framework to facilitate their joint efforts in the implementation of the anti-corruption Convention and in the development of the recommendations included in the MESICIC.

Read more here.


OAS Presents at Regional Anti-Corruption Meetings

Colombia

Director of the OAS Office of Legal Cooperation, Jorge García Gonzalez, gave a presentation on the Inter-American Convention against Corruption at a workshop organized by Transparency International for Latin America and the Caribbean (TILAC), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). The workshop, entitled “Corruption: Social and Political Consequences,” was held February 15-17, 2007 in Bogota, Colombia.

Venezuela

The civil society organization Transparency Venezuela held a workshop in Caracas on March 12 and 13, 2007, entitled “Consolidating the Change: The Inter-American Convention against Corruption in its Second Decade”. In response to the invitation to the Secretary General of the OAS to participate in this event, Enrique Martínez, an official from the Department of International Legal Affair’s Office of Legal Cooperation, gave a presentation on the theme of “Constructing the Future: Challenges to the IACAC over the Next 10 Years”. The central theme of this presentation was the need for cooperation between the OAS and UN on the implementation of anticorruption conventions adopted by both organizations.


MESICIC Update

May 25, 2007 is the deadline for the third group of states to be reviewed within the MESICIC framework – Colombia, Panama, Chile, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, and Bahamas – to reply to the questionnaire. This is also the deadline for civil society organizations to provide information with respect to these states. Please note, replies to the questionnaire and civil society comments must adhere to guidelines established in the MESICIC Rules of Procedures.


Anti-Corruption Briefings at the OAS

Visitors from the Monterrey Technological Institute of Higher Studies were briefed on advances in the Follow-up Mechanism to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) this past March 20th by OAS legal officer Enrique Martinez. Mr. Martinez gave a similar presentation on February 28 to members of the Phelps Stokes Fund. Both presentations were given as part of the “OAS Briefings” program, which is offered to diplomats, government officials, military officers, university faculty, policy analysts and students, as well as to the general public.

Read more here.


 

Anti-Corruption Newsletter
Edition N° 5 - March 2007

Upcoming Events:


What is the MESICIC?

  • The Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, known as MESICIC for its Spanish acronym, is a tool to support the development of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption through cooperation between states parties.

    Read more here

 

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