Anti-Corruption Program to be Adopted at General Assembly

The General Assembly will consider and adopt a revised version of Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption at its annual meeting June 3-5, 2007 in Panama. The Inter-American Program acts as a road map for anti-corruption activities to be carried out by the OAS, addressing issues such as the strengthening of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), recovery of assets, technical cooperation, extradition, and participation of civil society.

The Inter-American Program was originally adopted by the General Assembly in 1997, the year after OAS member states adopted the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. To reflect the changes that have taken place in the intervening nine years, the Conference of States Parties of the MESICIC drafted a revised version of the Program during its second meeting in November of 2006.

For a copy of the draft resolution to be considered and adopted at the General Assembly, please click here.

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. May 25 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.