BRAZIL RECEIVES ON-SITE VISIT OF THE OAS ANTICORRUPTION MECHANISM (MESICIC)

From March 20 – 23, 2012, Brazil received, with its consent, a visit by the Commission of the OAS Anticorruption Mechanism (Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption – MESICIC), as part of the review process of said Mechanism, carried out in accordance with the Methodology adopted by consensus by its Member States.  

The Commission was composed of the President and the Secretary General of the Transparency and Public Ethics Board of Uruguay, Mr. José Pedro Montero Trabel and Mr. Iván Toledo, respectively, and the Chief of Multilateral Affairs of the National Office of Prosecution of Administrative Corruption of the Office of the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Simón Castaños, who represent their countries before the Mechanism, and who were also supported by the General Secretariat of the OAS in the visit.  

During the four days of work, the members of the Commission met with representatives of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), the National Council of Justice (CNJ), the Office of the Federal Attorney General (MPF), the Federal Police, the Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff and the Secretariat for Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, among others, in order to obtain objective and complete information and reveal potential difficulties in the implementation of the Inter-American Convention. It also provided an opportunity to facilitate the obtaining of information related to best practices, and provided Brazil the opportunity to benefit from or to offer technical assistance.

The Commission also had the opportunity to meet with civil society organizations, private sector organizations, professional associations, academics and researchers, in order to address the following topics: the implementation of the new Access to Information Law; challenges for the investigation, prosecution and punishment of acts of corruption and the Proposed Constitutional Amendment 15/2011; the judicial effectiveness in preventing and combating corruption; the role of the oversight bodies in the management of ethics and the fight against corruption, and; private sector participation in initiatives to combat corruption.  

The results of this visit forms part of the review process that is currently being carried out by the Committee of Experts of the MESICIC, and which will conclude with the adoption of the Brazil country report by the Committee at its next plenary meeting to be held in September 2012, in Washington DC 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 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 at www.oas.org/juridico/english/fightcur.html

What is the MESICIC?

The Mechanism For Follow-up on 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.

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