Anti-Corruption Efforts in Latin America: Lessons Learned

Experts from around the world met in Washington, D.C. to share “lessons learned” from anti-corruption efforts in Latin America. The day-long seminar, which took place July 10, 2007 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), featured a presentation on the results from the First Round of the Mechanism for Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (known as MESICIC for its acronym in Spanish). Read more here.

Implementing MESICIC Recommendations through National Plans of Action

Six countries have embarked on a technical cooperation project with the General Secretariat of the OAS to create National Plans of Action to implement recommendations made by the MESICIC Committee of Experts.  Each Plan of Action will include the following elements:

• Specific actions necessary to implement the recommendations of the MESICIC Committee of Experts
• Institution or entity responsible for implementation
• Estimated costs and resources needed
• Time frame for execution
• Indicators that measure the expected results and means of verification.

Once the Plan of Action is drafted each country will hold a national workshop to discuss and improve the Plan.  Representatives from civil society, government agencies, the judiciary, legislature, private sector, and international funding agencies will participate.  Belize, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay are the six countries which recently signed Memorandums of Understanding with the OAS General Secretariat to begin work on the project. Read more here.

New Standard Format required for MESICIC National Progress Reports

Starting in 2008 the States Parties to the MESICIC will be required to use a new standard format for submitting the yearly progress reports, as referenced in Articles 31 and 32 of the Rules of Procedure. The MESICIC Committee of Experts adopted the standard format during its Eleventh Meeting held on June 29, 2007 at OAS headquarters.

MESICIC Update

From August 18 to September 13, 2007 the MESICIC Technical Secretariat will be translating the six draft preliminary reports corresponding to the third group of states to be reviewed during the Twelfth Meeting of the Committee of Experts.  At the end of this period the Secretariat will send the translated drafts to the members of the preliminary review subgroups.  For the full schedule of MESICIC activities click here.