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THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the Annual Report of the Permanent Council to the General
Assembly (AG/doc.4265/04 add. 3);
BEARING IN MIND the mandates contained in resolution AG/RES. 1943
(XXXIII-O/03), “Follow-up on the Inter-American Convention against Corruption
and Its Program for Cooperation”;
RECALLING that the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held
in Quebec City, devotes a special chapter to the fight against corruption and
that commitments are made therein on the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption, the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption, and the establishment of a follow-up mechanism for implementation of
said Convention, as well as the strengthening of the Inter-American Network for
Cooperation against Corruption, the strengthening of civil society participation
in the respective states in the fight against corruption, and the adoption of
policies, processes, and mechanisms to protect the public interest;
CONSIDERING the importance of the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption, the fact that it has been ratified by 30 OAS member states, that 28
of them now participate in the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), and that the number of
States Parties to the Convention and participating in MESICIC has, in each case,
increased by one over the past year;
BEARING IN MIND that, in the Declaration on Security in the Americas, the
states of the Hemisphere reaffirmed their commitment to the fight against both
passive and active corruption, which constituted a threat to their security;
stated that cooperation, mutual legal assistance, extradition, and concerted
action to combat corruption constituted a political and moral imperative; and
pledged to strengthen the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC);
RECALLING that the Heads of State and Government, in the Declaration of Nuevo
León, recognized “that corruption and impunity weaken public and private
institutions, erode social values, undermine the rule of law, and distort
economies and the allocation of resources for development”; pledged, inter alia,
to increase their “cooperation within the framework of the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption, particularly by strengthening its follow-up
mechanism”; and charged the Conference of States Parties to the follow-up
mechanism of the Convention with proposing “specific measures” to strengthen
this mechanism;
RECALLING ALSO that, in the Declaration of Nuevo León, the Heads of State and
Government expressed their concern regarding corrupt, illegal, and fraudulent
practices in the management of some national and transnational enterprises,
which could have a negative impact on economies, in particular those of
developing countries and on their producers and consumers;
RECALLING FURTHER that, in the Declaration of Nuevo León, the Heads of State
and Government also agreed to hold a meeting of the States Parties to the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, to take place in Managua,
Nicaragua, in mid-2004;
WELCOMING the results of the First Conference of States Parties within the
MESICIC framework and, in particular, the document “Conclusions and
Recommendations of Concrete Measures to Strengthen MESICIC”
(SG/MESICIC/doc.103/04 rev. 6), which is appended to this resolution;
WELCOMING ALSO the work of the Committee of Experts of MESICIC, since its
inception, which is referred to in the report it presented for consideration to
the Conference of States Parties in the framework of the Mechanism
(SG/MESICIC/doc.95/04 rev. 4);
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the OAS General Secretariat has been performing the
functions of the MESICIC secretariat and that, as part of the measures for
implementation of the mandate issued in the Declaration of Nuevo León, the
Conference of States Parties within the MESICIC framework recommended that the
OAS General Assembly adopt certain decisions in relation to the strengthening of
the Technical Secretariat of MESICIC and to its mission; and
WELCOMING the signing by numerous states of the Hemisphere of the United
Nations Convention against Corruption, adopted in Mérida, Mexico, on December 9,
2003,
RESOLVES:
1. To urge those member states of the OAS that have not yet done so to
consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be,
the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and to participate in the
Follow-up Mechanism for its implementation.
2. Likewise, to encourage those member states of the Organization that have
not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as
the case may be, the United Nations Convention against Corruption, so that it
may enter into force as soon as possible.
3. To urge the states parties to the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption to take any measures they deem necessary to adjust their domestic
legislation and comply with the commitments they undertook upon ratification of
or accession to the Convention.
4. To urge the states parties to the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption, on the basis of the Convention and the applicable laws and treaties,
to improve regional mechanisms for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters
and to apply them, in order to respond to requests from authorities who, under
their domestic law, are authorized to investigate or prosecute the acts of
corruption described in the Convention, with a view to combating impunity.
5. To support the strengthening of the Follow-up Mechanism for the
Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC)
and, in that connection:
a. To express its satisfaction with the First Meeting of the Conference of
the States Parties within the framework of the Follow-up Mechanism for the
Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), on
April 1 and 2, 2004, in Washington, D.C.;
b. To endorse the “Conclusions and Recommendations of Concrete Measures to
Strengthen MESICIC (SG/MESICIC/doc.103/04 rev. 6), adopted at the First Meeting
of the Conference of States Parties within the MESICIC framework;
c. To express its satisfaction with the decision taken at that meeting to
strengthen the Conference of States Parties within the MESICIC framework as a
political forum for addressing topics of hemispheric cooperation against
corruption, and with the decision to grant its Chair the power to follow up on
the decisions of said Conference and report to the member states when
appropriate;
d. To express its satisfaction with the work of the Committee of Experts of
MESICIC and, in particular, with the adoption of the reports, in the context of
the first round, of Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Panama,
Ecuador, and Chile; and to urge the Committee to continue this process, taking
into account the conclusions and recommendations adopted by the Conference of
States Parties;
e. To request the Secretary General, in pursuit of the conclusions and
recommendations of the First Meeting of the Conference of States Parties within
the MESICIC framework, and in keeping with Article 113 of the Charter, to make
the necessary arrangements so that the Technical Secretariat that has been
supporting MESICIC, funded by the Regular Fund, is mainly tasked with rendering
permanent services to that Mechanism within the Secretariat for Legal Affairs,
ensuring that the other support services rendered by the Technical Secretariat
for Legal Cooperation Mechanisms may continue in an efficient and uninterrupted
manner;
f. To request the General Secretariat to identify sources of internal OAS
funding, such as the Regular Fund, and of external funding, such as
international and regional financial institutions and official and other
national agencies, to provide adequate funding for the Follow-up Mechanism for
the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC)
and, when appropriate, for the full and effective implementation of its
recommendations; and
g. To express its satisfaction with the decision, taken at the First Meeting
of the Conference of States Parties to MESICIC, to accelerate the first round of
the evaluation process.
6. To support the holding of a meeting of the states parties to the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, to take place in Managua,
Nicaragua, on July 8 and 9, 2004, in accordance with the Declaration of Nuevo
León, and, in relation to that meeting:
a. To provide that the meeting shall be funded from resources available in
subprogram 10W of the program-budget of the Regular Fund for 2004. Any
additional expense, or expense not provided for in the Regular Fund, shall be
covered by external funds or by the state hosting the meeting;
b. To request the General Secretariat to render the necessary technical
secretariat and administrative services for the preparation and holding of that
meeting; and
c. To instruct the Permanent Council and the Conference of States Parties
within the MESICIC framework to carry out appropriate follow-up of the results
of the meeting of the states parties to the Convention, to be held in Managua,
Nicaragua.
7. To request the General Secretariat to continue carrying out, in the
execution of the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against
Corruption, technical cooperation activities to provide assistance in the
signature or ratification of, or accession to, the Inter-American Convention
against Corruption and in its implementation, and in the exchange of information
and experiences among government authorities responsible for this area,
including those of the Inter-American Network for Cooperation against
Corruption.
8. To instruct the Permanent Council to follow up on this resolution, which
will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the
Organization and other resources, and to present a report on its implementation
to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth regular session. |
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