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OAS Anti-Corruption Mechanism Adopted Report on Haiti

The Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted its first report on Haiti on the implementation of this treaty in the framework of the Fourth Round of Review of the Mechanism, during its Twenty-Fourth Meeting held from September 8 to 12 at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, DC.

Bearing in mind that the Republic of Haiti was not party to the MESICIC when the First Round of MESICIC was conducted, the report is a comprehensive review of Haiti’s implementation of the provisions of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption that the Committee of Experts of the MESICIC selected for review in the First Round and the Fourth Round, which is currently being carried out by the MESICIC.

The examination was carried out taking into account Haiti’s response to a questionnaire, information gathered by the MESICIC Technical Secretariat, and, as a new and important source of information, an on-site visit to the country from April 8 to 10, 2014 by a Commission comprising representatives from Ecuador, Panama, and the Technical Secretariat. During the visit, the review team met with representatives of government institutions as well with representatives of civil society organizations, private sector and professional associations, on issues of relevance to the fight against corruption.

FIRST ROUND

Among the recommendations made to Haiti related to the First Round, are the need to establish standards of conduct to regulate, specifically and in detail, those situations that could constitute conflicts of interest for senior government officials (such as Ministers and Secretaries of State), members of Parliament and members of the Judicial Branch and the Public Prosecution Service, as well as the appropriate mechanisms to enforce them; to adopt the Decree (“Arrêté”) setting the fines to be paid in the event of mismanagement (“fautes de gestion”), in accordance with the provisions of Article 80 of the Decree of February 16, 2005, on the preparation and execution of the finance laws; and to conduct a study to identify the principal difficulties that public officials encounter when filing complaints concerning acts of corruption of which they are aware, with a view to identifying challenges and recommending corrective measures. A complete list of the recommendations can be found here.

FOURTH ROUND

In the Fourth Round, the following oversight bodies of the Republic of Haiti were reviewed: the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC); the Superior Court of Accounts and of Administrative Disputes (CSC/CA); the National Public Procurement Commission (CNMP); the Superior Council of the Judicial Branch (CSPJ), and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF).

Among the recommendations formulated were: to strengthen the ULCC, the CSC/CA, the CSPJ and the IGF by ensuring that they have the infrastructure they need to properly perform their functions, and the conditions necessary to attract and retain the required human resources, especially in their regional offices, taking the availability of resources into account.

In the case of the ULCC, the Report recommends consideration of providing it with the authority to conduct ex officio investigations of acts of corruption, and establish formal mechanisms enabling cooperation between the ULCC and the organs and entities of the Judicial Police in Haiti, so as to avoid duplicating investigations and wasting resources; should conflicts of jurisdiction arise, ensure that the ULCC, given its area of expertise, is assigned priority status for purposes of investigating corrupt acts.

During this Twenty Fourth Meeting, similar reports were adopted for Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Belize and Grenada. The Haiti report adopted by the Committee, as well as the aforementioned countries, are available here.

The MESICIC is a cooperation mechanism between states, with the broad participation of civil society organizations, 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 initiative in the context of the OAS, which has strengthened even more so this reciprocal review mechanism. For more information, please visit the Anti-Corruption Portal of the Americas.

Reference: E-397/14