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OAS Secretary General Travels to Colombia to Participate in Conference on Hemispheric Cooperation against Corruption

  June 20, 2011

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, traveled today to Colombia to participate in the “Second Conference on the Progress and Challenges in Hemispheric Cooperation against Corruption” to be held in the city of Cali on June 21 and 22 in the framework of the activities of the Mechanism For Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, known as MESICIC.

During his trip to Colombia, Secretary General Insulza will hold meetings with the Vice President of the Republic, Angelino Garzón; with the Governor of the Valle del Cauca, Francisco José Lourido, who will host a dinner upon his arrival; and with the Mayor of Santiago de Cali, Jorge Iván Ospina Gómez, who will host a lunch in honor of the Secretary General and will present him with the keys to the city.

The head of the hemispheric organization will participate in the opening ceremony of the Conference alongside the Vice President of Colombia on June 21. Participants in the event include national and international experts who will debate issues related to the protection of whistleblowers of acts of corruption; the mechanisms to promote civil society participation in the fight against corruption; the strengthening of the responsibility of the private sector; public servants’ sworn statements of interest; and training initiatives as useful tools for the prevention of this serious problem.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-730/11