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Witness Protection and Assets Declarations: Key Elements in the Hemispheric Fight against Corruption

Experts and specialists from various countries and governmental entities debated today during the opening of the “Second Conference on the Progress and Challenges in Hemispheric Cooperation against Corruption” the progress achieved in these areas, especially witness protection of acts of corruption; the processes of assets and interests declarations of public officials; and the mechanisms for an active participation of civil society in the fight against corruption.

At the conference, organized by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Director of the OAS Department of Legal Cooperation, Jorge García González, explained the progress in hemispheric cooperation against corruption in the framework of the OAS, such as the development of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, which to date has 33 States Parties, and the mechanism for the follow-up of its implementation, known as MESICIC. García González also referred to the reports the countries present on the implementation of the Convention’s dispositions, and the initiatives and tools the OAS has made available to the Member States to support them in the fight against crime, mainly in the establishment of an Information Exchange Hemispheric Network for Mutual Assistance in Penal Matters and Extradition.

In the panel on protection of witnesses of acts of corruption, the Director of Research and Analysis of Mexico’s Public Service Secretariat, José Luis Ibáñez, addressed the support and incentives provided to denounce acts of corruption and his country’s experience on this subject. The Principal Inspector of the Witness Protection Division of the U.S. Marshals Service, Norman Garza, for his part, made a detailed presentation of the witness protection system in the United States, and explained the priorities that this entity has established to guarantee the effective protection of informants of acts of corruption.

The panel also featured a presentation by the Interim Executive Director of the civil society organization “Government Accountability Project” of the United States, Beatrice Edwards, who offered the international perspective and described the procedures, incentives, and support that said organization offers witnesses. The panel concluded with a presentation on the model draft bill to facilitate and motivate the exposure of acts of corruption and protect whistleblowers and witnesses, made by Franz Chevarría, Consultant in the OAS General Secretariat, who explained its elements and characteristics.

The event, organized by the OAS Department of Legal Cooperation in the Secretariat for Legal Affairs, with the support of the Government of Colombia through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Program of Modernization, Efficiency, Transparency, and the Fight against Corruption, also held a debate on the importance of implementing a public officials’ assets and interests declarations system. In this second panel, the Deputy Director of Colombia’s Administrative Department of Public Service, Jorge Luis Trujillo, explained the details of the system of assets declarations in his country. Specifically, he spoke about the Affidavit of Assets and Income and economic activity, as well as the Public Employment Information and Management System (SIGEP) that facilitates the detection of entities’ and officials’ assets and income behavior, and which currently reaches 110 governmental entities with nearly 82,000 public officials.

The Director of the Office of Conflicts of Interests in the State Secretariat for Public Service of Spain’s Ministry of Land Policy and Public Administration, Flor María López Laguna, spoke about the system of assets and interests declarations that has been implemented there and of the changes that have taken place in that country related to the issue of conflicts of interests. She highlighted the different activities that pose conflicts of interest, the types of declarations used by Spain, and the control and management of financial assets and securities that have been implemented.

For his part, the Principal Legal Official of the OAS Department of Legal Cooperation, Enrique Martínez, presented a model draft bill on assets and interests declarations of those with public duties, one that “seeks to strengthen the legal tools available to countries for facing corruption in an effective way.” The OAS official highlighted the importance of relying on legislation to detect and prevent conflicts of interests and of incorporating a broader concept of public officials’ obligation to transparency, including all those officials who handle and administer state funds.

The Conference, inaugurated by the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, and the Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, Angelino Garzón, will take place until tomorrow, Wednesday, with debates on the responsibility of the private sector in the fight against corruption and quality management and training as tools for preventing corruption.

The Inter-American Convention against Corruption was adopted in 1996 and was the first international legal tool in this field that specifically mentions among its principles the recognition of corruption as an internationally relevant issue and the need to have an instrument that promotes and facilitates cooperation among countries to fight it. The MESICIC is a follow-up tool to promote the development of the Convention through cooperation among States, that seeks to follow-up on the commitments assumed and facilitate the implementation of technical cooperation initiatives; the exchange of information; and the harmonization of States’ laws.

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

Reference: E-733/11