Experts Roundtable: A Hemispheric Approach
to Combating Corruption

November 11-12, 1999
Washington, DC

Findings, Considerations and Recommendations

Findings

1. Corruption remains a serious problem in all nations, affecting all parts of society. While some progress has been made, much more needs to be done if lasting progress is to be accomplished;
2. Corruption has many damaging aspects, including on political and economic competition;
3. Corruption is a national and transnational problem and to address it requires national action and collective, multilateral action as well;
4. The Inter-American Convention against Corruption is an important and innovative multilateral instrument for addressing the issue of corruption in the Western Hemisphere;
5. All countries should sign, ratify and fully implement the Convention;
6. The ratification of the Convention and enactment of laws are not sufficient; steps must be taken to ensure their real application and enforcement;
7. Different models for multilateral cooperation have been developed, both inside and outside of the region, that provide valuable principles and practices consistent with international law that are relevant to the fight against corruption;
8. Unilateral assessments are not constructive. Multilateral approaches are preferable; these should be based on consent, mutual respect and the general principles of international law;
9. Notwithstanding the absence of ratification of the Convention by some states, there are other international obligations relevant to the issue of corruption, such as international human rights norms and agreements on financial cooperation;
10. Civil society and the private sector have a central role to play in the struggle against corruption and in promoting transparency and integrity;
11. Freedom of expression has a critical part in the struggle against corruption;
12. Regular and timely publication of information as well as a right of access to information are critical tools for combating corruption. Regular use of the Internet and other mediums can play a valuable role.
13. There is a need for effective coordination among the various multilateral efforts to combat corruption being undertaken by the OAS, OECD, COE, IMF, World Bank, IDB, U.N., etc. In their evaluation of states’ anti-corruption reform efforts, multilateral organizations should take the progress achieved into consideration;

 Considerations for Successful Multilateral Cooperation

1. Successful efforts to promote compliance with multilateral agreements require cooperation and commitment from the nations involved, including clear goals and a comprehensive strategy;
2. There should be flexibility in developing an approach and it should be tailored to the unique needs of the region, each nation, and the subject matter;
3. All members of such a multilateral group must participate as peers;
4. Full participation should be contingent upon acceptance of the international obligations involved;
5. Discussions should be constructive and actions taken by the group must strengthen the process and not be punitive or vindictive;
6. Decisions should be arrived at through consensus and all procedures should be viewed as being fair and universally applied. There is an important role to be played by objective, fair and technically sound expertise;
7. There must be a careful balance between confidentiality and transparency;
8. There should be the fullest possible involvement of civil society and the private sector;
9. Multilateral organisms such as the World Bank, OAS, IDB, and bilateral donors should provide technical and financial assistance necessary for countries to achieve full implementation of the Convention.

 Recommendations

1. All member states of the OAS should promptly sign, ratify, and fully and effectively implement and enforce the Convention. All member states of the OAS should develop programs designed to raise public awareness of the impact of corruption and to increase the participation of civil society and the private sector in promoting probity and public ethics. The OAS should promote these objectives.
2. OAS member states should promote multilateral cooperation in the fight against corruption. States parties of the Convention should create a multilateral monitoring mechanism to promote implementation and enforcement of the Convention. The mechanism should draw on models in the hemisphere and beyond, taking into account the considerations above, including participation on an equal footing by all state parties to the Convention.
3. The functions of this mechanism would include the exchange of information, the development of technical cooperation, and the conduct of regular evaluations of the parties’ effective implementation of the Convention, through a peer review process. Evaluation teams should be composed of experts proposed by state parties to the Convention and should perform in a fair, objective and technically sound fashion.
4. The mechanism should operate on a consensus basis with the fullest respect for all participants. The evaluation of implementation and enforcement should be fair and objective.
5. Parties to the Convention should create a permanent secretariat with technically qualified staff and adequate budget.
6. The evaluation of compliance should be open and transparent taking into account legitimate needs for confidentiality.
7. Adequate procedures of consultation with the private sector and civil society should be devised and implemented in order to ensure appropriate input and communication.
8. Progress should be reported annually to the OAS General Assembly and to the public.
9. Multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, OAS, and the IDB, as well as bilateral donors, should provide technical and financial assistance necessary for countries to achieve these objectives.

Participants (in order of presentation):

Claudio Grossman, Dean of American University Washington College of Law and Vice President, Inter-American Human Rights Commission (Chile).

Daniel Kaufmann, Division Manager, World Bank (Chile).

Marcus Faro de Castro, Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Brasilia (Brazil).

Roberto MacLean, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Perú (Perú).

Michael Davies, Canadian Council for International Business (Canada).

Lucinda Low, Member, Council of the Inter-American Bar Association (US).

Raul Vinueza, Professor of Law, University of Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Gustavo Zafra, Dean of the Universidad Javeriana of Colombia (Colombia).

Ambassador Beatriz Ramacciotti, Permanent Representative of Perú to the OAS and Chair of the OAS Working Group on Probity and Public Ethics (Perú).

Jorge García-González, Director, OAS Department of Legal Cooperation (Colombia).

Selma Estrada, Director, Honduran Office of Administrative Probity (Honduras).

Eduardo Roche Lander, Comptroller General of Venezuela (Venezuela).

Roberto de Michele, Poder Ciudadano (Argentina).

Luis Carlos Ugalde, Member, Transparencia Mexicana and Chief of Staff of the Mexican Embassy (Mexico).

Ambassador Carlos Portales, Permanent Representative of Chile to the OAS (Chile).

Calvin Wilson, Executive Director, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (Trinidad and Tobago).

Victoria Figge, former Director, Panamanian Financial Analysis Unit (Panama).

Ambassador Miguel Ruiz Cabañas, General Director for North American Affairs, Mexican Foreign Ministry (Mexico).

Mark Pieth, Chair, OECD Working Group on Bribery (Switzerland).

Ambassador Roberto Casellas, Advisor, International Affairs, SECODAM (Mexico).

Peter Csonka, Division of Crime Problems, Council of Europe (Hungary).

Nancy Zucker Boswell, Managing Director of TI-USA (US).

Jennifer McCoy, Director, Latin American and Caribbean Program, Carter Center (US).

Fried van Hoof, Chairman, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights and Professor, Utrecht University (Holland).

Herman Schwartz, Professor, Washington College of Law (US).

Stanley Morris, former Director, U.S. Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (US).

Original available at http://www.transparency-usa.org/Recommend.htm