Corruption:
1. First Summit of the Americas, Miami, Florida, United States (December 1994)
The President of Venezuela, Rafael Caldera, proposed to include an initiative against corruption in the Miami Plan of Action. The initiative recommends that an Inter-American Convention against Corruption be drawn up within the framework of the OAS.
In the Miami Plan of Action, the Governments committed themselves to:
Ensure proper oversight of government functions by strengthening internal mechanisms such as investigative and enforcement capabilities, and facilitate public access to information.
Establish conflict of interest standards for public employees and effective measures against illicit enrichment, including stiff penalties for those who utilize their public position to benefit private interests.
Call on all governments to adopt and enforce measures against bribery in all financial or commercial transactions; toward this end, ask the OAS to establish liaison with the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions.
Develop mechanisms of cooperation in the judicial and banking areas in order to facilitate rapid and effective response to the international corruption investigations.
Utilize the IDB and other international financial institutions by giving priority to strengthening government regulations and procurement, tax collection, the administration of justice, and the electoral and legislative processes.
Bearing in mind international agreements and national legislation, develop applicable treaties and a hemispheric approach to acts of corruption in both the public and private sectors.
2. Between the two Summits (January 1995 � March 1998)
At a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela on March 29, 1996, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption was signed--the first of its kind in the world. Negotiated within the framework of the OAS, the Convention has been signed by 23 countries and ratified by nine.
As part of another hemisphere-wide effort, in 1997, during the regular session of the OAS General Assembly, the governments approved the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight against Corruption. In December 1997, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile joined the 29 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, (including Canada, Mexico, and the United States) in signing the Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Domestically, many governments have taken steps against corruption, such as the adoption or strengthening of anti-corruption laws and the approval of codes of ethics for public officials.
[Miami Summit/tracker.htm]