Organization of American States Summits of the Americas
 
Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates
 

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JUSTICE AND RULE OF LAW: Corruption
MANDATES

  1. Continue meeting the commitments undertaken at the Eighth Summit of the Americas, in particular the Lima Commitment on Democratic Governance Against Corruption, while reaffirming our commitment to treaties such as the UN Convention against Corruption, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the InterAmerican Convention Against Corruption, and taking the following actions:

    • a. Promote gender equity and equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and anti-corruption measures, from the planning process through to implementation, follow-up, and assessment;

    • b. Establish measures, systems, and public awareness campaigns that generate incentives to improve the conditions for reporting of possible irregularities and acts of corruption, including the laundering of the proceeds generated by acts of corruption, as well as measures that provide effective protection from potential retaliation or intimidation, use of physical force or threats for reporting persons, victims, whistleblowers, witnesses, and justice and law enforcement officials, consistent with international obligations; (Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. Continue implementing recommendations received through the Follow-Up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC); reporting annually to MESICIC on progress made addressing these recommendations; and fostering the participation of civil society, the private sector, and social actors in the prevention of and fight against corruption, including initiatives that encourage public consultations, education and awareness, promote citizen participation in decision-making processes, and enable civil society to engage in monitoring and oversight, as appropriate and according to domestic legislation. (Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. Foster coordinated and transparent practices in the digital issuance of government permits by, inter alia, using digital one-stop shops as a measure to prevent corruption, promote competitiveness, and expedite the corresponding permits. (Regional Agenda for Digital Transformation, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

  1. Develop an evidence-based Action Plan that takes into account the sociocultural, economic, and structural challenges facing the Americas region and includes, among others, identifying measures for national and international coordination and cooperation, taking into account the global commitments assumed by the states with respect to health and resilience, with a view to:

    • f. Using public procurement to simultaneously promote affordability, sustainability, expertise, and development of existing health budgets in an effective, efficient, and inclusive manner; promoting ethical conduct to prevent corruption in both the public and the private sectors; and taking into account commitments adopted regionally and subregionally; (Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).

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  1. Strengthening democratic institutions for the prevention of and fight against corruption in the Hemisphere, ensuring that the competent authorities have the necessary guarantees for the proper performance of their functions. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  2. Strengthening judicial autonomy and independence, following applicable inter-American and universal standards on this matter, to promote respect for the rule of law and access to justice as well as to promote and encourage policies of integrity and transparency in the judicial system. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  3. Promoting a hemispheric initiative to coordinate the efforts of competent regional and international organizations in the framework on the Inter-American Education Agenda focusing on civic education led by the Organization of American States (OAS), through the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE), with the support of the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) and with respect for regional diversity. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  4. Promoting public awareness and citizen participation campaigns for the prevention of and participation in the fight against corruption and impunity, and on the tools available to address and combat corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  5. Recognizing the positive contributions of indigenous peoples and their traditional values and principles, and the contributions of Afrodescendent communities to improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of public administration and raising awareness in favor of the fight against corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  6. Promoting gender equity and equality and women’s empowerment as a cross-cutting goal of our anti-corruption policies, through a task force on women’s leadership and empowerment that will actively promote cooperation among inter-American institutions and synergies with other international agencies. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  7. Including different vulnerable groups in defining measures to strengthen governance and combat corruption, recognizing the serious impact it has on these populations. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  8. Ensuring transparency and equal opportunities in the selection processes of public officials based on objective criteria such as merit, fairness, and aptitude. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  9. Promoting the adoption of measures to prevent conflicts of interest, as well as the public filing of financial disclosure statements by public officials, as appropriate. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  10. Furthering codes of conduct for public officials that contain high standards of ethics, honesty, integrity, and transparency, using as a point of reference the “Guidelines for the Management of Policies for Probity in the Public Administrations of the Americas” and urging the private sector to develop similar codes of conduct. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  11. Encouraging the effective participation of the private sector in public policies to prevent and combat corruption; and urging public and private enterprises to develop or implement integrity promotion programs and training programs at all levels. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  12. Continuing to strengthen national anti-corruption measures or systems and enhancing conditions for the effective participation of civil society, social organizations, academia, the private sector, citizens, and other social actors in monitoring government performance, including the development of prevention mechanisms, channels for reporting possible acts of corruption and facilitating the work of watchdogs including other citizen oversight mechanisms, and incentivizing the adoption of digital means of participation. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  13. Promoting and or strengthening the implementation of national policies and plans, and as appropriate subnational plans in the areas of open government, digital government, open data, fiscal transparency, open budgeting, digital procurement systems, public contracting and a public registry of state suppliers, considering towards that end the participation of civil society and other social actors. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  1. Promoting the use of new technologies that facilitate digital government in order to promote transparency, interaction with citizens and accountability, through development of tools for the identification, detection, systematization, and monitoring of government procedures and, to that end, strengthening cooperation and exchange of best practices on the development and application of such technologies. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  2. Developing statistics and indicators in our States for assessing the impact of transparency and anti-corruption policies and advancing government capacity in this field. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  3. Bolstering transparency and strengthening the accountability mechanisms of regional and international organizations of which we are members. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  4. Promoting the establishment of an Inter-American Open Data Program within the OAS in order to strengthen open information policies and increase the capacity of governments and citizens to prevent and fight corruption, bearing in mind the important work done in this field within the inter-American framework and other regional and global initiatives. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  5. Promoting the adoption and/or strengthening of such legislative measures as are necessary to criminalize acts of corruption and related offenses consistent with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (IACAC). (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  6. Protecting whistleblowers, witnesses, and informants of acts of corruption from intimidation and retaliatory actions. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  7. Protecting the work of journalists and persons who investigate corruption cases in a manner consistent with international obligations and commitments on human rights, including freedom of expression. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  8. Protecting public officials, including those involved in law enforcement and the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of acts of corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  9. Encouraging adoption and/or strengthening of measures that promote transparency, accountability, appropriate accounting, and use of the banking system for income and expenditures of political organizations and parties, especially those related to their electoral campaigns, in order to guarantee the licit origin of the contributions and penalizing anyone involved in accepting illicit contributions. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  10. Considering the adoption of legal measures that could restrict access to public office for individuals convicted of acts of corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  11. Promoting the use of digital systems for government procurement and contracting of services and public works, to ensure disclosure, transparency, citizen oversight, and effective accountability. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  1. Promoting the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in all state and public-private-partnership contracts and establishing registers of natural and legal persons involved in acts of corruption and money laundering with a view to ensuring that they are not contracted. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  1. Fostering coordinated, transparent practices in the issuance of government permits inter alia by the use of one-stop shops, including in the area of construction, as a measure to prevent corruption, promote competitiveness, and expedite the corresponding permits. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  2. Implementing measures to reduce bureaucracy and simplify administrative processes at all levels of government in order to prevent corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  3. Advancing the fight against corruption, in particular in the prevention and combating of bribery of national and foreign public officials by continuing to implement, prior to the IX Summit of the Americas, the applicable recommendations from the specific rounds of the Implementation Review Mechanism of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as well as the recommendations from the successive rounds of the Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC). (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  4. Adopting a legal framework for holding legal entities accountable for acts of corruption, including domestic and international bribery, consistent with the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, when such a framework does not already exist under domestic law. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  5. Considering the provision of the broadest possible assistance, where appropriate and in keeping with the respective domestic legal frameworks, with investigations and procedures corresponding to civil and administrative matters regarding acts of corruption committed by natural and legal persons. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  6. Promoting the broadest possible cooperation among judicial, police, and prosecutorial authorities, financial intelligence units, and administrative authorities in investigations and procedures related to offenses of corruption, money laundering, and transnational bribery and corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  7. Promoting, among competent authorities, the use of flexible mechanisms for exchanges of information, cooperation, and coordination in the investigation and prosecution of acts of corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  8. Promoting cooperation between and among financial institutions and financial oversight bodies, and agencies responsible for the investigation and prosecution of acts of corruption, to provide a prompt, effective response in international investigations and asset recovery. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  9. Strengthening the international legal and institutional cooperation framework to prevent the region’s financial systems from being misused for the transfer and concealment of funds derived from acts of corruption, including those criminal offenses specified in the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  10. Furthering the adoption or strengthening of measures through relevant institutions to enable the freezing, seizure, and confiscation of proceeds of corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  1. Taking effective measures against tax evasion and to combat tax avoidance, money laundering, and the illicit financial flows derived from corruption; as well as measures to identify beneficial ownership. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  2. Promoting transparency in the exchange of tax information and requesting that the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) consider strengthening cooperation in this area among our States consistent with the existing international framework. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  3. Continuing to strengthen the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), by identifying resources to bolster its operations with a view to more efficiently addressing the new challenges that corruption poses in the Hemisphere. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  4. Calling upon MESICIC to promote instruments for the exchange and dissemination of best practices, technical capacities, and measures to strengthen legal and institutional frameworks to prevent and combat corruption that will contribute to the implementation of its recommendations. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  5. Calling upon MESICIC to coordinate with other international and regional anti-corruption bodies so as to foster synergies and to avoid duplication of efforts in the fight against corruption. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  6. Continuing to advance effective implementation of the recommendations made by MESICIC through concrete measures prior to the regular session of the OAS General Assembly, to be held in 2020. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  7. Calling upon MESICIC to develop, within the framework of its sphere of competence, an initiative for observing and measuring anti-corruption policies, with a view to formulating anti-corruption indicators, promoting corruption prevention mechanisms, evaluating the impact and progress of public policies, consolidating a database of regional best practices, and conducting prompt risk analysis. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  8. Strengthening the Inter-American Cooperation Mechanism for Effective Public Management (MECIGEP) as a forum for sharing best practices in democratic governance and open government. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  9. Calling upon the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) to support the implementation and strengthening of national human rights-based programs to develop the capacity of the police, public prosecutors’ offices, the judiciary, and domestic oversight agencies to combat acts of corruption, including those related to drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, trafficking in firearms and other weapons and the smuggling of goods and wildlife. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

  10. Requesting that the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) assist States with resources and technical capacity-building, so that they can implement the commitments undertaken at this Summit in the area of strengthening democratic governance and the fight against corruption, including those commitments that refer to implementation of legislation, institution-building, training, and cooperation. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)

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  1. Accountability is a key instrument to achieve transparency and efficiency in the use of resources administered by our governments. Fighting corruption is a key aspect of strengthening democracy and economic growth. For this reason, we call upon states to implement the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and participate fully in the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. We stress the importance of the oversight role of legislatures, as appropriate, in the fight against corruption and the importance of promoting inter-parliamentary exchanges to encourage the development of national and international strategies to fight against corruption (Declaration of Mar del Plata, 2005).

  1. We recognize that corruption and impunity weaken public and private institutions, erode social values, undermine the rule of law, and distort economies and the allocation of resources for development. Therefore, we pledge to intensify our efforts to combat corruption and other unethical practices in the public and/or private sectors, strengthening a culture of transparency and ensuring more efficient public management (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. We express our concern regarding corrupt, illegal, and fraudulent practices in the management of some national and transnational enterprises that may have a negative impact on economies, in particular those of developing countries and on their producers and consumers (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. The Inter-American Democratic Charter states that the peoples of the Americas have the right to democracy and that their governments have the obligation to promote and defend it and it establishes that transparency in government activities, probity, and responsibility in public management are key components of the exercise of democracy. We will therefore increase our cooperation within the framework of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, particularly by strengthening its follow-up mechanism. We charge the upcoming meeting of the Conference of States Parties to the follow-up mechanism of the Convention with proposing specific measures to strengthen this mechanism. These recommendations will be evaluated at a meeting of the States Parties to the Convention, to be held in Managua, Nicaragua in mid-2004. That meeting will also consider additional concrete measures to increase transparency and combat corruption. We instruct our foreign ministers to report on the progress achieved to the Fourth Summit of the Americas (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. We agree to hold consultations in the event that adherence to our shared transparency and anticorruption objectives, as articulated in the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, is compromised to a serious degree in any of our countries (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. In the framework of applicable national and international law, we commit to deny safe haven to corrupt officials, to those who corrupt them, and their assets; and to cooperate in their extradition as well as in the recovery and return of the proceeds of corruption to their legitimate owners. We also commit to enhance regional mechanisms for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and their implementation (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. The United Nations Convention against Corruption is a valuable instrument to confront this scourge, and therefore we commit to consider signing and promoting its ratification (Declaration of Nuevo León, 2004).

  1. Effective democracy requires a comprehensive attack on corruption as a factor of social disintegration and distortion of the economic system that undermines the legitimacy of political institutions (Declaration of Principles Miami, 1994).

 

 

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