Mechanisms to Combat Corruption.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: Brief Article

IN A MOVE TO strengthen anti-corruption efforts in the Americas, twenty-one countries recently established a follow-up mechanism to evaluate the progress being made in combating the problem. The mechanism is designed to help implement the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and improve international cooperation on this issue.

Much as the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism measures progress against illegal drugs, the new mechanism will gather data from countries and recommend actions to improve efforts against corruption. It will apply only to countries that have ratified the anti-corruption treaty.

The follow-up mechanism was formally established on June 4 in San Jose, Costa Rica, while the OAS General Assembly was in session. Secretary General Cesar Gaviria told the representatives of the countries signing the agreement--all of which had ratified the anti-corruption treaty--that they had taken an important step forward.

"The mechanism that you adopted today confirms that the commitment of your states to the fight against corruption is sincere and real, that it doesn't stop at simple formalities, and that you are also prepared to carry out the obligation you acquired when you ratified the Convention," he said.

The Inter-American Convention against Corruption, adopted in 1996, was the first treaty of its kind in the world. To date, twenty-nine countries--most recently Belize and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines--have signed the treaty, and twenty-three have ratified it.

Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo made his country's ratification official during a visit to OAS headquarters on July 3. Saying that corruption "is an element that destabilizes democracy," he told the Permanent Council that the eradication of this problem is one of the main pillars...