ATLANTA, GA....Corruption is one of the principal threats to democracy, growth and equity in the hemisphere. It distorts public services, deters investment, discriminates against the poor, and destroys public confidence in democratic governments. This was the starting point of two days of discussion at The Carter Center by hemispheric leaders, members of the private sector, journalists, and NGOs. Representing the Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers, a group of 32 former and current heads of government from Latin America and the Caribbean, the leaders in this conference concluded that progress toward transparency can be achieved where civil society and governments work together to overcome opposition from vested interests. Indeed, important progress has been made already.
Participants from two dozen countries discussed strategies, including implementation of international conventions against corruption, the role of civil society including media and the private sector in promoting transparency, and measures to increase accountability in government-business transactions. The group encountered a diversity of opinion, driven by the very different social and economic contexts in the region, and recognized that solutions will necessarily need to be tailored to each country. Furthermore, some sources of corruption are international, including multinational corporations and narco-trafficking, and small countries may be particularly vulnerable. Solutions must therefore reach across borders.
We are also aware that corruption is systemic, affecting all aspects of society, and consequently there will be no quick fix. The solutions, too, will need to be systemic, engaging society broadly and tackling the problem from several directions at once.
Rich discussions yielded creative ideas about practical first steps. Here are some of our conclusions:
First, we recognize that although corruption is an ethical issue, it is also a policy problem, meaning it can be remedied by setting and enforcing rules that encourage people to do the right thing. It is a crime of calculation. Where the benefits outweigh the penalties for illicit behavior, systems can provide incentives for corruption. A shorthand description is Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion – Accountability. The task is to remove the opportunities provided by monopolies and discretionary decision-making power, and increase the costs of corruption through detection and enforcement of a nation's laws.
The good news is that there are solutions, and improvements can begin immediately. But it takes civic courage and commitment from leaders, international lenders and other organizations, coalitions of businesses and NGOS in civil society, to illuminate previously dark corners of government transactions. The antidote to the corruption formula is Information + Leadership + Collective Action.
Second, it is time to move from denunciations to diagnosis. Hard data is necessary to combat the problem, and it is now possible to get it. New diagnostic tools, including analyses and interviews of businesses, citizens and public officials, are now available from the World Bank and others to provide a map of the nature and location of corruption in public and private organizations. This information that can be used to devise national action plans for every segment of the society. We encourage governments to carry out these diagnoses and made them public, and then to challenge every branch of the government and civil society to create action plans to resolve their specific problems.
Third, as democracy has begun to consolidate more broadly in the hemisphere, one dilemma it has introduced is how to finance campaigns and political parties without leaving elected leaders obligated to special interest groups, narco-traffickers, or tainted money, or without spending vast quantities of money that is desperately needed for development. The interdependence of the public and private sector is highlighted by businesses dependent on public contracts for their livelihood, and political parties dependent on private contributions. Opening up those transactions through specific disclosure mechanisms will begin to level the playing field. We recommend:
a) Enforcing existing laws and strengthening regulation, oversight institutions and audit capacity.
b) Regulation and disclosure requirements for income and expenditures of parties and candidates;
c) Reducing campaign expenses by limiting the campaign period, and fostering free media time on TV and radio under equal conditions;
d) Financial disclosure requirements for public officials, elected or appointed, to avoid conflict of interest and illicit enrichment, with periodic monitoring by a special office.
e) National laws prohibiting bribery, which might be developed via a model statute process.
f) Business codes of conducts and compliance programs as a prerequisite to bid on World Bank and IDB-financed projects, or to appear on national registers of approved contractors.
g) Streamlining of public procurement laws and broad deregulation.
Fourth, transparency is the first step in combating corruption, but it requires a media and civil society capable of accessing information and then using it to demand accountability from their governments. We recommend:
a) Laws be enacted that require governments to open up and provide documentation about their budgeting and spending procedures so that citizens and journalists can have the information they need to understand and evaluate what their governments are doing;
b) Training NGOs to use new technologies, including the internet, and to monitor privatization and public contracting;
c) Publication of public contract awards, dates of delivery of goods, schedules of payments, and the bidding process in privatizations;
d) Quarterly report cards on the service delivery quality in certain sectors, such as health, as well as on efforts to reduce corruption via the national action plans;
e) Databases about civil servant credentials in order to prevent nepotism and patronage;
f) Public hearings to provide opportunities for citizens to give input on priorities for public works projects and bid requirements within budgetary limitations
g) Formation of regional informational networks and databases so that the media and NGOs can learn about access to information and successful strategies to combat corruption.
Fifth, we wish to emphasize the importance of a free press in promoting transparency and democracy. The status of press freedom in the hemisphere is sometimes discouraging. The Inter-American Press Association recently found that fourteen countries have press laws that place regulations on freedom of the press. Seventeen countries have so-called insult laws that can result in imprisonment for journalists convicted of criticizing government officials. Eight countries have laws requiring licensing of journalists or mandatory membership in associations.
In the last decade, 203 journalists have been killed in the Americas, a human rights situation so deplorable that the region's presidents and prime ministers asked the OAS last year to establish a special office for preventing such incidents, which the OAS has done. Only six countries in the hemisphere have laws dealing with the right of access to information that are considered effective.
To support professionalism in the media, and avoid unsupported denunciations that make headlines and sell papers but undercut the media's credibility, we recommend:
a) Development of laws that will secure access to information by making official documents open to public inspection without undue delay or burdensome paperwork.
b) Expansion of programs to train the press to conduct solid investigations based on evidence.
c) Development of networks through which citizens can share information and strategies for fighting corruption.
d) Strengthening of the judiciary's capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption where the evidence indicates it is merited, such that no one is tried in the press and innocent citizens have an opportunity to defend their good names in a just court.
Sixth, we are convinced that recent treaties, including the OECD Convention Against Bribery and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption are important steps in bringing a common approach to solving both the demand and supply side of bribery. But they will only be effective when fully implemented by signatory countries. We urge member states of the OAS at their June 1999 General Assembly to call for:
a) Prompt ratification by all OAS member states as per their commitments in the Plan of Action of the Santiago Summit of the Americas;
b) Creation of a peer review mechanism that will promote consistent and effective implementation of criminal laws and preventive measures, and which will share best practices and model laws;
c) Provision by the IDB and World Bank of all necessary technical assistance for capacity building in order to enable and support full implementation of the Inter-American Convention.
The corruption issue is one of concern to all nations, and should receive attention at the highest levels. Here we want to commend U.S.Vice President Al Gore for his global forum last February. In closing, we want to emphasize the need for ethical values not only in government but in businesses, journalism, banking and indeed every walk of life. Perhaps most important are the messages we convey to our children through education in schools and churches, as it is they who will pay the price if we fail to act now to stem this ill. We are commited to carrying our transparency work further, and we hope you will join us in this important endeavor.
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