versión en español

The Convention emerged from a conviction of the governments of the Americas that corrupt practices have grave and damaging effects on democracy, on functioning economies and on the life of citizens. This conviction was bolstered by cases of grand corruption in the countries of the Americas and by weak national legislation that permitted unequal competition between national and foreign companies bidding for public contracts.

In 1997 the Convention entered into force, and now includes strong preventive measures regarding policy and internal norms, sanction of specific corruption practices at the national level, especially bribery, and international cooperation to fight cooperation. Today the Convention has been signed and ratified by 33 countries, almost all countries in the hemisphere, and the OAS carries out activities with the goals of promoting and implementing the Convention.

The first international, juridical anti-corruption instrument of its kind, the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption served as a model for other anti-corruption conventions, such as the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption.

• An overview of the Convention

  The Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (OAS Convention) was the first international anti-corruption Convention when it was adopted in 1996 by the member states of the OAS. It represents regional consensus about what states should do in the areas of prevention, criminalisation, international cooperation and asset recovery.
  Click here to read more about the Convention.

• Civil society organizations in the Americas work to make the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption more effective

  Since the adoption of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption in 1996, civil society organizations from across the hemisphere have lobbied for its rapid signing, ratification and implementation. These same groups also called on OAS Member States to create a follow-up mechanism to the Convention, in order to assure full implementation of the Convention in each country. Transparency International (TI), through its National Chapters in the Americas, has led advocacy work at the national and international levels.
  Click here to read more about the imlementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption.

• What the experts say about the Convention

  Expert Articles published in
  The Americas Civic News Agency - InterAmerican Democracy Network

• From the Organization of American States (OAS)

  Transparency International to present proposals on strengthening corruption sanctions on the continent at an OAS intergovernental meeting on 28 and 29 March.
• A selection of news stories about the Convention