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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
A
Commission of the Anti-Corruption Mechanism of the Organization of
American States (OAS) held an “on-site” visit to The Bahamas from
September 23 to 25 with the country’s consent, as part of the analysis
that the mechanism carries out in accordance with the
methodology adopted by consensus among its member countries.
The Commission of the Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption
(MESICIC)
was made up of Tatiana Gutiérrez Delgado, Lead Expert of Costa Rica to
the Committee of Experts of the MESICIC and Public Ethics Prosecutor in
the Attorney General’s Office, and
Rodrigo Silva, Officer in the Department of Legal Cooperation of the
OAS General Secretariat.
Prior to the beginning of the visit, the Attorney General and Minister
of Legal Affairs for The Bahamas, Allyson Maynard Gibson, welcomed the
Commission and highlighted the importance and significance to The
Bahamas of the on-site visit as part of the efforts
carried out by the OAS, through the MESICIC, in the fight against
corruption.
During the three day visit, meetings were held with representatives of
the Office of the Attorney General, the Public Disclosure Commission,
the Office of the Auditor General, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the
Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Compliance Commission,
and the Public Accounts Committee, in order to obtain objective and
complete information and reveal potential difficulties in the
implementation of the Inter-American Convention. The team also obtained
information on the implementation of the recommendations
that were formulated by the MESICIC to The Bahamas in the First Round,
pertaining, among other issues, to the prevention of conflicts of
interest and post-employment restrictions; systems for registering
income, assets and liabilities of public servants; and
the regime for access to information.
The team also had the opportunity to meet with civil society and private
sector organizations in order to obtain their perspectives on the role
of said oversight bodies in the fight against corruption.
The results of this visit form part of the review process for the Fourth
Round that is currently being carried out by the Committee of Experts
of the MESICIC, which will conclude with the adoption of The Bahamas
country report by the Committee at its next plenary
meeting to be held in March 2015, at OAS headquarters in Washington DC.
The MESICIC is a cooperation mechanism between States, with the
participation of civil society organizations, established within the
framework of the OAS, in which the legal/institutional framework of each
country is reviewed for suitability with the Inter-American
Convention against Corruption as well as the objective results achieved
therein. The incorporation of on-site visits as a stage and integral
part of the MESICIC review process represents an innovative and
pioneering initiative in the context of the OAS, especially
for a peer review mechanism and the importance of the issues it
addresses.
For more information on the MESICIC, please visit the
Anti-Corruption Portal of the Americas
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