Inter-Parlamentary Forum of the Americas Forum Interparlamentaire des Amériques Foro Interparlamentario de las Américas Fórum Interparlamentar das Américas

Working Group 1 - Strengthening Democracy

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION

The Working Group's two sessions were carried out in an atmosphere of cordiality and enthusiasm, with broad participation by the thirty-odd parliamentarians in attendance. In the first session, there was consensus that corruption is a serious systemic problem that undermines the operation and legitimacy of institutions in all the countries. The participants also related their experiences in the fight against corruption, with emphasis on legislation adopted in their countries and other legislative efforts to counter this phenomenon. The Working Group reached the following conclusions on the theme of governance and corruption:

Political institutions need to be strengthened and made more transparent an independent. There is a need to reduce monopolies and concentrations of power, as well as the degree of discretion of public servants, and to increase the independence and capacity of oversight bodies, especially the judiciary.

The oversight function of parliament needs to be strengthened, for example, in the monitoring of budgetary implementation. As well, it is important to exercise internal control of parliaments and of government agencies, including agencies that handle significant resources, such as customs administrations and tax-collecting agencies.
The media and civil-society organizations have a central role to play in combating corruption, mainly as watchdogs over government actions, but they must act responsibly and objectively.

Education systems have an important role to play in the promotion of ethics and democratic values and practices, as a preventive measure against corruption.

Given the increasing transnationality of this phenomenon, it is important to achieve inter-parliamentary cooperation for the harmonization of laws against corruption such as the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, and also on the funding of election campaigns and political parties.

RECOMMENDATIONS

On the basis of the various points made by the Group's participants, the following recommendations are proposed:

Promote in our societies, through the education system, the ethical and moral values that underpin a democratic political culture, with special emphasis on education programs for children and youth.

Promote the use of the new information and telecommunication technologies to ensure greater transparency in the operation of governmental institutions and in processes for government procurement and for the framing, implementation and evaluation of public policies.
Adopt and enforce codes of ethics for parliamentarians and for other public servants at all levels. Likewise, urge the media to adopt their own codes of professional ethics.
Make the necessary decisions to ratify anti-corruption cooperation treaties, especially the Inter-American Convention, and bring national legislation into line with them.

Harmonize inter-American legislation so as to make viable extradition proceedings against all persons convicted of corruption and fugitives from justice.

Encourage legislative initiatives that ensure the legality of electoral processes and transparency in the funding of political parties and election campaigns.

Establish, under FIPA, a permanent anti-corruption working group, taking into account the experiences of other organizations in this field.

Drugs and Crime

The Working Group, after a cordial and well-informed debate on drug trafficking and crime, acknowledged the transnational nature of the drug problem and recognized that it is shared problem with a shared responsibility among the countries in the Hemisphere. The participants related their experiences in their fight against drug trafficking and crime with emphasis on the high social costs that it brings on their countries. The Working Group reached the following conclusions on the theme of drug trafficking and crime:

Drug trafficking cannot be solved on solely a national basis but instead international cooperation is essential for combating the problem. In this regard, greater cooperation is needed between supply and demand countries as well as those countries who find themselves in-transit from the supplying country to the consuming country.

Multilateral rather than unilateral evaluation mechanisms are the most effective manner to identify and address the problems that exist and to find solutions to them.

Measures to combat the drug problem should also include efforts to address societal costs.
Alternate development programs are essential for the solution to the drug problem, but there is a need to examine their societal impact as well.

The spillover effects on a country due to the pursuit of legitimate drug policies by a neighbouring country are acknowledged and should be addressed on an international basis.

RECOMMENDATIONS

On the basis of the various points made the Group’s participants, the following recommendations are proposed:

Enhance efforts on an international basis to address the clear link between supply and demand, as it is a shared responsibility among the countries of the Hemisphere.

Although strong law enforcement measures are needed to combat the drug problem, emphasize the need to find solutions to the social costs drugs place on a country.

Promote greater international cooperation, especially by consumer countries, to ensure the success of alternative development programs for crops, as it is an essential component for the fight against drug trafficking.

Harmonize legislation especially in regards to seizures and confiscation of proceeds of money laundering and in the international trafficking of firearms and chemical precursors. Likewise, efforts should be undertaken to ratify and implement the pertinent international agreements that are in place for the combat against drugs.

Encourage initiatives to address the spillover effects of drug trafficking on countries due to legitimate policies being undertaken by their neighbour countries and encourage international cooperation among those affected.

Recognize that the most effective manner to confront the drug problem is not through unilateral methods, but rather through multilateral evaluation mechanisms conducted by international organizations that encourage mutual confidence, dialogue, cooperation and collaboration.

To strengthen, through education at all levels, the principles and values that will discourage the consumption of narcotics and will effectively combat the drug problem and organized crime.