South America and Mexico Platform

_{Central America | Caribbean | South America and Mexico | West and Sahel Africa | Southern Africa | Eastern Africa | Western Balkans | Central Asia | South East Asia}

The Regional Platform includes ten countries:

Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay

The Platform for South America and Mexico was created through a high-level conference held from 6 to 10 May 2019 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

During this event, authorities from the ten participating countries, together with representatives of civil society and development partners, agreed on a set of recommendations to fast-track the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) through four thematic areas recognized as regional priorities [Outcome Document (PDF) - EN | ES]. In 2020, a mapping and baselining exercise was conducted for each country, followed by the implementation of technical assistance in response to identified needs.

More recently, a regional meeting took place from 14 to 17 March 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. Its objective was to transition the Platform of South America and Mexico into a second phase of implementation. To this end, the event provided a space for dialogue amongst authorities, with a view to taking stock of progress made and challenges faced by the countries regarding the commitments of Cartagena, as well as to reassess the relevance of the four thematic areas vis-a-vis the future and potentially define new programmatic priorities.

By the end of the meeting, participants agreed on the Roadmap 2022-2024 which contains five updated thematic areas, specific objectives and concrete actions to address corruption in the region with the support of UNODC.
[Executive Summary (PDF) - EN | ES] [Roadmap 2022-2024 (PDF) - EN | ES]

PRIORITY AREAS

ANTI-CORRUPTION IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

This thematic area is divided into the following main proposed actions:

^{Objective 1}
^{Encourage companies to generate corporate integrity and compliance policies.}^Activities:^{- Promote the development and effective implementation of integrity policies in the private sector}^{and corporate compliance programmes through guidelines and incentives.}^{- Promote the requirement of corporate compliance programmes to access public procurement}^{processes or any type of benefits from the public sector.}^{- Promote spaces for dialogue between the public and private sectors, as well as citizens, for the}^{formulation of legislation, regulation mechanisms and collective action aimed at developing}^{integrity policies in the private sector.}

^{Objective 2}
^{Adopt the necessary measures to establish the liability of legal persons for acts of corruption.}
^Activities:
^{- Adopt robust legal frameworks to establish the liability of legal persons, including with}
^{proportionate, effective and dissuasive sanctions.}
^{- Promote the adoption of mitigating mechanisms for potential sanctions or other incentives in}
^{exchange for effective collaboration with authorities under the framework of a corruption}
^{investigation and seek compensation for damages when applicable.}
^{- Establish permanent training programmes for justice operators and other authorities in charge of}
^{investigating legal persons for acts of corruption.}

^{Objective 3}
^{Strengthen the transparency of the beneficial ownership.}
^Activities:
^{- Develop effective legal frameworks for the identification and publicity of the beneficial ownership.}
^{- Establish registries or other mechanisms for the identification and publicity of the beneficial}
^ownership.
^{- Train the officials of the competent agencies for the implementation of legal frameworks and}
^{mechanisms, including capacity building based on comparative experience of other countries.}
^{- Establish international cooperation mechanisms that facilitate the identification of the beneficial}
^ownership.

SYSTEMS OF INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY

This thematic area is divided into the following main proposed actions:

^{Objective 1}
^{Promote the adoption and development of national integrity systems that include the different branches of the State.}
^Activities:
^{- Develop and implement national anti-corruption policies and/or strategies.}
^{- Establish multisectoral working groups to produce action plans with indicators that allow their monitoring and evaluation.}
^{- Carry out regional cooperation to share experiences and good practices in the development and implementation of national integrity systems, national anti-corruption policies and strategies.}

^{Objective 2}
^{Strengthen institutional integrity in public, private and mixed entities.}
^Activities:
^{- Promote the development of integrity standards, mechanisms and tools in institutions, including}
^{corruption risk management.}
^{- Promote the exchange of information by standardizing data among the institutions of the national}
^{integrity system.}
^{- Develop policies and management of human resources based on meritocracy, career stability,}
^{professionalization and training of public officials, including in matters of integrity, ethics and anticorruption concepts.}

^{Objective 3}
^{Strengthen the management of asset declarations, as well as the prevention and management of}
^{conflicts of interest.
Activities:}
^{- Promote effective asset declaration and conflicts of interest systems that use technology and data}
^{cross-checking to verify and detect irregularities.}
^{- Facilitate the exchange of information related to declarations of assets and interests through}
^{national and international cooperation.}
^{- Train officials in charge of managing and verifying asset declarations in auditing techniques and}
^{raise awareness concerning conflicts of interest in the public sector.}

PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS

This thematic area is divided in the following main proposed actions:

^{Objective 1}
^{Ensure the protection of whistleblowers and effective reporting channels.}
^Activities:
^{- Develop or strengthen legal frameworks for the effective protection of reporting persons.}
^{- Implement effective mechanisms for reporting acts of corruption and the protection of}
^{whistleblowers.}
^{- Develop standard operating procedures to ensure the protection of whistleblowers.}
^{- Train officials and relevant actors for the effective protection of whistleblowers and promote}
^{awareness raising campaigns to encourage the reporting of acts of corruption.}

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

This thematic area is divided in the following main proposed actions:

^{Objective 1}
^{Promote integrity and transparency in public procurement processes.}
^Activities:
^{- Design and implement comprehensive transactional systems for the generation and use of information and open data in all phases of the public procurement process, to facilitate}^{transparency and accountability.}
^{- Develop effective policies and mechanisms for the management of conflicts of interest and the identification of the beneficial ownership in the framework of public procurement.}
^{- Increase participation of bidders in public procurement processes based on the principles of transparency and competition, as well as objective decision-making criteria.}
^{- Strengthen the supervision and accountability of the public procurement system by the means of audits, including through collaboration with supreme audit institutions.}

CORRUPTION AND JUSTICE

This thematic area is divided in the following main proposed actions:

^{Objective 1}
^{Strengthen judicial integrity.}
^Activities:
^{- Promote the strengthening of the autonomy and independence of the prosecution service and the judiciary.}
^{- Develop measures to strengthen the integrity of judges and prosecutors and establish transparent and effective mechanisms for accountability.}
^{- Promote the creation and strengthening of integrity offices in the judiciary and cooperation between them.}
^{- Ensure that the recruitment and performance evaluation processes of judges and prosecutors, along with the management of the judicial and prosecutorial careers, are based on objective criteria such as merit, fairness and aptitude.}

^{Objective 2}
^{Strengthen the investigation of acts of corruption in administrative and criminal matters.}
^Activities:
^{- Develop compatible legal frameworks and mechanisms to promote the use of special techniques and other investigation tools in corruption cases.}
^{- Establish and strengthen specialized units with the necessary independence to investigate cases of corruption, as well as task forces to improve inter-agency coordination.}
^{- Define pre-established parameters and criteria that allow the prioritization of cases for a better and more agile investigation of corruption.}
^{- Promote and strengthen the interoperability of systems to share information related to the}
^{investigation of corruption cases, including intelligence information, among the pertinent bodies.}
^{- Strengthen the capacity of competent officials to carry out complex financial investigations in cases of corruption and other related crimes.}

^{Objective 3}
^{Promote international cooperation.}
^Activities:
^{- Promote cooperation agreements between specialized authorities in the fight against corruption.}
^{- Promote joint investigations for corruption cases.}
^{- Promote active participation in different networks, including GlobE, IAACA, RRAG - GAFILAT, among others, in order to facilitate the exchange information for the investigation of corruption cases and asset recovery.}

Civil society

Thirty-six civil society organizations (CSOs) from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay are part of the CSO network fast-tracking UNCAC implementation. UNODC convened 25 CSOs of the network in Quito (Ecuador) from 18 to 20 February 2020 for a roundtable to discuss ongoing implementation efforts and to design civil society initiatives for cross-border collaboration. CSOs are continued to be supported in the platform, notably through grants given to CSOs in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay to deliver anti-corruption projects. Additionally, a Latin America Anticorruption e-Platform was launched to promote collaboration between CSOs, to identity partners, to monitor and promote UNCAC implementation, and to share best practices.