FORUM: Political 2

QUESTION OF: Measures to combat corruption in Latin American economies

SUBMITTED BY: The Republic of Finland
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its resolution 55/61 of 4 December 2000, which established an
ad hoc committee for the negotiation of an effective international legal
instrument against corruption,
Recalling its resolutions 56/186 of 21 December 2001 and 57/244 of 20
December 2002 on preventing and combating corrupt practices and transfer
of funds of illicit origin and returning such funds to the countries of origin,
and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 2001/13 of 24 July
2001,
Reaffirming also the Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) approved by the
General Assembly in resolution 58/4 of 31st October 2003,
Fully alarmed by the peak of corrupt activities involving Latin American
governments and leading enterprises such as the Mensalo scandal, the
arrest of several political figures such as Radwan Sabbagh and the
Guatemalan former president Otto Perez Molina as well as the regrettable
murder of Argentinian public prosecutor Alberto Nisman,
Noting corruption as an obstacle for democracy, income and gender equality
and the development of nations as well as an impediment to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals set by the UN in the year 2000,
Conscious that Latin America is one of the most corrupt regions in the world,
1. Deplores the abuse of political impunity in order to benefit from
corruption;
2. Further deplores the embezzlement of public funds, the obstruction of
justice, bribery and money laundering both in the public and private
sectors;
3. Urges the creation of anti-corruption instruments within nations active
during election periods in charge of controlling and ensuring there is no
data manipulation nor illicit financing of any political parties or
candidates;
4. Strongly suggests opening political financing to public scrutiny so as to
make known who is financing which political party or candidate and the
amount of money they are financing them with thus avoiding crime
and corruption to infiltrate State matters and/or political issues;

5. Encourages Nations to create bodies designated specifically to the

identification of corrupt officials within the law enforcement by:
a) Maintaining regular, strict controls of all legal procedures executed
by the police or State officials,
b) Carrying out spontaneous and sporadic inspections of police
stations and minor operations in order to ensure clean transactions
and safe environments for civilians,
c) Creating a safe and trusted platform where whistle blowers may
present denunciations against corrupt officials which shall be
investigated accordingly;
6. Solemnly affirms all organisations in charge of the identification,
prosecution and eradication of corruption in all countries should be
sufficiently independent from governments and all types of influence
which may interfere with the objectives of such organisations;
7. Calls upon Member States to set sanctions, both monetary and of
imprisonment, applicable to all individuals who take part in activities of
a corrupt nature such as money laundering, embezzlement, the bribery
of an official or the acceptance of a bribe, and the obstruction of
justice;
8. Congratulates Latin American Nations for their combined efforts
against corruption and heartens them to continue with these in order
to eradicate successfully all corruption within the region;
9. Emphasizes the importance of international cooperation of
neighbouring countries and the major relevance of strict border
controls in order to successfully identify any corrupt officials or
criminals who may be attempting to escape or infiltrate the country
with illicit money, drugs or goods;
10.
Trusts that all Member States affected by this issue create
accessible platforms where civilians may present anonymous and safe
denunciations without fearing the abuse of any of their human rights,
ensuring that these platforms are properly advertised and the
population suitably informed regarding the procedures relevant to such
denunciations;
11.
Requests all Member States to facilitate the private ownership of
resources and promote clear property rights;
12.
Asks that all Member States improve public knowledge regarding
corruption and its negative effects on society as well as their rights and
responsibilities as civilians through education, advertisements and
campaigns;
13.
Suggests further that civil service agents receive a decent salary
in order to avoid temptation in the form of bribery or any other type of
illicit activity;

14.
Requests financial organizations not to generate a significant and
unpayable debt and dependency to other states which are fighting
corruption within their governments, avoiding new conflicts between
and within regions as well as intervening on the development of each
country;
15.
Calls upon governments to strengthen their commitment to
accountability, integrity and transparency, setting new global
standards in order to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption
since an honest and efficient Democracy is key in the battle against
corruption;
16.
Considers the lessening of governments interventions in
competitive markets;
17.
Recommends the implementation of robust training program for
future employees, and the related activities properly documented,
training should ideally include employees of relevant third parties as
well, the training would entail an increase in awareness of corruption in
industries and how to avoid it;
18.
Calls upon Member States to implement an ethical anticorruption educational system in schools at all age levels:
a) Children would be taught social values, focusing on ethical and anticorruption ones,
b) The introduction of anti-corruption clubs in primary schools focusing
on:
i.
An effort to reach young people at an impressionable age and
inculcate the values of open and responsible governance,
ii.
Increasing awareness of the world around them,
Exposure to the different walks of life around them to
develop the idea and awareness of others around them
Field trips to cultural avenues to teach them about the
different types of culture and people in the world,
iii.
An inclusion of ethics and anti-corruption classes in daily
schedules to prepare children to not only be aware of the
wrong doings of the government, but also to say no when
facing corruption;
19.
Asks for the creation of the Anti-Corruption Agency, an
international organization that specializes in exposing corruption
scandals, this agency will be made possible by:
a) Creating a global fund that will give financial resources to the
Anti-Corruption Agency, the input of this money will be a
certain percentage of each countries yearly income,
b) Partnering with United Nations and local law enforcements in
order to have a presence in areas that are under investigation
by the Anti-Corruption Agency,

c) Creating a data base that allows full transparency of economic

reports whether it reports from the private or public sectors,
d) Implementing severe judicial sentences to those individuals
who are found mishandling finance and making sure that fair
elections are carried out in order to replace corrupt leaders,
e) Adding monthly reports that must be submitted by each of the
countries government to the Anti-Corruption Agency in order
to fully monitor the movement of finance,
f) Rewarding individuals that denounce corruptive deals and
financial theft;
20.
Requests organizations to decline financial aid when facing the
Washington Consensus, in order to avoid political and economic
dependency as the councils main objective is to assist countries in
their economic and social development so as to prepare them to deal
with similar issues on their own in the future;
21.
Calls for passing liberal and contemporary laws that citizens can
understand;
22.
Hopes the OECD (Latin America Anti-Corruption program)
strengthens implementation and enforcement of international and
regional anti-corruption conventions and promotes integrity in the Latin
American region.