    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [April 1, 1998]
    [Page 484]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Senate Transmitting the Inter-American Convention Against
    Corruption
    April 1, 1998

    To the Senate of the United States:
        With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to
    ratification, I transmit herewith the Inter-American Convention Against
    Corruption (``the Convention''), adopted and opened for signature at the
    Specialized Conference of the Organization of American States (OAS) at
    Caracas, Venezuela, on March 29, 1996. The Convention was signed by the
    United States on June 27, 1996, at the twenty-seventh regular session of
    the OAS General Assembly meeting in Panama City, Panama. In addition,
    for the information of the Senate, I transmit the report of the
    Department of State with respect to the Convention.
        The Convention was the first multilateral Convention of its kind in
    the world to be adopted. The provisions of the Convention are explained
    in the accompanying report of the Department of State. The report also
    sets forth proposed understandings that would be deposited by the United
    States with its instrument of ratification. The Convention will not
    require implementing legislation for the United States.
        The Convention should be an effective tool to assist in the
    hemispheric effort to combat corruption, and could also enhance the law
    enforcement efforts of the States Parties in other areas, given the
    links that often exist between corruption and organized criminal
    activity such as drug trafficking. The Convention provides for a broad
    range of cooperation, including extradition, mutual legal assistance,
    and measures regarding property, in relation to the acts of corruption
    described in the Convention.
        The Convention also imposes on the States Parties an obligation to
    criminalize acts of corruption if they have not already done so.
    Especially noteworthy is the obligation to criminalize the bribery of
    foreign government officials. This provision was included in the
    Convention at the behest of the United States negotiating delegation. In
    recent years, the United States Government has sought in a number of
    multilateral fora to persuade other governments to adopt legislation
    akin to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This Convention
    represents a significant breakthrough on that front and should lend
    impetus to similar measures in other multilateral groups.
        I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration
    to the Convention, and that it give its advice and consent to
    ratification, subject to the understandings described in the
    accompanying report of the Department of State.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    April 1, 1998.