[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 38 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Page 2115]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption

September 16, 2000

    Yesterday I joined the leaders of 19 nations in the Western 
Hemisphere in ratifying the Inter-American Convention Against 
Corruption.
    The Convention establishes a treaty-based regime among members of 
the Organization of American States (OAS) to combat official corruption. 
OAS members who have ratified the Convention will have to criminalize 
acts of corruption if they have not already done so. Most important, 
they will have to criminalize the bribery of foreign government 
officials, a practice that punishes honest businesses, undermines 
economic development, and destroys confidence in law. The United States 
pressed for this provision, and it is a breakthrough in our effort to 
persuade other countries to adopt legislation similar to our Foreign 
Corrupt Practices Act.
    The Convention will strengthen America's ability to cooperate with, 
and receive assistance from, countries in the hemisphere in efforts to 
prevent, investigate, and prosecute corruption, through extradition, 
mutual legal assistance, and other measures. It will also enhance law 
enforcement capabilities in other areas, given the links between 
corruption and organized criminal activity.
    This Convention was the first multilateral agreement against bribery 
to be adopted anywhere in the world. It is a victory for good 
government, fair competition, and open trade through our hemisphere.