Colombia will become the 40th Party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 19 January 2013. OECD Deputy Secretary-General Rintaro Tamaki, speaking at a ceremony marking Colombia’s accession in Paris with Colombia’s Minister of Justice Ruth Stella Correa, said:
“Bribery distorts markets and increases the cost of doing business. This month marks the 15th anniversary of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention, the first and only legally-binding international instrument to focus exclusively on active bribery in business. Colombia’s joining the Convention sends an important signal to governments and business in Latin America of the importance of working together to fight corruption.”
Bribing a foreign public official has been illegal in Colombia since 2000. The OECD invited Colombia to join the OECD Working Group on Bribery in November 2011 and to take the necessary steps to become a Party to the Convention.
Colombia will become the 40th Party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 19 January 2013, which marks 60 days after the deposit of its instrument of accession.
Colombia will undergo systematic reviews of its implementation of its anti-bribery laws, starting with a first examination in December 2012.
The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which entered into force in 1999, outlaws the bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions. Through country monitoring and extensive peer-led follow-up, the Convention seeks to ensure that the fight against bribery is effective, thus creating a level playing field for fair competition.
The 34 OECD member countries plus Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Russia and South Africa are Parties to the Convention.
For further information, journalists are invited to contact the OECD Media Office.