Gutterman
19
through information provided by the states themselves and “through such supplemental
review mechanisms as may be established by the Conference.”
Thus the Convention leaves the prospect of a formal follow-up mechanism open
for future negotiation, subject to the obligation that it “shall establish if it deems
necessary, any appropriate mechanism or body to assist in the effective implementation
of the Convention (emphasis added).” As far as what the role non-state actors might be
in such a future follow-up mechanism, one item of the Convention’s article on
implementation merely notes that “inputs received from relevant non-governmental
organizations…may also be considered.”
43
In summary, the U.N. Convention is a binding legal treaty, requiring the legal
formalities of signature, ratification, and entry into force. Its anti-corruption provisions
are broader in scope than the Inter-American Convention and its range of obligation
slightly murkier. The U.N. Convention includes language that nods at the prospect of
developing a formal follow-up mechanism in the future (whereas the text of Inter-
American Convention did not), however its provisions for implementation remain
ambiguous and relatively imprecise. Especially since the Convention is still relatively
recent, no formal follow-up mechanism yet exists.
Transparency International: Convention Monitoring Activities
The goals of TI’s international advocacy are to “raise awareness about the
damaging effects of corruption, advocate policy reform, work towards the
implementation of multilateral conventions and subsequently monitor compliance by
governments, corporations and banks.”
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The monitoring of international anti-corruption
conventions, therefore, is one of Transparency International’s core activities and TI has
been an important actor in the three conventions discussed above.
In the mide-1990s, TI’s anti-corruption advocacy was a key factor in the
emergence of a powerful international norm of anti-corruption which subsequently
formed the backdrop to the increasing legalization of the international anti-corruption
regime. In the case of the OECD Convention, TI advocated in favour of a multilateral
43
All quotes in this section from Article 63 of the UN Convention, pages 39-40.
44
Transparency International, “About TI,” http://www.transparency.org/about_ti/index.html
Convention