*EPF405 06/29/00
Text: State Dept.'s Boucher on OECD Anti-Corruption Convention
(Says 13 signatories have not ratified it) (610)

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher says 13 of the 34 countries that signed a treaty banning bribery of foreign public officials two and a half years ago have not ratified it.

Boucher said another weakness in the implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions is the willingness of several signatory countries to continue to allow tax deductions for bribes, what he calls "an unconscionable practice."

He added that the implementing legislation in several countries, including Japan and the United Kingdom, may be inadequate to fulfill their obligations under the convention.

Boucher made those comments in Washington June 29 in announcing the release of "Battling International Bribery 2000," the second of six annual reports to Congress reviewing implementation and enforcement of the treaty.

The 29 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) plus other countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe signed the treaty in December 1997. The convention went into force in February 1999 for 12 countries that ratified it.

The United States government leads an international drive to stamp out bribery in international transactions. "Bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions unfairly penalizes companies that play by the rules and seek to win contracts through fair competition," Boucher said in a statement.

Following is the text of Boucher's statement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PRESS RELEASE
Office of the Spokesman

June 29,2000

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

BATTLING INTERNATIONAL BRIBERY 2000

The Department is pleased to announce the release of Battling International Bribery 2000, the second of six annual reports to the Congress reviewing implementation and enforcement of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

The Convention was adopted in December, 1997 by the United States, all other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and five other countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile and the Slovak Republic.

The report analyses the implementing legislation of the 20 countries, in addition to the United States, that had completed the ratification process as of June 10, 2000.

The United States is concerned that the implementing legislation in a number of countries -- including Japan and the United Kingdom -- may be inadequate to fulfill their obligations under the Convention. Moreover, 13 countries-including Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands -- have not yet completed ratification. Several signatory countries are still allowing tax deductions for bribes -- an unconscionable practice.

We will continue to urge these countries to remedy current deficiencies. All parties have a shared interest in ensuring that each party vigorously implements the Convention and enforces its laws.

The OECD Convention represents a key element in the Administration's wider anti-corruption strategy, which includes the Global Forum on Fighting Corruption launched by Vice President Al Gore, the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (currently under negotiation), and initiatives in a number of regional forums, including the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS-sponsored Inter-American Convention Against Corruption has been signed by the United States and is currently awaiting action in the Senate.

Through all these initiatives, the United States seeks to capitalize on the growing international political will to combat corruption and to employ it to achieve concrete action in favor of good governance.

Bribery of public officials undermines good governance by governments and businesses alike. Bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions unfairly penalizes companies that play by the rules and seek to win contracts through fair competition. This pernicious practice and other forms of corruption impair individual rights, especially among the poor and disadvantaged, and corrode the effectiveness and legitimacy of political institutions.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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