Transparency International calls on Latin American and African leaders to address corruption at ASA Summit

Transparency International, the global organisation leading the fight against corruption, calls for the Latin American and African high-level officials participating in the Africa South America Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to seize the opportunity in their meeting this week to find ways to work together to combat corruption.

Transparency International calls on attendees, including the UNASUR, the African Union, and in particular their host Equatorial Guinea to integrate good governance practices, anti-corruption tools and transparency into any decision resulting from this high level meeting. Leaders from Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Suriname, among others, will attend the meeting.

Given the presence of several heads of states at the gathering, Transparency International would like to remind them of the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference Brasilia Declaration calling on "leaders everywhere to embrace not only transparency in public life but a culture of transparency leading to a participatory society in which leaders are accountable".

Attendees will also hold discussions about trade issues and cooperation, providing an excellent opportunity to look into actions to stem foreign bribery in business dealings. Brazil and South Africa have ratified the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. 

The ASA Summit should promote the ratification of international and regional anti-corruption conventions like the OECD Convention and the United Nations Convention against Corruption as basic pillars for greater transparency.

The Africa South America Summit aims to enhance relations between South American and African countries by reinforcing political and economic ties between the two continents. Transparency International fully supports the strengthening of these important ties and hopes stronger working relations can be used to help defeat bribery, secret dealings, abuse of power and international crime as drivers of corruption.