Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 2.djvu/208

 114 STAT. 1090 PUBLIC LAW 106-309 —OCT. 17, 2000 International Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Act of 2000. (3) the United States Agency for International Development should consider Mexico as a key priority in its microenterprise funding allocations. TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL ANTI-COR- RUPTION AND GOOD GOVERNANCE ACT OF 2000 22 USC 2151 note. 22 USC 2152c note. SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the and Good Gkivernance Act of 2000". SEC, 202. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. International Anti-Corruption (a) FINDINGS.— Congress finds the following: (1) Widespread corruption endangers the stability and security of societies, undermines democracy, and jeopardizes the social, poUtical, and economic development of a society. (2) Corruption facilitates criminal activities, such as money laundering, hinders economic development, inflates the costs of doing business, and undermines the legitimacy of the government and public trust. (3) In January 1997 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution urging member states to carefully consider the problems posed by the international aspects of corrupt practices and to study appropriate legislative and regulatory measures to ensure the transparency and integrity of financial systems. (4) The United States was the first country to criminalize international bribery through the enactment of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and United States leadership was instrumental in the passage of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. (5) The Vice President, at the Global Forum on Fighting Corruption in 1999, declared corruption to be a direct threat to the rule of law and the Secretary of State declared corruption to be a matter of profound political and social consequence for our efforts to strengthen democratic governments. (6) The Secretary of State, at the Inter-American Development Bank's annual meeting in March 2000, declared that despite certain economic achievements, democracy is being threatened as citizens grow weary of the corruption and favoritism of their official institutions and that efforts must be made to improve governance if respect for democratic institutions is to be regained. (7) In May 1996 the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption requiring countries to provide various forms of international cooperation and assistance to facilitate the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of acts of corruption. (8) Independent media, committed to fighting corruption and trained in investigative journalism techniques, can both educate the public on the costs of corruption and act as a deterrent against corrupt officials.

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