A historic wave of corruption scandals across the Americas is eroding trust in public institutions, unleashing new citizen demands to improve governance and rule of law. We have before us an unprecedented opportunity to raise awareness of the costs of corruption and take concrete steps to combat it.

In April 2018, at the VIII Summit of the Americas, Peru will host the countries of the hemisphere for critical discussions around the theme of “Democratic Governance Against Corruption.” We urge the Summit negotiators to deliver concrete, measurable commitments through a plan of action that shows the people of the Americas that their leaders are committed to improving transparency and accountability. To support that process, we met in Lima, Peru on October 30-31, to propose anti-corruption policy recommendations for the Summit.

The governments of the Americas have a rare opportunity to pursue specific, discrete, and actionable policy changes. Negotiators should aim to strengthen and expand existing Organization of American States (OAS) mechanisms, explore new possibilities for multilateral agreements, commit themselves to new and verifiable standards of transparency and accountability, and hold each other accountable for commitments already made.

Our recommendations fit within three main lines of action:

In the implementation of these recommendations, countries should involve all branches of government—including judiciaries and legislatures—as well as citizenries to strengthen political and social oversight. At the same time, we recognize the importance of the private sector in the shared responsibility to combat corruption.We commend the Government of Peru for its leadership in driving this effort to develop specific, concrete actions against corruption within the framework of the Summit of the Americas, and encourage all leaders in the hemisphere to join them in this effort. We believe the peoples of the Americas are united in their determination to leave to future generations societies that are more just, more secure, more democratic, and more transparent than ever before.

Walter Albán
Executive Director 
Proética

Catalina Botero
Dean of Law 
University of the Andes

Diego Bravo
Andean and Caribbean Region Finance Leader 
General Electric

Michael Camilleri
Director, Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program 
Inter-American Dialogue

Santiago Canton
Secretary for Human Rights of Buenos Aires 
Government of Buenos AiresAna Caridad
Program Associate, Latin America and the Caribbean Program 
Carter Center

Borja Díaz Rivillas
Senior Specialist in Democratic Governance 
European Union Program EUROsociAL

Claudia Escobar
Centennial Fellow, School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University

Liliana Gamboa
Advocacy Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative 
Open Society Foundations

Rodrigo Janot
Former Prosecutor General 
Government of Brazil

Hernán Larraín
Senator (Chile); 
President, Open Parliament Network
ParlAmericas

Carolina Lessa
Director, Government Affairs 
RELX Group

Jennie Lincoln 
Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Program 
Carter Center

David Lovatón
Lawyer
Due Process of Law Foundation

Jason Marczak
Director, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center 
Atlantic Council

Manfredo Marroquín
President
Acción Ciudadana

Olga de Obaldía
Executive Director
Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Libertad Ciudadana

Daniel Pinilla
Project Coordinator 
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Ben Raderstorf
Program Associate, Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program 
Inter-American Dialogue

Alana Roriz Rizzo Lobo
Consultant, Brazil
Transparency International

Samuel Rotta
Adjunct Executive Director
Proética

Andrea Saldarriaga Jiménez
Associate Director, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center 
Atlantic Council

Pablo Secchi
Executive Director
Fundación Poder Ciudadano

Jennifer Smith
Director, LATAM Government Affairs & Corporate Citizenship 
Citigroup

José Ugaz
Former Chair 
Transparency International

Anabella Zavagno
Deputy Director 
ParlAmericas