OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

Uneven enforcement of laws prohibiting foreign bribery distorts international business competition and undermines development.

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The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (“OECD Anti-Bribery Convention”) was established to promote a bribe-free, level playing field for companies around the world. It establishes legally binding standards to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions. The Convention is a key instrument for curbing global corruption because the 41 signatory countries are responsible for approximately two-thirds of world exports and almost 90 per cent of total foreign direct investment outflows.

The Coalition for Integrity is focused on promoting consistent enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

Some of our advocacy work includes:

Commenting on the Draft Revised Recommendation on Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions
Evaluating the United States Foreign Bribery Enforcement by contributing comments to the Phase 4 Review of the U.S. Implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention.
Contributing to Transparency International’s Annual Progress Reports on the enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.
Forming a coalition of key U.S. business and labor groups and successfully placing foreign bribery enforcement on the Obama Administration’s agenda, resulting in bilateral exchanges with China and India.
Defending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) against attempts to weaken it and successfully advocating for the issuance of FCPA guidance by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contributing to the Phase 3 Review of the U.S. by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
Successfully advocating for the publication by the OECD Working Group of official information on cases and investigations on a country-by-country basis.
Securing common standards contained in the OECD Recommendation on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credit that require export credit agencies to adopt stronger anti-bribery requirements and stronger due diligence.

While we have made progress, unfortunately, there are still 20 countries with little or no enforcement. About half of the Convention countries have failed to prosecute any foreign bribery case since they joined the Convention.

To make the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention meaningful, there needs to be substantial enforcement in countries representing half of the world’s exports. The Coalition will continue to work to promote the national advocacy campaigns and continue advocating for stronger enforcement of foreign bribery laws by all countries.

Useful Links:

OECD Foreign Bribery Report
OECD Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials‌‌
‌OECD Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance‌