Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

182 winer and rouleThe OECD Convention on Bribery in Transnational BusinessTransactions was signed in 1997 and came into force in 1999. Underthe terms of the convention, the OECD’s 35 member countries haveagreed to introduce laws similar to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Actenacted in 1977 in the United States to make it possible to prosecutecompanies that pay bribes abroad. Major elements of the OECD conventionare the requirement to criminalize active bribery, to makebribes no longer tax deductible by corporations, to require companiesand businesses to provide adequate recording of relevant payments,and to provide mutual legal assistance to facilitate inquiries into suspectedbreaches. Of particular importance to the issue of resourceexploitation is the OECD convention’s requirement to criminalize extraterritorialbribery. As a result, bribes paid by a person who is a citizenof a signatory country anywhere in the world are subject to prosecution.The OECD convention also provides for a process of mutual assessmentsas a mechanism to evaluate and improve compliance. The processof evaluation is critical, as no prosecutions of corrupt activity have beenattributed to domestic laws enacted as a result of the convention.Enforcement of the OECD convention could also highlight where corruptpractices have led to resource exploitation and critical nodes bywhich corrupt payments have been made. Jurisdictions or institutionsidentified as nodes for handling funds relating to illicit exploitation ofnatural resources could be required to put greater due diligence mechanismsinto place as a condition of market access for the jurisdictions andof licensing for the institutions. 23Antiterrorism Standards and NormsAfter September 11, 2001, in an effort to assure UN support for combatingterrorist finance schemes, the UN Security Council unanimouslyadopted Resolution 1373, a binding document that requires all 189member states to do the following:• Criminalize the use or collection of funds intended, or known tobe intended, for terrorism• Freeze immediately funds, assets, or economic resources of personswho commit, attempt to commit, or facilitate terrorist acts andentities owned or controlled by them• Prohibit nationals or persons within their territories from aidingor abetting the persons and entities involved in terrorism• Refrain from providing any form of support to entities or personsinvolved in terrorism• Deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or committerrorist acts or provide safe havens.