By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer

Monterrey, Mexico -- Fighting corruption is a shared responsibility of developing and develoloped countries alike, U.S. Under Secretary of State Alan Larson says.

During a March 21 panel discussion on anti-corruption and corporate governance at the U.N. Financing for Development conference, he said that talking about corruption is not an exercise in finger pointing but rather an attempt to address an issue of public and corporate systems that are not adequately accountable.

These systems need to be strengthened, Larson said. And it is important that developed countries are part of the solution, he added.

However, finding this solution will not be easy, Larson said, reflecting on the serious breakdown in corporate responsibility and accountability in the case of Enron Corporation. Enron allegedly failed to inform shareholders about risky dealings that threatened its finances in spite of the rigorous U.S. system of corporate governance, he added.

At a March 19 discussion earlier at the conference another State Department official expressed satisfaction that the role of corruption as an impediment to development was emphasized in the conference program.

"This is a very important part of the dialogue here in Monterrey, and we take it very seriously," David Luna said.

A number of U.S. officials expressed satisfaction that strong anti-corruption language was included in the final document of the meeting, the Monterrey Consensus, which was approved in advance of the conference.

Dealing with corruption has been a recurring theme during the Monterrey meeting.

Activists from poor countries warned donor nations that much new development aid might be squandered by corrupt leaders and businessmen if corruption is not restrained.

Others accused some multinational corporations of bribing their way to their countries' riches and accused developed countries of providing a safe haven for fortunes gained through corruption.

But many delegates said that both developed and developing nations have interest in rooting out corruption, and therefore both sides must be part of the solution.

Botswana President Festus Mogae said that the focus on anti-corruption has not been imposed on developing nations but rather grows out of their experience and values.

Mogae said that an anti-corruption drive must be based on democracy to be effective because citizens must believe in the integrity of the political process to join the fight against corruption.

But even then it will not succeed, added Patrick Chisanga, a businessman from Zambia, if political will is lacking.

He said that an effective anti-corruption strategy has to be broad based and involve government officials, parliamentarians, businesspeople and civil society.

Chisanga said that the newly elected president of Zambia is trying to start an anti-corruption drive on a national scale because he believes that anything less than a mass movement is not likely to solve the problem.

A Mexican official, Aldo Flores, and a banker from Phillipines, Victor Valdepenas, said that weak enforcement of anti-corruption laws posed another obstacle.

Valdepenas said that despite strong anti-corruption laws in the Philippines anti-corruption charges were brought against only few high-level officials.

And in contrast to developed countries where the media play a role of watchdog, said a labor union president from Pakistan, Zahoor Awan, in many developing countries journalists bribed or blackmailed by private owners or pressured by government officials cannot play this role effectively.

Paticipants of an earlier discussion on a comprehensive anti-corruption convention that is being prepared by the United Nations suggested that new tools tested in tracking terrorist funds and laundered money could be used in the fight against corruption.