Strengthening the Civil Society capacity to combat corruption and impunity

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to enhance the ability of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in El Salvador to detect, deter, and investigate corruption in all sectors of government and present corruption cases for prosecution.

Corruption in El Salvador is both a governance and economic problem. It permeates all sectors of society yet has the most significant impact on the most vulnerable sectors of society, increasing costs and reducing access to services, health, education, and justice. According to the Central America Institute of Business Administration, the annual cost of corruption in El Salvador is estimated at 1.3 billion dollars, equivalent to 5% of the country’s gross domestic product. Transparency International evaluated El Salvador with a score of 36/100 on its corruption perception index.

INL seeks to create solid foundations for a comprehensive fight against corruption by collaborating with civil society to hold government institutions accountable, especially in the areas of budgeting, public expenditure, and public service delivery. This project will develop citizen-driven accountability measures while finding new ways to support and enhance the traditional mechanisms of citizen oversight and engagement, such as political checks and balances, accounting and auditing systems, administrative rules, and legal procedures through a civil society dialogue.

With this project, INL expects to expand CSO’s capacity to monitor, detect, investigate, and report corruption cases in El Salvador. This will (1) increase civil society's participation in monitoring and analyzing instances of possible corruption, (2) increase understanding of corrupt practices through reporting and investigations, and (3) disseminate information about the anti-corruption efforts of relevant actors of society.