To comply with Paraguay's obligations under article 5 (1) of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, ratified by Law No. 2,535/04, regarding developing and implementing effective coordinated anti-corruption policies that promote the participation of society and reflect the principles of the rule of law, proper management of public affairs and public property, integrity, transparency and accountability, the National Anti-Corruption Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional Anticorrupción or "SENAC") issued Resolution 44/17 on March 14, 2017, that approved the Executive Branch's Accountability Manual (the "Manual").

Basically, the Manual aims to establish guidelines for accountability of entities from the Executive Branch, such as: Paraguay's Presidency and Vice Presidency; Ministries, Secretariats, such as the Social Action Secretariat (Secretaría de Acción Social), the National Emergency Secretariat (Secretaría de Emergencia Nacional), SENAC, the Anti-Narcotics Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional Antidrogas), the Secretariat of Tourism (Secretaría Nacional de Turismo), the Anti Money Laundering Secretariat (Secretaría de Prevención de Lavado de Dinero), the Public Employment Secretariat (Secretaría de la Función Pública), the Information and Communication Secretariat (Secretaría de Información y Comunicación or "SICOM"), and many others; public banks; public entities; social security entities; and state owned corporations, such as the Paraguayan Company of Communications (Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones S.A.), Paraguay's Sanitary Services Company (Empresa de Servicios Sanitarios del Paraguay S.A.) and others, that must issue an annual accountability report for the public in general.

The Manual has four sections: (i) the conceptual framework; (ii) the institutional and normative framework; (iii) some referential public policies; and (iv) a methodological guide with stages and steps for accountability processes.

Initially, public entities' transparency and anti-corruption offices shall be in charge of carrying out the accountability processes following the Manual. However, the main authorities of each entity may delegate this responsibility to other offices or departments.

Hence, the Manual will serve as a technical guide to help to strengthen governmental transparency, aiming to promote continuous institutional improvement.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.