The Pandora Papers – considered the biggest leak of financial data in history – have revealed once again how the rich and powerful hide billions of dollars in tax havens around the world. Up to 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents and prime ministers, as well as 300 public officials, have been exposed to use secretive networks of shell companies and trust funds to conceal their ownership of luxury villas, yachts, bank accounts, and company shares.
 
These revelations are shocking but sadly come as no surprise. The perpetrators were aided by consultants, lawyers, and accountants. Furthermore, inadequate measures to ensure transparency and accountability have allowed those in positions of power to easily hide their often ill-gotten wealth and vested interests from public scrutiny, enabling corruption to strive. 

Important tools to tackle secretive company structures we have been advocating for include:

• full public access to company ownership information, including on the ultimate beneficiaries of legal entities, through public registries,
• full disclosure of government contracts and information on all stages of contract implementation,
• as well as mandatory and comprehensive public disclosure of assets and financial interests of public officials, paired with independent oversight and effective sanctioning mechanisms. 

It is thus essential that States take decisive steps and advance the transparency and anti-corruption commitments they made in the UNGASS Political Declaration, including by adopting strong resolutions at the UNCAC Conference of States Parties (CoSP) in December.

As governmental experts from around the world met in Vienna (and virtually) last month for the 12^th resumed session of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group (IRG), we at the UNCAC Coalition discussed with delegates how States should move forward on UNCAC implementation, asset recovery and beneficial ownership transparency.


 
Our events at the sidelines of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group:
 
Post-UNGASS – Towards Implementation of Prevention Commitments
What should countries do to implement the transparency and anti-corruption commitments they made in the UNGASS Political Declaration? At this UNCAC Coalition event, a panel of civil society experts from the Open Contracting Partnership, Open Ownership, Article 19, and Access Info Europe discussed what needs to be done to advance public procurement and beneficial ownership transparency, access to information, whistleblower protection, and the role of journalists in the fight against corruption. The session was attended by more than 50 delegates, governmental experts, and civil society representatives.
 
Read the full summary here.  

Grand Corruption – Next Steps 
This event, jointly organized by the UNCAC Coalition and Transparency International and co-sponsored by Norway discussed concrete next steps to prevent and combat grand corruption. A panel of five civil society experts highlighted the need to define grand corruption and to advance international cooperation in tackling it. Many speakers further stressed the importance of civil society activism in order to expose corrupt acts and mobilize the public to end impunity. The event was attended by over 50 delegates, governmental experts, and civil society representatives.

Read the full summary here.  

Asset Recovery – Breaking New Ground
How can we move forward on asset recovery? During this side event, expert speakers reflected on the advances made in the field of asset recovery, both nationally and internationally, and presented recent developments on the ground from their respective countries. Over 70 governmental, diplomatic and civil society attendees joined for this session organized by Transparency International and the UNCAC Coalition, co-sponsored by France and Nigeria. 

Read the full summary here.  

UNCAC NGO Briefing 
While NGOs remain excluded from all officials sessions of UNCAC subsidiary bodies, they received the annual briefing on UNCAC implementation from UNODC on the margins of the IRG. During the briefing, UNODC presented its reports on the implementation of UNCAC Chapter II & Chapter V, as well as an overview of the status of the country reviews – to this end, the pace of the second cycle review continues to be way behind schedule, with only 31 out of 188 country reports concluded.

Read the full summary here.  

To find out more about the 12th resumed IRG, including our written submissions, please see here. 

Civil Society briefing on the 9th UNCAC CoSP
As we are preparing for the 9th UNCAC Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, from 13 to 17 December, we will host a briefing for interested civil society organizations on Thursday, 27 October, 14:00 (Vienna) to share information on the registration, logistics, and opportunities to participate in and contribute to the CoSP. Civil society organizations can register for the briefing here. 

Short Film Contest

The UNCAC Coalition’s Working Group on Victims of Corruption is proud to announce the launching of the ‘Unveiling our Stories: Victims of Corruption’ short film contest. The contest aims to put the spotlight on the harmful effects of corruption, by giving visibility to its victims and by highlighting the connection between corruption and human rights violations. The competition is open to anyone, ranging from amateur filmmakers to young people, students, and experienced directors. All kinds of short films will be accepted. For more information, please visit our website. We invite you to share this announcement with your professional networks and friends. The deadline for submissions is 10 November 2021.

Do you have relevant news or a success story linked to the UNCAC that you would like to feature in our next newsletter? Send us an email with the subject line "Newsletter" at info@uncaccoalition.org!