The global civil society network for the implementation and monitoring of the
United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)
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Dear Reader,
Busy days for anti-corruption and open government experts are ahead:
The 9th Session of the UNCAC Conference of States Parties (CoSP) starts on Monday – taking place in parallel to the Open Government Partnership Global Summit, just a few days after the U.S. Summit for Democracy (8-10 December).
Despite the challenging circumstances, the CoSP will be held as a hybrid event with in-person participation in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt:
Key topics
We hope that countries will agree to advance the transparency of beneficial owners of companies and all legal entities through central registries that are accessible not only to law enforcement but also to the general public. We also hope for a roadmap on how governments will report on their follow-up to the Political Declaration adopted at the UNGASS 2021. Furthermore, the topic of civic space and civil society participation in the CoSP will be discussed, following objections by a State against the participation of eight NGOs. We also look forward to discussions on how to advance the recovery and return of proceeds of corruption in a transparent and accountable manner, as well as on measures to prevent corruption and enhance transparency and accountability.
Written submissions
For more details on the positions of the Coalition, please see our written submissions:
The CSOs in the Coalition's network have also made submissions on regional anti-corruption priorities for the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, we submitted executive summaries of civil society reports on national UNCAC Implementation in Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Honduras, Madagascar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe.
If you plan to attend the CoSP9 in person:
- Visa: Many civil society representatives have yet to receive their Egyptian visa – authorities have said these will be issued within the next few days, it appears that many visas are being issued from today;
- Make sure you closely read the health requirements of the Egyptian authorities, including quarantine requirements for travellers from southern Africa;
- Transport: Fill this form by the organizers on transport between airport, hotels and venue;
- See the COSP9 host government website for updates on logistics and transport;
- Check your airline's requirements for PCR tests;
- Monitor rules for re-entry to your country of origin.
Pre-CoSP civil society briefing
UNODC and the UNCAC Coalition will host a briefing session for civil society participants on Sunday, 12 December (please register here to attend; CSO representatives can also join virtually).
The UNCAC Coalition hosted CoSP9 briefings for civil society representatives in October (recording and slides here) and in December (slides).
Follow the CoSP
We will share regular updates throughout the Conference through special editions of our newsletter, as well as on the UNCAC Coalition website and on twitter – #UNCAC #COSP9)
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NGOs in three countries have recently released parallel assessments on national UNCAC implementation, produced with support from the UNCAC Coalition:
The reports cover the implementation of Chapter II (Preventive Measures) and Chapter V (Asset Recovery) provisions of the UNCAC.
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The Ghana report discusses strengths and weaknesses in UNCAC implementation, illustrated by several interesting case studies of recent events and scandals in the country. While Ghana has made significant efforts in improving its legislative and institutional anti-corruption frameworks, the impact of preventive measures on a national scale has been minimal. Moreover, asset recovery legislation is still at a nascent stage, and only few assessments of Ghana’s asset recovery efforts have been conducted. The report provides key recommendations to various state bodies for tackling corruption more effectively.
The report on UNCAC implementation in Pakistan finds that the country adopted several important legal amendments in recent years that provide a budgetary oversight role for Parliament and advance access to information on the federal level. However, more work needs to be done to effectively implement UNCAC provisions with regard to establishing a federal framework for the protection of whistleblowers, as well as strengthening the effectiveness of anti-corruption bodies and the judiciary.
With regard to UNCAC implementation in Paraguay, the new report finds that more independent institutions and stricter enforcement of anti-money laundering regulations are needed to advance the fight against corruption in the country. Yet, progress has been made in the area of public sector employment and the country has one of the most modern open public procurement systems, with the National Directorate of Public Procurement (DNCP) being one of the pioneering institutions in the implementation of active transparency.
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Transparency Pledge
The governments of Iceland, the Netherlands and Tunisia have recently signed our Transparency Pledge, committing to a more transparent UNCAC review process by actively engaging civil society, publishing the self-assessment checklist and the full country report. 31 countries have now signed the Pledge.
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Recent Developments from the Second Cycle Review of the UNCAC
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We are hiring!
The Vienna Hub is looking to recruit an intern (paid) starting in February 2022. Are you interested in policy & advocacy work related to anti-corruption, good governance & transparency? Find out more and apply here.
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MENA Regional Meeting
discussed Access to Information
The second regional meeting of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Group focused on Access to Information (ATI) as a tool to fight corruption. Participants reflected on the implementation of the right to know in the wider region and shared country experiences with ATI legislation from Jordan, Tunisia, and Kuwait. Read more here.
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Latin American CSOs discuss Whistleblower Protection
A recent regional meeting of CSOs from Latin America and the Caribbean discussed whistleblower protection, which lacks fundamental regulation in the region, as well as regional priorities for the UNCAC CoSP. Read more here.
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Youth engagement in Anti-Corruption
TI Madagascar, Transparency Mauritius and reAcción (Paraguay) recently shared their experiences in youth engagement on anti-corruption in a regional meeting with CSOs from Sub-Saharan Africa. Read more here.
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Member in the Spotlight
Learn more about NHC'S work here!
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Make 2021 Democracy and Open Government Summits Count
With the 2021 Summit for Democracy and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summit taking place in the coming weeks, where should energy and attention be focused to ensure these summits deliver results? That was the topic of a recent webinar hosted by OGP with a group of reformers in government and civil society from around the world, who discussed recommendations for their peers around the world to maximize the summits. Find out more here.
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Gender mainstreaming in the UNCAC
The U4 Helpdesk has produced a new brief on the gender dimension of the UNCAC. While the convention’s legal text does not reference gender, there are increasing efforts to apply a gender-sensitive approach in UNCAC implementation, to adequately address the experiences of “men” and “women”. The UNCAC Coalition's Danella Newman was one of the expert reviewers for this brief.
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Latest report from UN working group on asset recovery
How to use alternative legal mechanisms, including settlements, for the confiscation and return of proceeds of crime? A new report from the Working Group on Asset Recovery tries to answer this question by compiling and analyzing case studies and country experiences from UNCAC States Parties. Read more here.
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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!
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