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The global civil society network for the implementation and monitoring of the
United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)

Dear Reader,

Diplomats and anti-corruption experts from governments are meeting at the UN in Vienna this week for meetings of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group – IRG and the UNCAC Working Group on Prevention.

Civil society observers, unfortunately, remain excluded from these UNCAC meetings. The UNCAC Secretariat will host the annual UNCAC briefing for registered civil society organizations on Wednesday (13:15-15:00 CET) on the outcomes of the UNCAC implementation review and on thematic reports (see the briefing agenda). The briefing is the only opportunity for civil society representatives to formally engage with the Secretariat and delegations between the Sessions of the UNCAC Conference of the States Parties.

The priority issues we will discuss with States this week: the need to expand space for civil society organizations to participate in the UNCAC and its implementation; the impact of public access to beneficial ownership information in tracing stolen asses; and the benefits of open contracting.

In this newsletter, you will find:

• more information on three interesting civil society events this week on the margins of the UNCAC meetings which you can join;

• written submissions by civil society organizations to the IRG – including all the submissions which were rejected by the UNCAC Secretariat because they refer to specific countries.

For full details about our events this week and our written submissions, see: https://uncaccoalition.org/irg13/.

In addition, we have launched the Victims of Corruption Short Film Series, shedding light on the stories of victims of corruption through a visual medium. One film will be featured every month on our website and social media. Take part in the conversation and follow us with the hashtags #VoCSeries, #VictimsofCorruption and #Corruption.

Submissions to the IRG

The UNCAC Coalition has prepared the following submissions to the IRG:

• Our civil society members collaborated on several regional submissions, with our submission from Europe calling for more effective whistleblowing systems and whistleblower protection; from Sub-Saharan Africa stressing the need for more transparency in extractive industries; from MENA on the urgency to advance the right to information; from Asia-Pacific on inadequate civic space; and from Latin America on the impact of corruption on underrepresented groups (in Spanish and English);

• A statement from our working group on environmental crime and corruption;

• A statement on strengthening the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism to enhance global efforts to prevent and combat corruption;

The below submissions were not accepted by the UNCAC Secretariat because they discuss country situations and were found not to be in line with the highly restrictive practice around the UNCAC NGO that prohibits any such references:

• Executive summaries of recent civil society parallel reports from CSOs on national UNCAC implementation in Uganda, Argentina, Togo, Honduras, Liberia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Benin, Brazil, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, and Uzbekistan;

• Comments by Transparency International Russia on the Executive Summary of the UNCAC Review in Russia.

Interesting Events at the IRG

The UNCAC Coalition and its members are co-organizing three special side events on the sidelines of the IRG’s 13th session:

1. The Path to Ending Opaque Company Ownership: Tracing Stolen Assets and Preventing Corruption through Beneficial Ownership Transparency

   16 June 2022, 09.00-10.00, Vienna time (VIC, Room M3 – hybrid event) - to join via Zoom, register here.

   Co-hosted by the UNCAC Coalition and Transparency International, sponsored by Norway, this event will highlight the impact of beneficial ownership transparency.
   

2. At the Heart of the Struggle: Human Rights Defenders Working Against Corruption – Strengthening civil society participation in the UNCAC

   17 June 2022, 14.00-15.00, Vienna time (VIC, Room M3 – hybrid event) - to join via Zoom, register here.
   

   Organized by the UNCAC Coalition and sponsored by Switzerland and Chile, speakers will discuss the findings and recommendations of UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor’s recent report on human rights defenders working against corruption, as well as opportunities to strengthen the participation of civil society in the UNCAC.

3. Preventing Corruption through Open Contracting: Good Practices for UNGASS Procurement Implementation

   16 June 2022, 14.00-15.00, Vienna time (VIC, Room M3 – hybrid event) - to join via Zoom, register here.

   Organized by Open Contracting Partnership and sponsored by the United States, this event will focus on procurement transparency as a central part of corruption prevention featuring government and civil society perspectives from three regions. Speakers will discuss how open contracting can advance UNGASS implementation through partnerships, data, and digital transformation.

Victims of Corruption Short Film Series

The UNCAC Coalition has just launched the Short Film Series: Unveiling our Stories “ Victims of Corruption” based on the videos submitted to the Short Film Contest last year. Our feature film for the month of June is 18 Plaintiffs, submitted by Ahmed Fauzi from Indonesia, which looks at 18 victims of corruption of government social aid related to Covid-19.

Corruption is happening behind closed doors. Society as a whole, institutions, communities, the public, and individuals are victimized, due to both direct and indirect consequences of corruption. Therefore, the aim of our short film series is to give a voice, a face, and a platform to such victims of corruption who struggle to be recognized and who are seeking reparation.

Please follow the series on social media with the hashtags #VoCSeries, #VictimsofCorruption, and #Corruption. Learn more about the Short Film Series here!