9 December 2024 –
Celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day today, we want to showcase some recent impact stories from our global membership. These impact stories demonstrate the many different ways civil society contributes to the global fight against corruption.
With vast knowledge and expertise, experience shows that when civil society can meaningfully participate and collaborate with governmental stakeholders, anti-corruption outcomes dramatically improve.
As colleagues in many countries face threats and attacks against themselves and their organizations, our message is clear: Civil society #DeservesAVoice – we need safe and enabling environments for non-governmental organizations and activists at the national level, and opportunities to meaningfully participate in anti-corruption efforts – in particular, in the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the UNCAC’s Implementation Review Mechanism.
This International Anti-Corruption Day, we call on States and other stakeholders to put civil society participation first.
What did our membership achieve in 2024?
The following stories demonstrate our network’s contributions to anti-corruption efforts this year. They demonstrate the value of civil society participation in the global fight against corruption.
1. Nigeria
The Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity launched an innovative new UNCAC monitoring mechanism, which maps efforts undertaken to implement the UNCAC in Nigeria, noting responsible government bodies but highlighting gaps in implementation and providing recommendations for advancing UNCAC implementation.
2. Malaysia
The Wildlife Justice Commission contributed to breaking up an international pangolin trafficking ring through collaboration with Malaysian authorities.
To date, the collaboration has resulted in the arrest of more than a dozen people, including a senior customs official, and the seizure of more than 5 million USD worth of assets.
3. Philippines
Open Ownership supported the Philippine government in developing a cutting-edge new government procurement act. The act requires all those bidding on or engaging in government contracts to disclose their beneficial owners.
Open ownership has provided long-term support to the Filipino government on beneficial ownership transparency.
4. France
Transparency International France secured a formal warning against Nestlé after the company reportedly engaged in unethical lobbying practices.
The warning came after Transparency France submitted a complaint to France’s High Authority for Transparency (HATVP), resulting in an investigation by the institution and by Parliament.
5. Bulgaria
The Center for the Study of Democracy prompted improvements in Bulgaria’s Anti-Corruption Strategy and money laundering enforcement after the organization’s monitoring system revealed a 30% increase in reports of corruption by individuals .
6. Palestine
The AMAN Coalition successfully advocated for a cross-sectoral anti-corruption strategy in Palestine. Previous strategies were only owned by the Anti-Corruption Commission, limiting their potential.
The AMAN Coalition achieved this feat through sustained campaigning and advocacy activities.
7. Dominican Republic
Open Data Charter helped the Dominican government strengthen its open data portal. The revamped portal, which is based on the Inter-American Open Data Program (PIDA), includes information on political party financing, asset declarations of public officials and other vital anti-corruption data.
8. Nigeria
The HEDA Resource Center helped the Nigerian government trace laundered assets worth more than 300 million USD. The organization is now working with law enforcement and international partners to recover the assets and promote accountability.
9. Jordan
The Jordan Transparency Center successfully advocated for the strengthening of Jordan’s Whistleblower Protection Act. The new act, which is currently awaiting approval from the Prime Minister’s Office, is expected to include stronger whistleblower protection measures, such as an electronic system for protection requests, periodic reviews of protection actions, and greater awareness-raising efforts regarding the rights of whistleblowers.
10. Paraguay
Semillas para la Democracia exposed links between organized crime and political financing in Paraguay. The organization’s CREER project trained dozens of journalists, activists, academics and others on identifying dirty money in electoral campaigns, which resulted in multiple submissions to the country’s electoral tribunal.
A successful year for the UNCAC Coalition membership
This blog has shown how civil society expertise and experience can create significant value in the global fight against corruption.
From Paraguay to Nigeria, France to the Middle East, civil society catalysed real change on anti-corruption issues in 2024.