How are asset and interest declarations considered in the UNCAC?

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) mandates States Parties to set up asset and interest declarations’ systems to prevent and detect corruption. In particular, they are required to:

• “adopt, maintain and strengthen systems that promote transparency and prevent conflicts of interest” (Art. 7). 
• “establish measures and systems requiring public officials to make declarations to appropriate authorities regarding, inter alia, their outside activities, employment, investments, assets and substantial gifts or benefits from which a conflict of interest may result with respect to their functions as public officials” (Art. 8). 
• “consider establishing… effective financial disclosure systems for appropriate public officials” (Art. 52).

Linking the dashboard to national databases of asset and interest declarations

The regional project “Asset and Interest Disclosure Dashboard” sheds light on governance frameworks and availability in practice of asset and interest declarations across European countries. 

Members and partners of the UNCAC Coalition Regional Network in Europe, along with the Global Data Barometer (GDB), teamed up to build a new dashboard showing how effectively European countries collect and disclose asset and interest declarations.

We mapped out 33 countries across Europe, with the collaboration of 31 organizations. 

• The dashboard illustrates how open asset and interest declarations’ frameworks are in law (governance) and in practice (availability), focusing on online disclosure and open data. 
• It also provides the links to databases of asset and interest declarations that are publicly available online in each country (at national level), so they can be consulted by civil society organizations, journalists and interested citizens.