31 August 2020 –

The UNCAC Coalition is glad to announce that Helen Darbishire, the director of Access Info Europe, has been elected as the new Chair of the UNCAC Coalition, the network that coordinates civil society activity in monitoring and promoting the UN Convention against Corruption.

Helen Darbishire was elected with 100% of the votes cast by UNCAC Coalition Coordinating Committee (CCC), in an election with ten ballots submitted of 11 eligible voters. She will serve for a one-year term.

The UNCAC CCC – the organisation’s board – guides the Coalition’s activities and oversees the work of the Managing Director, Mathias Huter, and the Vienna Hub office.

“I am delighted to represent the UNCAC Coalition and to promote its values and actions across the globe, in particular the need of open governments with strong culture of transparency and accountability in order to counter and prevent corruption,” stated Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access Info.

The coming year will be a priority year for the UNCAC Coalition, with the UN planning to hold the first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) against corruption in June 2021 and the 9th Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the UNCAC in Egypt in the autumn of 2021.

Helen’s role as the Chair of the UNCAC Coalition will also include strengthening ties with two other processes in which she is involved, including on the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership and the Advisory Board of the Open Data Charter.

Access Info had recently, in July 2020, been elected to one of the two international seats on the UNCAC Coalition Coordinating Committee, with 75.7% of the votes cast in the first round of voting.

Since its foundation in 2006, the Coalition works for ending corruption by providing technical and financial support as well as guidance and training to CSOs to engage in and contribute to the UNCAC review process, developing policy proposals, convening key players from government and civil society to refine and adopt actions.