CSOs in Sub-Saharan Africa continuously face significant barriers when trying to meaningfully participate in the UNCAC review process. While States Parties are encouraged to include non-governmental stakeholders in the review process, many do not, and those that do often fail to ensure their effective participation. To address these challenges, the UNCAC Coalition has developed several tools aimed at supporting both CSOs and governments in ensuring a more transparent and participatory review process.
The 11th Regional Meeting for Sub-Saharan Africa held on July 3 2024, sought to build upon the resolution from the 10th Sub-Saharan Regional Meeting — to conduct an annual engagement on how to effectively utilise the UNCAC Coalition review tools to enhance transparency and foster meaningful participation in the UNCAC review process in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transparency and participation in the UNCAC IRM?
The UNCAC implementation review mechanism (IRM) is a critical component of the United Nations Convention against Corruption because it assesses how States Parties implement the Convention. Good governance principles like transparency, access to information and meaningful civil society participation are instrumental in ensuring the effectiveness, credibility, and legitimacy of the review mechanism.
This is underscored in Article 13 of the Convention which specifically emphasises the importance of civil society in preventing and combating corruption. The provision calls on States Parties to promote the active participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as CSOs, non-governmental organisations, and community-based organisations. The review mechanism itself is further governed by Resolution 3/1, which lays out the terms of reference and procedures for the review process, encouraging – not requiring – transparency by recommending that States Parties make their self-assessment checklists and country reports publicly available. It also highlights the need for consultations with civil society during the review process.
Despite the provisions supporting transparency and civil society participation in the UNCAC review mechanism, their implementation varies significantly among States Parties. Discussions from the meeting highlighted that while some countries have embraced these principles and actively involve CSOs in their reviews, most remain reluctant. CSOs shared some of their challenges in trying to obtain the necessary information about their country review processes e.g. the name and contacts of their government focal point, the schedule of the review, accessing data and relevant documents for conducting independent assessments as well as opportunities for engaging meaningfully in the review process. These challenges are further compounded by restrictive legal and regulatory environments that limit the ability of CSOs to operate freely and advocate for transparency. Additionally, many CSOs often lack the technical capacity and financial resources required for effective participation.
The UNCAC Coalition tools
During the regional meeting, Sarah Wesonga, the Regional Coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa led the participants through practical ways of using the UNCAC Coalition’s tools to make the review process more transparent & inclusive. These tools include:
- The UNCAC Review Status Tracker: This tool monitors and publicly reports on the status of States Parties’ UNCAC review process. Based on the Coalition’s advocacy outreach, it provides stakeholders, including CSOs, with up-to-date information on the status of reviews, including whether key documents such as self-assessment checklists and country reports have been made public.
- Transparency Pledge: The Transparency Pledge is a government’s commitment to making their UNCAC review processes more transparent and participatory. By signing the pledge, governments commit to 6 key principles that seek to enhance transparency by sharing information and involving civil society in the review process.
- The Guide to Transparency and Participation: This guide provides multiple concrete steps that States Parties can take throughout the UNCAC review process to ensure that it becomes transparent and inclusive, and consequently robust, legitimate and effective. It includes best practice examples that are useful for CSOs as well.
- Civil Society Parallel Reports on UNCAC implementation: The UNCAC Coalition provides technical support and limited financial assistance to civil society organisations (CSOs) interested in participating in and contributing to the UNCAC implementation review process within their countries. These Reports are independent assessments prepared by CSOs to evaluate their governments’ adherence to UNCAC commitments. They offer alternative perspectives compared to official government reviews, focusing on identifying gaps, challenges, and successes in anti-corruption efforts.
- The Access to Information Campaign: This campaign advocates for improved public access to critical documents and data related to the UNCAC review process. The UNCAC Coalition works with CSOs across the globe to submit formal Access to Information requests to their respective governments and relevant authorities, appealing for the release of crucial UNCAC documents. See our initial results here!
CSO Initiatives in participating in the UNCAC Review process
Members also highlighted some of their advocacy initiatives in engaging in the UNCAC Review mechanisms in their respective countries, for instance, the Center for Fiscal Transparency & Public Integrity in Nigeria developed a monitoring tool for CSOs that monitors the implementation of key articles in the UNCAC. Public-Private Integrity (PPI) who authored the Gambia’s Civil Society Parallel Report on the implementation of the UNCAC are incessantly advocating for their government to adopt recommendations outlined in the report; they emphasised the need for strategic diplomacy when engaging with the government and why awareness creation through capacity building for both state and non-state actors is essential.
The Anti-Corruption Coalition in Uganda also shared their experience in participating in Uganda’s review process during the self-assessment stage, participating in the country visit and engaging with their peer reviewers. They noted that despite their advocacy to institutionalise recommendations from Uganda’s Civil Society Parallel Report, there has been limited access to information about the status of the country report. Unfortunately, in Somalia, access to information and CSO engagement in the UNCAC Review process is reportedly non-existent. Despite being one of the latest State Party to ratify the convention in 2021, the government has not availed any information about the review process. CSOs critical of corruption in the country are increasingly targeted by the state like the Somali Journalists Syndicate who have faced retaliation and arbitrary actions by authorities including a recent judicial decision to suspend their bank accounts.
Making the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism #FitForPurpose
Arjun Chaudhuri, the Advocacy and Communications Officer at the UNCAC Coalition, informed participants about the upcoming #FitForPurpose advocacy campaign. This campaign aims to urge States Parties to enhance the effectiveness of the UNCAC implementation review mechanism (IRM) in its next phase. Cognisant of the discussions underway among States regarding the format of the next phase of the IRM, the Coalition seeks to mobilise support for a more effective and accountable IRM ahead of the UNCAC Conference of the States Parties scheduled for late 2025 in Qatar. Stay tuned for further details on consultation calls and campaign strategy. Your support is crucial in pushing governments to make the IRM #FitForPurpose.
Lastly, the participants congratulated and welcomed Marlon Agaba, the Executive Director of Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda after his appointment to the UNCAC Coalition Board, the Coalition Coordination Committee (CCC), as one of the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Seat bearers. They expressed gratitude to Umar Yakubu, the Executive Director of the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, for his dedicated service as the emeritus Sub-Saharan Africa Regional representative on the board.
If you are a civil society organisation from Sub-Saharan Africa and would like to become involved, please contact our Regional Coordinator Sarah Wesonga at email hidden; JavaScript is required