Quickly approaching are the 17th session of the UNCAC IRG and the Working Group on Prevention (topics: anti-corruption and integrity education for children and young people; access to information; corruption in sport), taking place between the 18th and the 22nd of May at the UN in Vienna.
The annual NGO briefing will take place on the margins, on 19 May, between 13:15-15:00 CET, and will be open to representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) accredited to the last CoSP11 in Qatar, as well as to those with ECOSOC accreditation.
Although the NGO briefing is the only formal meeting open to civil society attendance, that week will provide an important opportunity for our community to promote the implementation of CoSP resolutions, especially Resolution 11/2 on the 2nd phase of the UNCAC’s Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM). According to UNODC’s roadmap for the implementation of Resolution 11/2, States will be deliberating throughout the year on the templates of key documents for the next phase of reviews – in preparation for the one-day CoSP Special Session which will take place in November (exact date TBC). We will continue to share input with States Parties to help ensure that the documents guiding the next phase of reviews translate the enhanced mandate into a strong practice, ensuring that reviews are relevant, inclusive, transparent and help advance national reform efforts.
Together with States Parties and civil society partners, we are co-organizing several events that week focused on resolution implementation – details will be in another newsletter.
Opportunities for civil society to engage include:
- Ask to join your country delegation to the meetings: The formal sessions of the UNCAC Subsidiary Bodies are closed to civil society observers in their organizational capacity. CSOs may wish to reach out to their government and request inclusion in the country delegation to the meetings (assuming that the government will not cover the costs).
- Participate in the NGO briefing and make a written submission to the IRG: CSOs that were accredited to CoSP11 or have ECOSOC status may participate in the NGO briefing, and prepare written submissions that will be published on the 17th IRG session webpage: written submissions should be sent directly to UNODC, uncac@un.org, by 4 May (if this is your first submission, get in touch with us for guidance).
- Encourage your government to report on its implementation actions, taking into account civil society’s perspective when doing so, and to publish its statements on the Prevention Working Group webpage: the Working Group will discuss good practices and challenges in access to information, a topic of high-priority for civil society. It is a common practice for States to make their submissions to the working group public.