New Dates for the UNCAC NGO Briefing & Preparatory meetings for the UNGASS on Corruption

17 August 2020 –

Following the postponement of the NGO briefing on the sidelines of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group (IRG) and the first intersessional meetings in preparation of the first-ever preparation of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Corruption, UNODC has published an updated timeline for these meetings.

Further below, we outline the conditions and methods of attendance.

  • The UNCAC NGO Briefing will take place on 1 September (at the Vienna International Center plus remote participation)
  • The UNCAC intersessional meeting on criminalization and prevention of corruption in preparation of the UNGASS will take place in the from September 2 to 4 (at the Vienna International Center plus remote participation)
  • The UNGASS on corruption, currently scheduled for late April 2021, will likely to take place from 2 to 4 June 2021 in New York (dates to be confirmed).

The NGO Briefing on the Margins of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group (IRG)

The NGO briefing by UNODC is the only regular forum in the UNCAC for civil society to formally engage with UNODC and delegations outside the UNCAC Conference of the States Parties. It will be held on Tuesday, 1 September, from 13:15 to 15:00 Vienna time. 

Special arrangements for participation 

  • CSO’s which have been admitted to participate as observers in the last session of the UNCAC CoSP in Abu- Dhabi, will receive invitations for the briefing, such as the invitation in this link. 
  • Participation will be in a mixed model, meaning attendance in person in Vienna + remote participation (via Microsoft Teams).  CSO’s will be allowed to send one participant to attend the meeting in person, while two more participants could attend remotely, using Microsoft Teams. The briefing will be held without interpretation due to resource constraints and technical challenges.
  • An official letter indicating the representatives of your Organization’s delegation, should include the following: (a) name(s); (b) title(s); (c) contact details including individual email addresses (which will be used to grant and verify virtual access to the session and, for those participating in person, for contact tracing purposes if needed; (d) a clear indication of whether delegates will participate in person or remotely.
  • Registrations received for the originally planned dates of the briefing for NGOs will be considered valid for the new dates. Delegations are required to confirm those registrations or inform the secretariat of any subsequent changes to the composition of the delegation.
  • The deadline for the submission of confirmations of attendance as well as of written comments for invited NGOs will be 21 August 2020 . Submissions should be sent to the secretariat of the Conference of the Parties, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, P.O. Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria, fax: +43 1 26060 5848 or an advance scanned copy to the following email address: email hidden; JavaScript is required. 

Monitor your email inboxes and the webpage of the resumed 11th session of the UNCAC IRG, for updated information.

Please note that if you apply to attend, you will not receive a notification on whether your application was received and accepted from UNODC. In case you are allowed to attend, you will receive a link for remote participation one or two days ahead of the meeting.

1st CoSP intersessional meeting for the preparation of the UNGASS

The first (previously postponed) intersessional CoSP meeting in preparation of the UNGASS, will take place from Wednesday, 2 September afternoon to the evening of Friday, 4 September – in total 2.5 days, from 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-18:00 Vienna time. 

The meeting will focus on prevention of corruption, criminalisation and enforcement and most likely have two panel discussions, before opening the floor for the general discussion and delivery of statements by delegations and observers, including from civil society.

Special arrangements for participation

  • The intersessional meetings can be attended by organisations that were admitted as observers to the UNCAC CoSP 8 in Abu Dhabi in December 2019. A formal invitation, such as the invitation in this link, will be sent to those organisations that were admitted to the last CoSP.  
  • The meetings will be held in a ‘mixed model’ of participation- One delegate could attend the meeting in person (with a maximum of 300 participants in person), while one more  delegate could attend the meeting remotely, using the Interprefy platform . (with a max. of 700 remote participants). 
  • Delegations, including CSOs,  will have the opportunity to speak. UNODC  secretariat asks for an indication wether a statement will be made by the representative participating remotely. In case delegations, including CSOs, would like to deliver a statement virtually, the statement must be sent to UNODC  in advance in writing, or to be recorded as a video and to be sent to the secretariat beforehand. 
  • Information on the composition of the Organization’s delegation, should include the following: (a) name(s); (b) title(s); (c) contact details including individual email addresses which will be used to grant and verify virtual access to the session and, for those participating in person, for contact tracing purposes if needed; (d) a clear indication of whether delegates will participate in person or remotely; (e) and for those participating remotely the role to be assigned (speaker or observer role).
  • Registrations received for the originally planned dates of the first intersessional meeting will be considered valid for the new dates. Delegations should confirm those registrations or inform the secretariat of any subsequent changes to the composition of the delegation, as well as the role (speaker or observer role) of the remote participants. 
  • The information should be provided to the secretariat as soon as possible and not later than 24 August 2020. Only scanned copies of official letters will be accepted by email and should be sent directly to the secretariat of the Conference of the States Parties, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria, Fax: +43 1 26060 5841, or a scanned copy to email: email hidden; JavaScript is required. 

Monitor your email inboxes and the webpage on the UNGASS, for the most updated information. 

Please note that if you apply to attend, you will not receive a notification on whether your application was received and accepted from UNODC. In case you are allowed to attend, you will receive a link for remote participation one or two days ahead of the meeting.

Timeline of UNGASS preparations over the next year

  • 19-20 November: The 2nd intercessional meeting for the UNGASS, focusing on asset recovery and international cooperation
  • 22-23 February 2021: 3rd intercessional, thematic focus to be determined.
  • 7 May 2021: Special Session of the UNCAC CoSP, with the purpose to approve the political declaration for the UNGASS.
  • 2- 4 June 2021 (still TBC): UNGASS on Corruption in New York

The official information, as well as the timeline of the preparatory meetings, is published on the UNGASS public website.

Please see this post for the full background information on the UNGASS on corruption, including ways to contribute and participate in the process and in the special session in New York.