Why Access to These Documents Matters
The UNCAC is the only binding global anti-corruption mechanism. Almost all countries in the world have ratified the UNCAC. The UNCAC also emphasizes the important role of civil society in anti-corruption efforts and calls on States to be transparent about their anti-corruption efforts.
However, the review process has shortcomings: Countries are not required to publish the comprehensive documents of the process (full country reports and self-assessment checklists). Through our campaign, we want to find out if governments are truly committed to UNCAC principles.
How the Campaign Works
The campaign focuses on obtaining information through formal access to information requests, rather than informal channels, in order to assess whether governments provide access in line with legal obligations and the transparency principles of the UNCAC.
Requests should be addressed to the authority responsible for coordinating the UNCAC implementation review and may also be shared with the national focal point, where known. The Coalition can provide relevant contact information where available.
The campaign can support requests for access to:
• Self-Assessment Checklists from the first and second review cycles
• Full country reports from the first and second cycles
• Which civil society organizations were involved in the review process (if any)
• Information on follow up measures taken to address review findings and recommendations
• Contact details of the national UNCAC focal point
• Available information and documents on the status of the second review cycle
If documents are publicly available, links may be requested instead.
Through the Access to Information Campaign and the efforts of CSOs, official UNCAC review documents have been released by:
- Australia, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist and Full Country Report;
- Argentina, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Armenia, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Benin, which released its Self-Assessment Checklists and Country Reports for both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 (NB: the latter are in draft format, and have not been shared on the database because they are still working documents);
- Bulgaria, which released its Cycle 1 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Croatia, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Czechia, which released its Self-Assessment Checklists for both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2;
- Georgia, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Maldives, which released its Cycle 1 Self-Assessment Checklist and Full Country Report;
- Mexico, which released its Cycle 1 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Mongolia, which released its preliminary Cycle 1 Country Report and Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Montenegro, which partially released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist (Chapter V articles only);
- North Macedonia, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Paraguay, which released its Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Poland, which released its Self-Assessment Checklists for both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, as well as a draft of its Cycle 2 Country Report (NB: the latter is in draft format, and has not been shared on the database because it is still a working document);
- Serbia, which released its Cycle 1 Full Country Report and Cycle 2 Self-Assessment Checklist;
- Spain, which released its Self-Assessment Checklists for both Cycle 1 and Cycle 2.