Conference Call of 25 October 2012
Participants: Eric Gutierrez (EG), Gillian Dell (GD), Vincent Lazatin (VL), Melissa Lawson (ML), Saad Meknassi (SM), Ezequiel Nino (EN), Vijayanand Murugesan (VM)
Apologies: Babatunde Oluajo (BO), Slagjana Taseva (ST), Gladwell Otieno (GO), Maud Perdriel-Vaissiere (MPV), Uche Igwe (UI)
Moderator: Kristen Brand (KB)
Agenda Items
1. Change of UNCAC Coalition assistant at TI-S
KB introduced herself and explained that she is very excited to work with the Coalition over the next four months.
2. Update: Statement on asset recovery and anti-money laundering and next steps planned. Possible basis for pre-COSP advocacy
CCC members suggested that the statement should be shorter and less technical, possibly with multiple versions for different target audiences. One well-received proposal was to have a brief one-page statement for a more general audience as well as an annex with more technical recommendations and language. GD suggested that the technical document should describe the exact change we would like to see and propose text for COSP resolutions.
- ACTION Discuss statement at CCC meeting and workshop in Brasilia.
- ACTION Look for Coalition members to interested in working on prevention issues for the next COSP
3. IACC Planning
UPDATE: KB explained that flights and hotels have been taken care of and that everyone should stay on track with their visa applications if necessary.
UPDATE: GD explained the planning for the CCC meeting in Brasilia and the UNCAC Coalition workshop on the 10 November.
UPDATE: Invitations to the Coalition Briefing have been drafted. We will present the Coalition and talk about our future plans. More details about the meeting will be coming soon.
UPDATE: The Coalition will have a booth at the IACC with two computers, internet, and two chairs.
- ACTION Send feedback and ideas to Kristen in regards to the Coalition Briefing.
- ACTION Sign up for the IACC booth via the Doodle link.
4. Working Groups on Prevention and Asset Recovery
UPDATE: GD explained that two official UNCAC working group meetings took place in August. After writing to Dimitri Vlassis and asking for observer status, Dimitri replied that the issue had not been settled in Marrakesh and that he will err on the side of caution by not allowing CSOs to participate in these working group meetings.
- ACTION Brainstorm ways to connect with other groups about obtaining greater access for NGOs in Vienna.
5. UNTOC COP
UPDATE: GD updated the group on her visit to the 6th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in Vienna on 15 – 16 October 2012. The UNTOC COP has a more diverse group of NGOs involved. Michael Platzer, the Chair of the Vienna Alliance against Traffic in Women, works with groups like GAATW, WWF, and the Environmental Investigation Agency. The discussion at the October COP focused on a review mechanism for UNCAC and its protocols and confronted the same issues arising in the context of the UNCAC review mechanism – transparency, civil society participation, observer status in the IRG, and budget.
Countries like Canada, Germany, Japan, and the UK took a tough stance on the budget issue and opposing use of the regular UN budget for another review mechanism. This issue scuppered the review mechanism so that discussions never turned to the issue of NGO observer status.
GD suggested liaising more with the NGOs of the Vienna Alliance.
6. Moderating the listserv
The issue was included on the agenda as a result of emails from one Coalition member about Transparency International. The CCC decided not to take any action at this stage,
VM suggested having a set of moderators to monitor messages and maintain a basic level of email etiquette, etc. SM supported the proposal.
7. Blogging
Lizzie Johnson started a blogging schedule with Uche in June of this year. Unfortunately, we have not had many blog posts since then.
SM mentioned that, similar to the listserv, we should have a moderator for the blog. CCC can make contributions to the blog but it should to be coordinated by someone with enough time to dedicate to it. In the immediate future, KB will coordinate the blogging.
GD suggested that we accept articles in other languages and have them translated for the website
- ACTION KB to insure that blogging and using the website to stimulate discussion are on the agenda for the next conference call.
8. Regional Coordinators and Membership Developments
UPDATE: Contracts of regional coordinators have been extended while one is still in discussions. The regional coordinators have been very helpful so far with vetting membership applications.
GD explained that the Coalition now includes over 350 members.
Announcements
SM explained that he had a good interaction with other organisations at the ECOSOC and UN General Assembly events earlier this year. Some groups mentioned the possibility of organising an event for International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December, so it would be good to start thinking about an event. Perhaps we could evaluate the dynamics of the UN at its three locations in New York, Geneva and Vienna and how the UN’s relationship with NGOs does or doesn’t work.
- ACTION SM to prepare a one-pager on his proposal for the 9th December event.
Next Meeting
In-person, Tuesday, 6 November in Brasilia, Brazil