Vienna, 6 November 2026
Today, States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) adopted the documents for the next phase of the UNCAC’s Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM) in a Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties at the United Nations in Vienna.
“We welcome the adoption of the documents by consensus. We are optimistic that the next phase of the IRM will be more inclusive and transparent, as well as more effective, relevant and impactful – and that it will be a major step forward in promoting the implementation of the Convention, advancing efforts against corruption globally”, said Mathias Huter, Managing Director of the Global Civil Society Coalition for the UNCAC during the plenary session.
Some of the key changes in the next phase of the UNCAC IRM:
- The documents put a focus on implementation of UNCAC provisions in practice, not only on legal compliance
- The self-assessment also aims to capture relevant developments related to UNCAC implementation beyond the provisions under review
- States are encouraged to reflect contributions received from civil society and other non-governmental stakeholders in the self-assessment checklist and in an annex to the country report
- States are invited to provide information and latest assessments of other international or regional review mechanisms relevant to the review
“Almost 400 civil society organizations and anti-corruption experts from 117 countries signed an open letter, calling on States Parties to adopt an enhanced review mechanism. The documents adopted today provide a sound basis to establish a strong practice“, Huter said.
The Coalition calls on States Parties to make full use of the opportunities of the questionnaire and blue print documents, including putting a strong focus on reporting on the effectiveness of their UNCAC implementation in practice, providing evidence and information from different relevant sources, reporting on other relevant developments, involving civil society in different stages of their national reviews, and reflecting these contributions in the documents, as well as publishing the key documents of their review. With the new phase, States also have the opportunity to bring findings of other relevant review mechanisms into their UNCAC review, making better use of the synergies between different international fora.
Pre-final versions of the documents adopted, before final changes:
- Model schedule and blueprint (templates) for the second phase of the Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption
- Draft self-assessment checklist
The next phase of the IRM will launch in May 2027 at the session of the UNCAC IRG, when the review pairings and review schedule will also be determined.
Moving forward, the Coalition will support meaningful participation of civil society organizations in the next phase of the IRM through information sharing, technical guidance, expert support, and some financial resources.
The documents were adopted following months of deliberations and negotiations taking place under the UNCAC Implementation Review Group throughout the year, with final changes agreed following a request by Russia.
