Tunisia signs the UNCAC Review Transparency Pledge

24 November 2021 –

Tunisia has become the 31st country and only the second African country to sign the UNCAC Coalition’s Transparency Pledge, voluntarily committing to a high level of transparency and civil society inclusion in the second cycle of the UNCAC implementation review.

Tunisia was scheduled to begin its second cycle UNCAC implementation review, which covers articles on preventive measures (Chapter II of the UNCAC) and asset recovery (Chapter V), in 2020. However, according to the government focal point, the composition of the national review team has not been finalized yet. Rwanda and Ethiopia are the peer-reviewing countries. See the country review documents as they are published here. Click here for more details on how the review mechanism works.

The Transparency Pledge was signed by Mr. Nabil Ajroud, Legal and Legislative Advisor to the Government. In its signature letter, Tunisia also takes note of the UNCAC Coalition’s Guide to Transparency and Participation in the UNCAC Review Mechanism, which outlines good practices of civil society participation to ensure a transparent and inclusive review process.

IWATCH Organisation, the Tunisian Transparency International chapter, is currently writing a civil society parallel report on the implementation of UNCAC Chapters II and V in Tunisia. The Coalition encourages close collaboration between the government and the NGO.

Principles of Transparency

The Transparency Pledge covers the following principles, complementing the UNCAC Coalition’s guide which includes best practice approaches for promoting transparency and participation in the review process:

  1. We will publish updated review schedules for our country review
  2. We will share information about the review institution or the coordinator (focal point)
  3. We will announce the completion of the country review indicating where the report can be found
  4. We will promptly post online the self-assessment and the full country report in a UN language, together with the executive summary in local languages
  5. We will organize civil society briefings and public debates about the findings of the report
  6. We will publicly support participation of civil society observers in UNCAC subsidiary bodies