Message from the UNCAC Coalition Chair

by Manzoor Hasan, 29 July 2015

This is the time of year when members of the UNCAC Coalition and others prepare for the upcoming Conference of the States Parties (COSP) in St. Petersburg whilst learning from the valuable insights gained during the Implementation Review Group (IRG) civil society briefing in Vienna. One of these insights is the need for continued advocacy for civil society participation in UNCAC-related bodies.
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Slow start to preparations for UNCAC Conference of States Parties in November 2015

by Gillian Dell, Transparency International Secretariat, 26 July 2015

Considering the importance of the corruption issue and the strong public demand around the world to see it addressed, it is perhaps surprising that UNCAC gathering are such low-key affairs compared with the high profile summits that are keeping governments busy this year. This is possibly because UNCAC meetings are quite process-oriented and technical. Some of those involved see the low profile as having the benefit of reducing the level of politicisation and increasing the possibility of progress. Continue reading →

Tackling money laundering: a UK perspective

by Dr. Robert Barrington, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, 22 June 2015

Recent events in Ukraine have shone a light on the quantity of Ukrainian and Russian money invested in the UK. Coming hard on the Arab Spring, this has raised many interesting questions: how much is of corrupt origin, what checks were made and who should be responsible for ensuring the UK does not become a safe haven for the world’s corrupt elite? Continue reading →

Special measures against grand corruption

by Akaash Maharaj, CEO of the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), 21 June 2015

Every year, corruption kills 140 000 children worldwide, by depriving them of medical care, food, and water. Yet, far too often, the perpetrators of the most outrageous acts of corruption are able to use their illicit wealth and power to pervert the very laws and institutions that should call them to account. As a result, the worst offenders are the least likely to face domestic justice. Continue reading →

UNCAC review in Tunisia: The ownership dilemma

by Achref Aouadi, President of I WATCH, 1 July 2015

The UNCAC review in Tunisia began well even before its official start date in 2013. Civil society preparations commenced in 2012 when I WATCH attended a training session in Johannesburg jointly organised by UNODC and the UNCAC Coalition.
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The connection between corruption and shrinking civic space

by Cathal Gilbert, CIVICUS, 21 July 2015

Citizens everywhere are finding it more and more difficult to have their voices heard. All over the globe, peaceful protestors are brutally attacked, investigative journalists are threatened and organisations promoting rights are raided or shut down.
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Interview with Ambassador Bente Angell-Hansen, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Vienna

by Shaazka Beyerle, 4 June 2015

What are your first impressions of this year’s IRG?

We are at the start of preparations for the St. Petersburg Conference of the States Parties to UNCAC (CoSP) (November 2-6, 2015). I came today [to the UNCAC IRG Briefing for NGOs] to listen to the views of civil society and to take them into consideration when establishing Norwegian positions. Continue reading →

Interview with Angelica Maytin Justiniani, Director General of the National Authority on Transparency and Access to Information

14 July 2015

What was your role during the IRG session in June 2015?

My role at the past IRG session in Vienna was to chair the meetings because of my position as President of the Conference of the States Parties. The Republic of Panama was elected President of the Fifth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was held in Panama from 25 to 29 November 2013. Continue reading →

Interview with Mark Lugton, Detective Constable, Operations, UK Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit

23 July 2015

What is the role of the City of London Police (CoLP) regarding corruption and laundering of proceeds of corruption?

Until 29 May 2015, the CoLP had responsibility for investigating all international bribery and corruption offences committed by UK nationals and companies abroad – focusing specifically on countries that received international foreign aid from DFID (UK Department for International Development). Continue reading →

UNCAC review reports

Since December 2014, the following UNCAC review reports have been released:

• Executive summaries: Bahrain, Cook Island, Egypt, FYR Macedonia, Ireland, Israel, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Qatar, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia
• Full country reports: Armenia, Bolivia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Russia
• Civil society reports: Haiti, Poland, Tunisia

Official country reports are available on both the UNODC website and on the UNCAC Coalition website. Civil society reports can be viewed on the UNCAC Coalition website.

Coalition Coordination Committee election results

Following elections ending on 15 April 2015, the UNCAC Coalition Coordination Committee welcomed five new members:

A warm thank you to the outgoing members of the Coordination Committee for their dedicated service. Those are TAN Philippines (Vincent Lazatin), Transparency International-Macedonia (Slagjana Taseva), Transparency Maroc (Saad Filali Meknassi) and Zero Corruption Coalition (Auwal Musa). Each of them served two terms. Slagjana Taseva and Vincent Lazatin were respectively the Coalition’s first and second Chairs and provided outstanding leadership during their terms.

UNCAC Coalition Coordination Committee elects Chair and Vice-Chairs

The UNCAC Coalition Coordination Committee met on 5 June and agreed on the following appointments of Chair and Vice Chair:

• Chair: Manzoor Hasan (continuing)
• Vice Chair: Christine Clough (continuing)
• Vice Chair: David Banisar (continuing)
• Vice Chair: KM Loi (new)

IACC Registration

The 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference will take place this year in Putrajaya Malaysia on 2-4 September. Registration for the Conference closes on August 14. The Conference will be jointly hosted by the Government of Malaysia, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Malaysian Society for Transparency and Integrity (TI Malaysia), and the Transparency International Secretariat.

The theme of the conference is Ending Impunity: People. Integrity. Action. The organisers welcome 800 participants from around the world for plenary debates and workshops to discuss what we can do to end impunity for corruption.

ProfessorUNCAC Blog

ProfessorUNCAC is a new anti-corruption blog space initiated by lawyer and anti-corruption expert Keith Henderson. An UNCAC Coalition member, Keith has been teaching students and professionals about curbing corruption for almost two decades and in over 50 countries. The new blog aims to feature content from experts around the globe and to explore a range of UNCAC-related topics. One of the main ideas behind the new site is to help promote UNCAC awareness, understanding and coalition-building among key stakeholders, with a keen eye on the human rights, business, education, research and anti-corruption communities, among others. Learn more about the scope and potential of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and how it relates to a variety of issue areas such as development, governance, gender, security, climate change, and much more!

GOPAC Newsletter – June 2015 edition

The latest edition of the GOPAC newsletter includes a Global Conference update, introduces new chapters, and outlines events in Austria, Fiji, Serbia & Tonga.

CIVICUS – State of Civil Society Report 2015

CIVICUS’ recently released report offers a comprehensive picture of civil society and the conditions it works in around the world. The 2015 report draws from a series of inputs contributed by members of the CIVICUS alliance, including thematic inputs from civil society leaders and experts, a survey of national level civil society networks, and interviews with people close to the key civil society stories of the day. This year’s report has focuses on the resourcing of civil society.

UNCAC Coalition website thematic pages on access to information and whistleblowing

The UNCAC Coalition website features two new thematic pages on:

• The right of access to information and the UNCAC
• Whistleblowing and the UNCAC: Protecting people who report corruption

Statements to the 4th UNCAC Implementation Review Group Briefing for NGOs

The UNCAC Coalition website contains a collection of documents from the 4th UNCAC Implementation Review Group Briefing for NGOs in Vienna on 4 June. This includes the UNCAC Coalition statement “Making UNCAC Work” (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish), which outlines the UNCAC Coalition’s proposals for the upcoming COSP in St. Petersburg. You can also find the Transparency International statement, as well as the agenda and panel presentations from the briefing, and more.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)

We are dedicated to promoting transparency and accountability in the use of Nigeria’s natural resources. We believe that Nigeria’s large natural resource base should be used to meet the basic needs of its population. We are committed to increasing the legal protection for internationally recognized economic, social and cultural rights, and to securing respect for these rights. Continue reading →

4th UNCAC IRG Briefing for NGOs at UN Vienna

View photos from the IRG