The UNCAC Coalition’s Victims of Corruption (VoC) working group seeks to facilitate discussions, the exchange of information and joint advocacy among civil society experts around victims’ remedies and compensation for damages caused by corruption. The Asia-Pacific VoC sub-group has been set up to accommodate participants across different time zones.
Working Group Chair: Juanita Olaya, independent expert and former Chair of the UNCAC Coalition
Asia-Pacific Working Group Moderator: Janithrika Jayasundara
Working Groups Coordinator: Betina Pasteknik, Operations, Finance and Membership Lead, UNCAC Coalition
In case you are interested in joining the working group, please fill out this form.
If you have any questions please contact us at email hidden; JavaScript is required
The Working Group hosts a dedicated email discussion list as well as several coordination calls per year.
Next Working Group Meeting:
TBD
For Participants from Asia-Pacific:
TBC
Working Group Taskforces:
Key Documents Taskforce
- Chair: Juanita Olaya, independent expert and former Chair of the UNCAC Coalition
Case Work Taskforce
- Chair: Jose Ugaz, Benites, Vargas & Ugaz Abogados.
Databse Taskforce
- Chair: Carlos Guerrero, DLM.
International Database: Corruption Damage Reparation and Legal Standing for
Victims of Corruption
The Working Group on Victims of Corruption has launched an international database of frameworks and practices in different countries on whether victims of corruption are recognized and/or compensated. The collected examples and findings are shared, published, and used to advance discussions, inform national and global advocacy efforts, and support evidence-based advocacy for the scaling of good practices. We hope this tool will be a useful resource.
Please contact us at email hidden; JavaScript is required to receive a questionnaire with asks about examples from the country you operate in. In case you know of cases or practices from other countries that we may not be aware of, please include these as well. Always indicate the original source or basis for your information so that it can be verified. You may also answer the questionnaire in your mother tongue if this is easier for you.
Short Film Contest – Unveiling our Stories: Victims of Corruption
The UNCAC Coalition is proud to announce the results of its short film contest. A panel of 6 experts formed the jury, which after deliberating, selected 3 winners and 1 honorable mention for films from Indonesia, Colombia, Georgia and Thailand. Many thanks to our international participants and judges for their time, commitment, creative efforts and ideas for this contest! Let us continue to give visibility to the victims, and spotlight the harmful effects of corruption.
Read more about the submissions, filmmakers, and their creations here!
Selected past activities and outputs of the UNCAC Coalition working group on victims of corruption:
- Article (ES): El Derecho a la Reparación de las Víctimas de Corrupción en el Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos, by José Ignacio Hernández G, 2023.
- News Article: These Lawyers Want to Change How Mexico Thinks About Corruption, Cody Copeland, July 6, 2023, Courthouse News Service.
- Article: The Legal Standing for Victims of Corruption in Venezuelan Money Laundering Cases in the U.S., by José Ignacio Hernández G, 2023.
- Article: Obstacles Faced by Member State Victims of Corruption in Obtaining Restitution and Recovering Civil Damages in FCPA Cases under UNCAC Articles 35, 46 and 53(a), by Craig R. Arndt, 2023
- Roadmap developed by Transparencia por Colombia to seek redress for the damage caused by corruption through civil society organizations in Colombia: Hoja de Ruta
- Publication (ES): VÍCTIMAS DE CORRUPCIÓN ¿Qué podemos hacer los ciudadanos víctimas de corrupción?, by TOJIL México, December 2022
- Blog post: Is UNCAC Article 35 a “Dead Letter” in the United States?, by Craig R. Arndt, September 2022
- Publication: Obstacles to recovering civil damages under UNCAC articles 34 and 46 in the United States, by Craig R. Arndt
- English Version: Empowering Victims of Grand Corruption: An Emerging Trend?, by Naomi Roth-Arriaza, published by the Connecticut Journal of International Law, 2 July 2022
- Spanish Version: Empoderar a las Victims de Corrupción a Grand Escala: Una Nueva Tendencia?, by Naomi Roth-Arriaza, published by the Connecticut Journal of International Law, 2 July 2022
- Blog post (ES): TOJIL como parte UNCAC-Coalition se pronuncia sobre el reconocimiento de las víctimas de corrupción, Foro Jurídico, 13 December 2021
- Blog post: Civil Society to the CoSP: Corruption Victims Are Entitled to Compensation, The Global Anticorruption Blog, 11 December 2021
- Newsletter: Victims of Corruption Special Edition – Meet the Winners of our film contest!, 10 December 2021
- Event Recording: How Foreign Bribery Undermines Democracy and Human Rights: Why More Enforcement is Needed and Victims’ Rights Should be Recognised, 7 December 2021
- Working Group submission to the 9th UNCAC CoSP (CoSP 9) on Recognizing Victims of Corruption, 1 December 2021
- UNCAC Coalition written submission to the 12th IRG on Recognizing Victims of Corruption, 31 August 2021
- Blog Post: UNCAC Coalition Victims of Corruption Working Group discusses art as a means to give voice and identity to victims, featuring Luis Sotelo, 20 April 2021
- Blog post: Litigating on Behalf of Victims of Corruption: The Duarte Case from Mexico, by TOJIL México, 18 February 2021
- Publication: El interés legítimo de las organizaciones civiles en el amparo Mexicano, by DLM Mexico, January 2021
- Blog post: Arguments or Excuses? Common Reasons I hear to avoid Reparations for Corruption Cases, by Juanita Olaya, 11 May 2020
- Blog post: Reparations for Corruption: How Corruption Enforcement Ignores Victims’ Rights,
by Juanita Olaya, 28 February 2020 - Panel discussion: Repairing the Damage: Redress for Victims of Corruption, Vienna, on the sidelines of the 10th resumed session of the UNCAC Implementation Review Group (IRG), 3 September 2019
- Statement by UNCAC Coalition Chair at a UN OHCHR Expert Workshop on Corruption and Human Rights, 11 June 2018
- Joint letter to OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría:
Principles for the use of non-trial resolutions in foreign bribery cases, by Corruption Watch, TI, Global Witness and the UNCAC Coalition, 6 December 2018 - Statement: Recovery of Damages and Compensation for Victims of Corruption, UNCAC Coalition Statement to the 7th Conference of States Parties (CoSP), October 2017
- Blog: Compensation for Victims of Corruption: Why does it matter? by Sue Hawley, December 2016
- Blog: Repairing the Damage Caused by Corruption by Juanita Olaya, October 2015
- Blog: Is there an Obligation under the UNCAC to Share Foreign Bribery Settlement Monies with Host Countries? by Maud Perdriel-Vaissiere, September 2015
Other relevant resources
UNCAC Coalition Guidelines and Etiquette
Please have a look at our Guidelines and Etiquette, which apply to all conversations and the exchange of information within this group and its email list. By being part of this group, you agree that you have read and will follow the guidelines set for the VoC group and its email list.