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Anti-Corruption in SDGs, News,

New UNDP Resource Guide: Building Transparent and Open Public Procurement Systems for Achieving the SDGs in ASEAN (2021)

by 12 May 2021

View the publication here

Corruption poses a significant threat to economies around the world. It weakens institutions, erodes public trust, undermines fair competition, and discourages investment. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), approximately 10 to 25 percent of all funds spent globally on procurement are lost to corruption. As a result, poor infrastructure development and insufficient service delivery to taxpayers and citizens prevail. The COVID-19 health crisis has further exposed the vulnerability of procurement systems to corrupt practices when they are not equipped with the necessary tools to ensure transparency, accountability, and integrity throughout the procurement cycle.

Open and transparent public procurement systems are a strategic tool, not only in preventing corruption but also for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they are a prerequisite of delivering medical goods, water services, quality education infrastructure, access to justice and sustainable infrastructure.

The resource guide builds on the UNDP guidebook, Tackling Integrity Risks in Government Contracts (2017), which provides a methodology for governments to assess normative gaps and loopholes that can lead to corruption in government contracts. Through this guide, UNDP promotes the adoption of a collective action - a multi-stakeholder approach where governments, citizen, and the private sector work together to strengthen transparency and openness in public procurement systems. It maps out existing tools and good practices in the region and beyond, which have been successful in achieving this objective. It also lays out some entry points for policy dialogue on this topic and reforms at the national and subnational levels. 

Learn more about FairBiz - Promoting a Fair Business Environment in ASEAN 

 

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COVID-19, Global Knowledge Products, News,

New UNDP Publications on Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption in COVID-19 Response and Recovery

by 3 September 2020

UNDP’s Global Anti-Corruption Programme has published two new knowledge products on Integrating Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption in COVID-19 Response and Recovery:

UNDP Guidance Note: Integrating Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption in Socio-Economic Impact AnalysisDownload

The COVID-19 pandemic is far more than a health, humanitarian or socio-economic crisis; it is also a governance crisis, testing the resilience of governance institutions and systems to support societies and economies to recover from the ramifications of COVID-19. In particular, corruption and its consequences significantly impact COVID-19 response and recovery. This Guidance Note presents UNDP’s offer in supporting countries to integrate transparency, accountability and anti-corruption in both response and recovery priorities.

To build forward better, UNDP’s Next Generation of Anti-Corruption programming aims at strengthening the role of oversight and anti-corruption institutions for sustainable development; promoting social accountability and the role of civil society; strengthening business integrity; and harnessing the benefits of technology and innovation to enhance transparency and openness. These will contribute to all five pillars of the UN’s framework on socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the recognition that effective and accountable governance systems and processes are critical for progressive socio-economic change.

UNDP Guidance Note: Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption Service Offer for COVID-19 Response and RecoveryDownload

As the technical lead for the socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UN system, UNDP and its COs worldwide are working to assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies and communities to develop and implement effective strategies for COVID-19 response and recovery. Although there is recognition that COVID-19 impacts governance systems, processes and institutions, existing socio-economic impact analyses have not specifically assessed the links between them, and in particular, the impact of corruption and a lack of transparency and accountability on COVID-19 response and recovery. These are largely due to two main challenges: a lack of knowledge and guidance on how to integrate transparency, accountability and anti-corruption in socio-economic impact analysis; and a lack of coordination between anti-corruption institutions and the institutions focusing on socio-economic aspects.

This guidance note thus provides a practical methodology, including checklist questions, on how to integrate transparency, accountability and anti-corruption in social and economic needs assessment and response in the context of COVID-19.

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IACD, News,

Fighting corruption for global peace, development and security

by 9 December 2017no comment
Director, Governance and Peace-building, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP

9 December is the International Anti-Corruption Day, an opportunity to re-affirm our commitment to fight corruption.

The cost of corruption to society is enormous. In its 2017 report, Global Financial Integrity estimates that illicit financial flows (IFFs) in 2014 alone ranged from US$1.4 trillion to $2.5 trillion. The World Economic Forum estimates that the cost of corruption today equals more than 5 percent of global GDP ($2.6 trillion).

These figures are staggering but even more staggering is what lies behind these financial calculations – a world of dire poverty and inequality that continues to be exacerbated by the distortions in income distribution and public expenditure decisions, which are influenced by corrupt practices.

The Panama and Paradise Papers revealed the magnitude of hidden wealth from all over the world in offshore jurisdictions. According to Oxfam International, tax evasion causes Africa alone to lose $14 billion a year in fiscal revenues. These lost budgetary resources could have paid for healthcare to save the lives of 4 million children and could have employed more teachers to get every African child into school.

Similarly, the 2017 Global Corruption Barometer on the Asia-Pacific region shows that out of 22,000 people surveyed, 38 percent of the poorest said they had to pay a bribe to get access to public services. And data from 42 countries compiled by Transparency International reveal that higher levels of bribe-paying are associated with lower literacy rates among young people.

Anti-corruption protesters in Bangkok
Corruption erodes trust in public institutions and undermines the rule of law. Photo: UNDP Thailand

Hence, money lost to corruption is development denied to those most at risk of being left behind.

But corruption doesn’t only divert resources from development, it corrodes public trust in government institutions, undermines the rule of law, impairs the systems of checks and balances, and contributes to violence and insecurity.

Recent studies reveal that corruption and the impunity, injustice and inequality that it breeds, is one of the structural drivers of violent extremism that caused the death of nearly 30,000 people in 2015 alone, and cost nearly $90 billion to the global economy.  A 2016 UNDP research points out the link between violent extremism and experiences or perceptions of injustice, corruption and systematic discrimination and political and economic marginalization. The “2015 Peace and Corruption” report also provides empirical evidence that beyond a certain threshold, there is a correlation between increasing levels of corruption and growing violence and conflict, measured by political instability, violence, terrorism, organized crime, arms trafficking, and homicide rates.

We should therefore address corruption not only as a crime and an impediment to development, but also as a direct threat to peace and stability.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development makes an explicit link between corruption and peaceful, just and inclusive societies. One of the most important commitments in that agenda is “to leave no-one behind”, not in the delivery of services, not in decision-making and not in the dispensation of justice. Achieving that ambitious goal will not be possible without tackling corruption in all its forms. That is why this year’s UNDP-UNODC anti-corruption campaign to commemorate the International Anti-Corruption Day focuses on the theme “United against corruption for development, peace and security”.

On this International Anti-corruption Day, let’s stand together firmly in the fight against corruption.

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News,

UNDP Kicks Off Country Research on Linkages between Corruption and Violent Extremism in the Asia-Pacific Region

by 30 August 2017no comment

On 22-23 August 2017, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Anti-Corruption for Peaceful and Inclusive Societies in Asia-Pacific 2016-2020 (ACPIS) Project gathered in Manila, Philippines national country researchers, together with regional and global experts, to plan a new UNDP research report on the ‘Linkages between Corruption and Violent Extremism in the Asia-Pacific Region’.

Ms Clare Duffield, Counsellor, Australian Embassy in the Philippines, Mr Ola Almgren, UNDP Resident Representative in the Philippines, and Mr Phil Matsheza, Team Leader of the Governance and Peacebuilding Unit in UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub opened the workshop and welcomed participants. The activity is supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 

Ms Duffield discussed the ‘dual scourge’ of corruption and violent extremism harming national and local stability and prosperity. Mr Almgren noted the importance of involving youth and women to increase the effectiveness of fighting corruption and preventing violent extremism.  Mr Matsheza highlighted the strong demand that now exists for generating evidence of the linkages between corruption and violent extremism.

The national researchers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan Philippines and Thailand will start their country studies after the workshop. UNDP aims to launch the new report to mark International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2017.

For further information on the research report, please email: acpis@undp.org.

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