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The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and UNDP Colombia have launched a guidebook, “Buenas prácticas empresariales de lucha contra la corrupción” (Good Business Practices in the Fight Against Corruption).

The guidebook presents three private sector experiences identified as good practices of transparency for possible replication by other private sector organizations. A chapter in the book discusses a UNDP methodology for choosing such good practices, along with other criteria that allow the adaptation of the methodology to the particular dynamics of the private sector.

Below is an English translation of the guidebook’s Introduction:

“Following the recommendation of the UNCAC on the joint partnership between United Nations agencies with public and private actors, and in order to integrate new key stakeholders in the fight against corruption to fulfill their mission in terms of transparency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been working together with the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, in the context of a strategic alliance to promote transparency and prevent corruption in the private sector, with the understanding that an institutional culture based on ethics is one of the best antidotes against corruption.
 
“This document presents three experiences of the private sector, which, after being analyzed, were identified as good practices of transparency, with the possibility of being replicated by other private sector organizations.
 
“One of the chapters of the document is dedicated to presenting a methodology developed and tested by UNDP, introducing some methodological adjustments to select those initiatives that include, in addition to the features traditionally addressed by UNDP, other criteria that allow the adaptation of the methodology to the particular complexities and dynamics of the private sector.
 
“Finally, each experience is explained in great detail, including its objective and justification and the initial situation which led to the need to implement the practice. Furthermore, the  criteria mentioned in the methodology is verified, the situation after the implementation is described, as well as the lessons learned from the whole process of construction and execution of the exercise.”

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In partnership with the Office of the Chief of Government and in coordination with the National Anti-Corruption Authority, UNDP organized a consultation workshop in Tunis on 28-29 July. The event aimed at raising the awareness of key stakeholders, focusing on parliamentarians and civil society representatives, on the need to enhance the existing institutional and legislative framework on asset declarations that was established in 1987; and also to set up effective measures to criminalize and prosecute illicit enrichment. With the support of international and regional experts, participants familiarized themselves with related international standards as well as good practices and lessons learned from comparative experiences. They were also enabled to formulate and exchange views on the proposed bills that were developed by the Government in 2014 with the support of UNDP-ACIAC, with a view to contributing to their enhancement and promoting their adoption and effective implementation.

Organized by: UNDP, in partnership with the Office of the Chief of Government and in coordination with the National Anti-Corruption Authority

For more information, click here. 

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A number of authorities in charge of strengthening integrity and fighting corruption in the Arab region have witnessed important changes at the level of their leadership in 2015, reflecting in most cases a desire to pump new blood into such authorities with a view to strengthening their efforts while building on previous achievements and lessons learned.

On 9 April, the President of the Republic of Egypt appointed Major General Mohammed Mohammed Orfan Jamal El Dine as President of the “Administrative Control Agency” (ACA), who acts as the successor of Major General Mohamed Omar Heiba appointed advisor to the President of the Republic on anti-corruption issues. Orfan holds a Bachelor of Commerce and has been climbing the ranks of ACA since 1986, leading its General Secretariat and heading the department of special operations before becoming the Agency’s President. ACA is the central agency in Egypt concerned with coordinating anti-corruption efforts and is in charge of investigations and إستدلال in cases related to public money and public functions. The President of ACA also chairs the executive committee of the national coordinating committee on anti-corruption.  

This change was preceded by the appointment of Dr. Hassan Al Yasiri as head ad interim of the “Commission of Integrity” by the Iraqi Prime Minister on 6 April. The appointment awaits legal confirmation from Parliament. A former law instructor, Al Yasiri comes with an oversight background having worked as a former member of parliament in Iraq. He is known for affirming his political independence on numerous occasions.

The beginning of 2015 also saw similar changes in other Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Indeed, Dr. Khaled Bin Abdulmohsen Al Mohaisen was appointed head of the “National Anti-Corruption Commission” in Saudi Arabia while a new board was appointed for the “Jordanian Anti-Corruption Commission” headed by Mr. Abed Kharabsheh, a former board member.

The four mentioned authorities are members of the “Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network” and have been active on a number of fronts. Indeed, previous months have witnessed the success of the “Administrative Control Agency” in Egypt in coordinating efforts for the development of the first national anti-corruption strategy in the history of the country. In Jordan, the anti-corruption commission successfully established a number of pioneering sectoral initiatives and paved the way for new means of engaging civil society in anti-corruption efforts, enabling Jordan to reach a score of 49 on the “Corruption Perception Index” for 2014, compared to 45 in 2013, thus becoming among the top improvers in the world. As for the Saudi agency, it made qualitative progress in terms of its awareness and education programs and strengthened its ability to monitor and detect corruption cases while also recovering large sums to the state treasury. In Iraq, the “Commission of Integrity” made a qualitative leap, referring 1923 cases to specialized courts during the first five months of the year with the number of convicted persons reaching 1668 including 15 ministers and persons of similar rank and 122 persons of private rank or at the rank of director general or similar ranks.  

It is noteworthy to mention that the changes in each of Egypt and Jordan were internal, as the two new heads did not come from outside the agencies, contrary to the case in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

In all cases, important challenges await the four agencies including volatile security situations and public and media pressure to achieve concrete results, in addition to the technical requirements arising from the launching of the second round of the self-assessment of the United Nations Convention against Corruption which focuses on the assessment of the chapters related to corruption prevention (Chapter II) and asset recovery (Chapter IV) and which deal with implementing related national strategies and policies, some requiring amendments and updates while others requiring further efforts for an effective implementation.

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On July 14th 2015, UNDP and the Government of Italy signed a cost sharing agreement which aims to improve service delivery for the citizens of Albania. This intervention is part of the Government of Albania’s project: “Innovation against Corruption: Building a Citizen Centric Service Delivery Model in Albania” (ISDA) implemented under the leadership of the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration.Funding from the Government of Italy, through UNDP, amounts to 265,000 EUR. Another funding of USD 140.000 has already been provided by UNDP.

The project supports the  efforts of the Government of Albania in the area of public administration reform through which the Government is striving to change the way public services are provided, making use of a variety of interventions under a citizen-centric approach to combat corruption, foster a customer-care culture, as well as increase the efficiency of the Albanian public administration.

The project focuses on providing technical assistance, development of a long-term public service delivery strategy and building of the institutional capacities in this area. The project also supports the National Agency for the Delivery of Integrated Services in Albania to become operational and able to oversee the implementation of the service delivery reform. UNDP supports the start-up phases such as developing the framework and building capacities of the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration  for the management of the process. Combined with advancements in other key national reform areas including civil service reform, the innovations in public service delivery can fundamentally change how citizens of Albania interact with the state.

UNDP anticipates a larger funding coming from the Worl Bank. This intervention joined today by the Government of Italy, will serve not only as a bridge to the World Bank funding but also supports the establishment of the necessary capacities within the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration to manage the challenges posed by this sector.

During the signing ceremony other international partners were called on to join the Government of Italy and the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration in pooling their resources to start this reform agenda.

The fight against corruption constitutes one of the five political criteria for Albania’s EU membership. The Government has identified six national strategic priorities, one of which is Innovative Good Governance. At the center of this national priority lies “the citizen-centered service delivery” which is the catch all phrase and approach of the Government towards increasing quality and accountability of public services.

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On July 13th, 2015, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) organized a side event named “Financing for Transformation: From Agenda to Action on Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific” during the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. 2015 is a milestone year, when the international community is expected to adopt a transformative sustainable development agenda for a more inclusive and sustainable future. This requires equally ambitious, credible and forward-looking strategies for resource mobilization. In the Asia-Pacific region, the member States are uniquely placed to implement a transformative post-2015 development agenda because of its vast financial resources.

The objective of the ESCAP in partnership with ADB and UNDP, side event on “Financing for a transformative society in Asia and the Pacific Region” was to provide a focused discussion on innovative financing sources, modalities and priorities in Asia and the Pacific region for the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. The side event was moderated by Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary of ESCAP, and included finance ministers from the region, private sector representative and the officials from the ADB and UNDP. Helen Clark, the Administrator of the UNDP, stated, “gains could also be made through strengthening efforts to curtail illicit financial flows. These were estimated at $474 billion in 2012 in Asia-Pacific, accounting for almost half of all such flows from developing countries that year.” She further stated, “fraudulent trade misinvoicing is the largest form of illicit flows, $354 billion dollars in Asia-Pacific in 2012 alone.”  

During the event, ESCAP launched a book “Financing for Transformation: From agenda to action on sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific”. The publication calls for the Asia-Pacific region to work together to raise and channel more substantial financial resources to invest in the social sector, infrastructure development and efforts to tackle climate change in order to ensure a transformative change to bring about inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Click here for full speech by Helen Clark. 

Click here for “Financing for Transformation: From agenda to action on sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.”

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