News

5 June 2015 – Senegal will host a new regional training center for legal officials and experts, it was announced today at a summit of Justice Ministers from West and North Africa.

The Conference was jointly organized by the Government of the Republic of Senegal, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the State of Qatar, which announced the creation of the center and committed to funding it.

The center will train lawmakers, government officials and legal experts on how to create more effective policies and practical measures to combat corruption, while building fair, transparent and effective justice systems.

Representatives at the conference said they would increase their regional collaboration with a view to building more robust legal institutions; increasing access to justice for vulnerable groups, including women and girls; establishing better tax collection and simpler and more transparent budgets; and decentralizing efforts to combat corruption.

African nations must “create the space for extensive consultations with civil society and pursue regional and global partnerships to develop and promote joint initiatives to strengthen the rule of law”, said Sidiki Kaba, the Justice Minister of Senegal.

Each year, Africa loses up to USD 60 billion from fraud and tax evasion, limiting funding for critical investments in new economic sectors, infrastructure and social services. Corruption has been able to thrive amid insufficient oversight, capable mechanisms for enforcement and cross-border coordination.

“Corruption is effectively a hold-up on development financing. It undermines the foundations of the rule of law, fuels organized crime, terrorism and conflict, and compromises peace and security,” said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

A recent report by the High Level Panel on the post-2015 agenda said the rule of law is critical to maintaining peace and stability, upholding human rights, protecting civil liberties, and ensuring sustainable development. Many African countries have signed international and regional conventions on the rule of law. However, their implementation faces significant challenges, such as exclusion, nepotism, conflict and transnational crime.

For more information, please contact :
UNDP Senegal :

Ngone Sow, Communications Officer, ngone.sow@undp.org Tel : 221-775699605

Nicolas Douillet, Communications Specialist Nicolas.Douillet@undp.org, T. +1 (212) 906-5937 (New York)

@PNUDSenegal and Hashtags #goodgovernance #ruleoflaw

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2 June 2015 – The Ministerial Conference on Strengthening the Rule of of Law and the Fight Against Corruption in Africa was initiated in Dakar, Senegal. Over fifteen Justice Ministers from West Africa are meeting from 2 to 4 June 2015, where they will reaffirm their willingness to strengthen the rule of law, fight against corruption, and to promote access to justice for all. The recent report of the High Level Group on Post-2015 UN Development Agenda underlines the centrality of good governance and the rule of law as promoters of sustainable development. Many African countries are signatories to international and regional conventions on the matter. However, their implementation faces significant challenges, including the exclusion, conflict and transnational crime.

The three-day conference will be divided between plenary sessions and panels. Participants include His Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, the President of the Republic of Senegal, Ali Fetais bin Al-Marri, the Attorney General of Qatar, and Abdoulaye March Dieye, the Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, alongside more than 15 African Ministers of Justice, heads of international institutions, UNDP experts, organisations and representatives of civil society and NGOs.

With UNDP support, the final document and recommendations will be compiled into a single report that will be shared with both participants and the press. 

For more information, click here.

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The National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) is expected to become operational until mid-July this year – so noted the Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko at an open meeting with national and international stakeholders engaged in assisting NAPC establishment. It is envisaged that mid-July will see selection of five members of the collegiate NAPC, and by that time some concrete tools that the NAPC will be working with will be developed, including the launch of the electronic assets declarations system.

UNDP as a regional leader in corruption prevention has committed itself to assisting the Ministry with developing the necessary guidelines and regulations to make this new e-system workable, as even with the most advanced tools, there would be need for qualified expert reviewers of declarations and analysis practices to spot irregularities. In order to facilitate the NAPC operationalization, UNDP is reviewing European practices of preventive anticorruption bodies to come by with best practice summary regarding set-up and architecture of the future NAPC Secretariat. Works are under way to supplant NAPC with a ready-to-go package of institution-building documents (statutes, regulations, rules of procedure) in order to progress fast and save the valuable time for essential work of corruption prevention.

For more information, click here.

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The UN-REDD Programme announced the launch of a new tool to support REDD+ countries to: a) assess the social and environmental risks and benefits associated with potential REDD+ actions,also known as candidate Policies and Measures, and b) analyse how existing policies, laws and regulations (PLRs) address the Cancun safeguards.

The UN-REDD Programme’s tools and guidance are designed to enable REDD+ countries to take a flexible “country approach” in responding to the Cancun safeguards and other related UNFCCC decisions. This approach is intended to minimize, mitigate and manage social and environmental risks and impacts and enhance the benefits of REDD+. It has two key components: (1) PLRs through which safeguards are addressed and respected and (2) a safeguards information system, for the collection and provision of information on how the Cancun safeguards are being addressed and respected throughout the implementation of REDD+ activities.

The Programme’s revamped Benefits and Risks Tool (BeRT) is designed to support countries to:

• Identify benefits and risks associated with REDD+ actions, in the context of the Cancun safeguards
• Determine how the country’s existing PLRs already address the risks or promote the benefits identified
• Identify gaps in the PLR framework that may need to be addressed in order to address and respect the Cancun safeguards in REDD+ implementation.
• Utilize information on the benefits and risks of specific REDD+ actions/options to inform decisions on which actions to include in the REDD+ strategy.
• Provide content for use in the summary of information on how countries are addressing and respecting the safeguards through existing PLRs.

For more information, click here. 

For access to user guide through the e-library, click here. 

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By Liviana Zorzi, Event Coordinator on Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption (UNV), United Nations Development Programme, Bangkok Regional Hub

From 11 to 13 May 2015, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hosted the 6^th ICAC Symposium.

It was an occasion for around 500 delegates worldwide from anti-corruption and other law enforcement agencies, justice departments, regulatory bodies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the academia and the private sector to gather and discuss on strategies to shape a corruption-free world. Inspiring keynote speeches and plenary sessions addressed the issue of combating corruption in various countries and from different perspectives.

Presentations and discussions ranged from integrity risks in the public and private sector, to international networks and agencies to tackle the problem. Last but not least, the experts reflected on the importance to engage the public in the fight against corruption and in the promotion of a clean environment: new technologies and social media can play a crucial role on that.

The main take-aways of the symposium can be summarized as follows:

-The shared vision of a world free from corruption is an ideal, nevertheless it is worthy to continue fighting for that

– There are several ways to overcome obstacles towards a just and fair world: the rule of law and fair and effective legislation are key to success

– Grand corruption has to be a priority issue, as it can destroy entire nations and populations

– Also at the local level, corruption’s effects can be devastating and it is important to promote a zero tolerance culture

– International cooperation is essential, as advocated by China reps and as showed by cases successfully solved thanks to cooperation among different countries and international organizations (EU, World Bank, OLAF…)

– The tone from the top, the political will is fundamental

– Involving the public in the fight against corruption is a necessary step in the establishment of a clean and corruption-free world. Social media can be a powerful way to engage the citizens

– Punishment and clear terms of imprisonment can work as effective deterrents

Presentations held during the dialogue will be made available on the ICAC Symposium website: http://www.icac.org.hk/symposium/2015/en/p01.html

The attendees had the opportunity to visit an exhibition to showcase the initiatives carried on by the ICAC, within the framework of their three-pronged approach (investigation / enforcement, prevention and education), and to visit ICAC premises.

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