Anti-Corruption Capacity Building
Corruption, poor governance, and insecurity are major obstacles in the process of determining the current development needs of Afghanistan, and in reconstructing the country's infrastructure and institutions
The Afghanistan Compact of 2006 and the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) acknowledge corruption as a major impediment to the development of the country, requiring major anti-corruption efforts by the Afghan government and its international partners.
The government of Afghanistan signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2004, which was ratified in September 2007 by the Wolesi Jirga-or "House of the People," Afghanistan's lower house in the bicameral national assembly-and the and the Meshrano Jirga, or "House of Elders," the upper house of the Afghan National Assembly. With UNCAC's adoption, the primary goal of UNODC in Afghanistan in the field of anti-corruption became the provision of practical assistance to increase Afghanistan's capacity to prevent and control corruption.
UNODC currently provides anti-corruption assistance in the following capacities:
- Advice to the government on the drafting and reform of anti-corruption legislation, including compliance with UNCAC;
- Mentoring of judicial actors in police-prosecutor cooperation and in handling corruption cases;
- Financial and technical support to the Afghan government in the establishment of the High Office of Oversight (HOO). UNODC currently assists the HOO in strengthening its capacity to implement Afghanistan's anti-corruption strategy. The HOO's broad mandate includes oversight of the preventative and administrative measures against corruption to be upheld by all Afghan institutions. It is also charged with monitoring the performance of law enforcement and justice institutions in following up complaints, and in their detection, investigation, prosecution and adjudication of criminal and disciplinary corruption cases;
- Technical assistance to the Ministry of Justice in implementing the provisions of the law on the HOO, and in enacting the Anti-Administrative Corruption Strategy, which was ratified in June 2008;
- Support for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) in the development of a Code of Ethics for prosecutors. UNODC also assists the AGO in conducting a nationwide training programme for prosecutors on the Code of Ethics;
- Assistance to the Ministry of the Interior in its development of a Code of Ethics for the police, and will continue to assist the ministry in conducting training for the Afghan police.
In 2006, the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai established an inter-ministerial committee tasked with assessing corruption of the judiciary and methods of combating it. This process led to the abolishment of the General Independent Administration for Anti-Corruption (GIAAC) . The High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOO) , established by presidential decree, in 2008 represents a breakthrough, as it sets up corruption monitoring and asset reporting mechanisms, and serves as an important basis for further work and support in the field of anti-corruption.
Concept Note on "Anti-Corruption Measures in Afghanistan" (full text)
