Corruption
Corruption and bad governance with insecurity are major causes hindering the process of reconstruction and determining the current underdevelopment status of Afghanistan. Corruption has been increasingly recognized as an undermining factor for the reconstruction of Afghanistan in several national and international contexts. The Afghanistan Compact of 2006 and the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS), acknowledge corruption as a major impediment to the development of Afghanistan, and require further anti-corruption efforts by Afghanistan and its international partners.
The Government of Afghanistan signed the UN Convention against Corruption in 2004 and subsequently in September 2007, the Wolesi Jirga and the Meshrano Jirga, ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
In 2006, the Afghan president established the inter-ministerial committee with the task to assess the status of the corruption in the judiciary and its needs. This process led to the elimination of GIAAC and the Law approved in 2008 by presidential decree which represents a breakthrough, since although many stipulations of this law (illegal acts such as nepotism, refusal to declare assets, etc) have no punitive basis, it establishes the basis for further work and support, most importantly the establishment of a new independent body in charge of monitoring and developing an AC strategy, the High Office of the Oversight and Monitoring the Implementation of Anti-administrative corruption Strategy (HoO).
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 2008 deposited in New York the instrument for ratification. With UNCAC entering into force, the primary goal of UNODC is to provide practical assistance to Afghanistan to increase its capacity to prevent and control corruption.
UNODC advises the government on reform of legislation relevant to anti-corruption, including compliance with the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC); creates and disseminates handbooks for justice sector actors (prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges); mentors judicial actors in police-prosecutor cooperation and handling corruption cases; trains judges, police and prosecutors in handling drug cases. We provide financial and technical support to the Afghan Government in the establishment of the High Office of Oversight (HOO). The HOO's broad mandate includes oversight of the preventative and administrative measures against corruption that are to be established by all Afghan institutions, as well as monitoring the performance of law enforcement and justice institutions in following up complaints and in their detection, investigation, prosecution and adjudication of corruption cases both criminal and disciplinary. UNODC provides the Ministry of Justice with technical assistance to implement the provisions of the law on the HOO in the implementation of the Anti-Administrative Corruption Strategy, which became law in late June 2008.