The Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption adopted at its third session resolution 3/2 entitled "Preventive measures". In that resolution, the Conference decided to establish an interim open-ended intergovernmental working group to:
a) Assist the Conference in developing and accumulating knowledge in the area of prevention of corruption;
b) Facilitate the exchange of information and experience among States on preventive measures and practices;
c) Facilitate the collection, dissemination and promotion of best practices in corruption prevention;
d) Assist the Conference in encouraging cooperation among all stakeholders and sectors of society in order to prevent corruption.
The Conference further decided that the working group should meet during the sessions of the Conference and, as appropriate, shall hold at least two intersessional meetings within existing resources.
This decision was based on article 63, paragraph 7, of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and rule 2, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the States Parties.
In the following sessions, the Conference reconfirmed this decision in resolution 4/3 entitled "Marrakech declaration on the prevention of corruption" and resolution 5/4 entitled "Follow-up to the Marrakech declaration on the prevention of corruption". It requested the Working Group on Prevention to continue its work to advise and assist the Conference in the implementation of its mandate on the prevention of corruption. It also decided that the Working Group would follow a multi-year work plan up to 2015 to discuss different thematic subjects during its meetings.
In its latest, sixth session, held in St. Petersburg from 2 to 6 November 2015, the Conference in resolution 6/1 entitled "Continuation of the review of implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption", launched the second cycle of the Implementation Review Mechanism, which would include the review of the chapter II (Preventive measures). Against this backdrop, it requested the Secretariat to structure the provisional agendas of the Implementation Review Group and of other subsidiary bodies established by the Conference, such as the Working Group on Prevention, in such a way as to avoid the duplication of discussions, while respecting their mandates.
The Conference also adopted resolution 6/6, which encouraged States parties to continue to share with the Secretariat new and updated information and good practices on their implementation of chapter II of the Convention, and requested the Secretariat, subject to the availability of extrabudgetary resources, to continue its work as an observatory, including by updating the thematic website of the Working Group with relevant information.
The Working Group had recommended at its second intersessional meeting that in advance of each future meeting of the Working Group, States parties should be invited to share their experiences of implementing the provisions under consideration, preferably by using the self-assessment checklist and including, where possible, successes, challenges, technical assistance needs, and lessons learned in implementation (CAC/COSP/WG.4/2011/4, paragraph 12).