Following the successful experience of the first training of its kind for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on UNCAC and its review mechanism, held on February 2011 in Laxenburg, Austria, a second CSO training, also organized by UNODC and the UNCAC Coalition, took place this time from 20-23 March 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
African and Asian CSO Representatives attending the training in South Africa |
During the three and a half day training, 40 CSOs from some 30 countries across Africa and Asia attended daily interactive sessions organized by experts from Transparency International as well as from UNODC. Through different workshops, CSO representatives were able to improve their knowledge of the Convention and become more acquainted with helpful tools necessary not only to constructively work with their government in the review process, but also to reproduce the training at their national or regional level.
In addition to practical sessions with group exercises focused on better understanding the UNCAC review stage and the crucial role of advocacy in the fight against corruption, CSOs were for the first time introduced to how they can engage with the private sector. Presentations on the various topics discussed throughout the training can be found on the following link.
During his opening speech, the Regional Representative of UNODC Regional Office for Southern Africa, Mr. Mandiaye Niang stated that:
"All too often we have seen people indulging in corruption and enjoying the proceeds of their crimes in safe havens. The UNCAC provides an effective response to make sure that the world becomes too small a place for those criminal to hide".
For the following months, the UNODC Civil Society Team will continue to maintain close contact with participants that have undergone the South Africa training in order to help them contribute meaningfully to the implementation of the Convention. The next training scheduled for September 2012 will focus on the participation of CSOs coming from countries to be reviewed on the third and the fourth year of the first UNCAC review cycle.