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Launching of a platform to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Central America

 The Platform is established as a forum for States Parties and development partners to create and foster alliances and design actions to achieve tangible results in advancing the implementation of the UNCAC in the region.

 

Honduras, April 27, 2023. The launch conference of the Regional Platform to Accelerate the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in Central America, held in Honduras from April 25 to 27, brought together government, civil society and private sector representatives from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic, in addition to development partners and international donors. In the words of Gabriela Membreño, Secretary General of the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "the main purpose of the Regional Platform is none other than to bring together Central American regional efforts so that UNCAC can be properly implemented."

Over the past years, UNODC has been supporting the establishment of regional platforms to accelerate the implementation of UNCAC, thus contributing to the fulfillment of Sustainable Development Goal 16. The Regional Platform follows a methodology recognized by the Conference of the States Parties to UNCAC with the adoption of Resolution 9/4 at its ninth session in December 2021. The Regional Platform's approach is catalytic in nature, as it seeks both to identify gaps in existing efforts to implement UNCAC and to coordinate and make more effective the work of technical assistance providers, as the Regional Platform also serves to identify and implement feasible and practical reform priorities.

At the opening ceremony, the Secretary of Transparency and Fight against Corruption of Honduras, Mr. Edmundo Orellana, emphasized that "the fight against corruption cannot be local", so "this event will bring us extraordinary opportunities to fight more effectively in this crusade".

For her part, the UNODC Regional Representative for Central America and the Caribbean, Ms. Sylvie Bertrand, stressed that "the commitment that led to the adoption of the Convention, 20 years ago, is still necessary today to continue advancing in the efforts to prevent and combat corruption, also in our region; so that the provisions to which we committed at the international level are translated into national actions have a real and lasting impact on the lives of people; so that we fulfill the central promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind".

The launch conference concluded with the adoption of a final document containing a roadmap for the work to be carried out in the region over the next three years. The roadmap includes commitments from the States around five thematic areas: 1) integrity systems in the public sector; 2) transparency and integrity in public procurement; 3) prevention of corruption in the private sector; 4) corruption reporting and protection of whistleblowers and witnesses; 5) investigation, prosecution and international cooperation in corruption cases. It also includes the cross-cutting themes of human rights and gender equality, and the use of technologies to promote transparency, access to information and accountability.

The initiative is aligned with the UNODC Strategic Vision for Latin America and the Caribbean, which establishes the fight against corruption and economic crime as the first of the four priority areas of investment and lines of work for the period 2022-2025, favoring a regional approach adapted to the local context.

Implemented with the support of the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Central America Regional Platform is the second of its kind in the region, following the Platform for South America and Mexico. Both platforms are accompanied by the UNODC Anti-Corruption Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean created in 2021 to respond to growing requests from States Parties for guidance, technical support and capacity building and the need to foster coordination and synergies with regional anti-corruption initiatives in the region and development partners.