UNODC convened 25 civil society organizations (CSOs) from across South America and Mexico in Quito (Ecuador) from 18 to 20 February 2020 for a roundtable to discuss ongoing anti-corruption efforts and to design civil society initiatives for cross-border collaboration to fast-track UNCAC implementation in the region. The CSO roundtable was a follow-up meeting to the May 2019 Regional Conference in Cartagena, Colombia.
The roundtable in Quito aimed at strengthening the networking of civil society organizations in the Latin American region by allowing CSOs to share their knowledge across three of the priority themes adopted at the Cartagena conference and serve as a bridge towards supporting civil society's anti-corruption efforts in 2020 and beyond.
The roundtable concluded with sessions on the way forward, reflecting on 13 priorities and initiatives where CSOs could play a stronger role in the future. Four dedicated small grants will be disbursed to the following CSOs in the region to further support activities to fast-track the UNCAC implementation: Semillas para la Democracia Paraguay, Transparencia Mexicana, Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo / Red Latinoamericana por la Transparencia Legislativa Ecuador, and Cámara de Industria y Comercio Argentino Alemana.
CSOs from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay have been asked to respond to a baseline assessment questionnaire to solicit their inputs on the status of anti-corruption legislation and practices in their respective countries. The collated responses will be taken into consideration in technical discussions with the relevant Member States.
Additionally, a Latin America Anti-corruption e-Platform was launched to promote collaboration between CSOs, to identity partners, to monitor and promote UNCAC implementation, and to share best practices.
The following CSOs have been involved in the UNCAC Fast-Tracking process so far across South America and Mexico:
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS South America and Mexico platform - EN | ES (PDF)