Enhancing Civic Space and Participation in Anti-Corruption: Insights from UNODC's
NGO Day
© UNODC Civil Society Unit
Vienna - On 3 September 2024, UNODC hosted an array of events for civil society, including the Briefing for NGOs on the margins of the first resumed 15th session of Implementation Review Group (IRG) of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). There was a record number of participants with 170 in-person and 70 online including NGOs and government officials.
NGO Briefing
The session chaired by Christine Cline (US) provided updates on the status of UNCAC reviews, noting that 98% of country visits during the second UNCAC review cycle included non-state actors, detailed the technical assistance provided, and discussed thematic and regional implementation reports. It was discussed that in Vienna, deliberations among States Parties regarding the next phase of the Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM) were ongoing and civil society could be better involved. UNODC therefore is exploring various opportunities to enhance awareness and outreach for the next phase at the regional level, outside official meetings, to foster channels for civil society participation.
In their interventions from the floor, Transparency International raised concerns about issues such as the adverse effects of corruption on gender and disability and highlighted the significant problem of funding for political party candidates (Article 7.3 of UNCAC). They urged the Working Group on Prevention to prioritize the latter issue moving forward.
UNCAC Coalition shared that they have received several requests from the community to find a way to contribute their experience and expertise on combating corruption in the work of member states. They spoke to a specific example of where experts have been able to share their input on the measurement of corruption, calling out that issues such as interlinkages between gender and corruption have limited data available at the state level and this could be supplemented by the work and contributions of civil society.
In response to that, many States in the room highlighted the importance of civil society participation in anti-corruption efforts, stressing the value of including non-governmental experts in working groups of CoSP.
UNCAC Coalition-led segment on CoSP10 follow-up
Following the briefing, the UNCAC Coalition discussed the follow-up to the CoSP10 UNCAC. The Coalition highlighted key outcomes of the conference and emphasized the importance of continued international cooperation in combating corruption. Civil society was encouraged to monitor progress on the implementation of CoSP10 commitments to keep their governments accountable. Whereas States Parties, in turn, can engage civil society by being inclusive, transparent, and proactive in their outreach efforts.
A panel discussion on strengthening civic space served as an opportunity to shed light on the increasing restrictions on civic space globally and the risks of exposing corruption. The threats include regulatory hurdles, digital surveillance, defamatory attacks, judicial interference, financial blockages, cyberattacks, restrictive laws, foreign agent laws, smear campaigns, and arbitrary sentencing. Despite these challenges, the panelists emphasized the importance of advocating for a more open and supportive environment for civic engagement and reforming state legislation and enforcement where needed.
Asset Recovery from the StAR Initiative
The afternoon session featured a panel discussion from the
Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative which dove into the latest databases and resources available for NGOs. It also provided concrete examples of what has been done to recover assets in Angola, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Seychelles and Zambia. Although the panelists expressed concerns that the process was time-consuming and intricate, it was encouraging to hear of examples where the funds were repatriated to the rightful owners and utilized for the benefit of the citizens in those countries.
Moving forward, the US under the CoSP10 presidency committed to holding informal consultations with civil society to solicit their input that could inform the deliberations for the next phase of the IRM, as well as seek inputs for the questionnaires to be completed by experts between subsidiary body meetings. These are just a few concrete examples of commendable practices that States can adopt to engage civil society in UNCAC implementation.
Civil society organizations interested in advocating for stronger UNCAC implementation can connect with the UNCAC Coalition and join the
#FitForPurpose campaign.
Meanwhile, CSU will continue to elevate the voices of CSOs in the COSP UNCAC forum and support the community in advancing the commitments made at CoSP10. As a next step, CSU plans to host a webinar for CSOs in order to present the
statistical framework to measure corruption that has been designed to support UNCAC State Parties in their efforts to measure the size and trend of corruption.
