Beirut: Training for Arab non-governmental actors on anti-corruption assessments

With the entry into force of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2005, and the subsequent adoption of its implementation review mechanism in 2009, States are increasingly required to make concrete steps forward in the fight against corruption. In the words of the UN Secretary General on the International Anti-Corruption Day 2009, “from now on, States will be judged by the actions they take to fight corruption, not just the promises they make.” So far, 16 Arab countries have become State-Parties to the UNCAC, and 10 of them have developed UNCAC implementation assessment reports using the UNCAC Self-Assessment Checklist (click here to download the U4 issue on Maximising the potential of UNCAC implementation: Making Use of the Self-Assessment Checklist).

 

But even beyond UNCAC implementation, anti-corruption assessments are an indispensible tool to help countries diagnose governance deficits and find the right solutions. In the Arab region, the demand for better performing governments, coupled with an increased interest on the side of donors to support anti-corruption reforms, has created a surge in governmental and non-governmental attention to the area of anti-corruption assessments. While UNDP has already been supporting the development of Arab governments’ capacity on UNCAC self-assessment since 2007, it has now integrated a special training component in its regional anti-corruption work supported by POGAR (UNDP’s Programme on Governance in the Arab Region) to assist non-governmental practitioners on anti-corruption assessments.

 

In a regional training workshop held in Beirut on 29 and 30 March 2010, OGC’s Global Programme on Democratic Governance Assessments shared its knowledge and experience on corruption assessments as one of the resources within the training programme. The workshop provided leading non-governmental actors in the region with a rare opportunity to sit together and exchange experiences and ideas on the anti-corruption challenges faced from a specific non-governmental point of view in their respective countries. It even stimulated the agreement to establish a regional Arab non-governmental platform that would specialize on anti-corruption.

 

More information on and documents from this training workshop can be found on this page of the POGAR website.