Doha Outcome Raises Hope for UN Convention

As reported earlier, the 142 Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), meeting in Doha in November, adopted a mechanism to review convention implementation, ending a prolonged deadlock that had prevented the UNCAC from gaining traction. With near-final documents now posted on the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) web site, it seems that if governments opt to make reviews fully transparent, inclusive and detailed, the outcome may be more positive than first reported.

With respect to inclusiveness, governments are encouraged to consult with external stakeholders in preparing responses to a standard checklist for review by two other governments. If they opt to supplement this ‘desk review’ with an ’in country’ visit, they are to “facilitate engagement” with those stakeholders.” Although there is no mechanism for external input directly to the review teams, there is no prohibition on submissions to UNODC, which serves as the UNCAC Secretariat.

With respect to transparency, governments may keep final country reports confidential, but an executive summary will be “made available as official documents” in all UN official languages.

We will be watching to see how the mechanism works in practice as the first half of the 10-year review cycle assesses implementation of the UNCAC provisions on “criminalization and law enforcement” and “international cooperation.”

TI-USA appreciates the Obama Administration’s support in defeating attempts to weaken key provisions and Attorney General Holder’s forceful call to action at the Global Forum. The Doha outcome culminates numerous high-level meetings with the Administration and participation in the joint effort of the UN Global Compact, International Chamber of Commerce and World Economic Forum securing supportfrom 24 corporate CEOs and with over 300 civil society organizations to build national level support

The State Department has invited TI-USA to a briefing on the Doha outcomes on November 30th, and we will post any new information we receive at that time.