UN convention against corruption

Abstract

"The issue of review of implementation was not resolved when the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted in 2003, and the decision was deferred until after UNCAC entered into effect. The First Conference of States Parties (CoSP) in December 2006 agreed that “effective and efficient review of the implementation of the Convention… is of paramount importance and urgent.” This represented an important agreement in principle. However, the Second CoSP in January 2008 made little progress, largely due to concerns voiced by influential member countries of the G77. During the past year a Working Group on Review of Implementation has held several meetings to define the review mechanism and its terms of reference. While there has been progress, important issues remain unresolved. The Working Group will meet again on 11-13 May and from 31 August to 2 September 2009. The Third CoSP will meet in Doha during the week of 9 November 2009 and action on the review mechanism is the most important issue on the Doha agenda. Because of the complexity of a decision-making process involving 140 governments, unless controversial issues can be resolved well in advance, the prospects for Doha are poor. The central question is whether the CoSP in Doha is prepared to establish an effective review mechanism. Failure to establish such a mechanism this year would be a major setback, damaging the credibility of UNCAC and its ability to develop momentum in curbing corruption around the world."