Thursday, September 20, 2007

UN Convention against Corruption needs effective review mechanism


Governments must ensure follow-through on key anti-corruption commitments, says Transparency International

Transparency International (TI) today called on governments to give priority to the fight against corruption and to reach consensus on concrete proposals to review whether countries covered by the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) are taking sufficient action to fulfil their commitments.

“Signing up to treaties is a relatively easy step in most countries; the hard part is to ensure that words are followed by deeds. A solid review mechanism is vital if government pledges are to produce results,” said Gillian Dell, Conventions Programme Manager at Transparency International. “That means a fair, open and effective system for checking that action is taken on commitments.”

Specific proposals on the structure of the review process are included in a TI report submitted to the UNCAC Secretariat ahead of a meeting of an intergovernmental working group at the United Nations in Vienna on 29 to 31 August. The report seeks to bring governments closer to agreement on the overall structure of the review process and the assignment of powers and responsibilities in relation to it.

See full Press Release.