From August 28 to September 6, the 15th session of the Implementation Review Group of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) will be held in Vienna. During this session, member states will explore ways to improve the functioning of the compliance review mechanism. This mechanism, administered by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), is essential for assessing how member states, including Russia, fulfill their commitments under the UNCAC.
Alongside our colleagues from the UNCAC Coalition and more than 400 civil society organizations from 110 countries, we have prepared recommendations for enhancing this review mechanism. Below are five key proposals:
- Enhancing Transparency: All materials related to the review mechanism should be published and made accessible on the UN website.
- Strengthening civil society participation: Ensure mandatory involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the review process, allow civil society representatives to participate as observers in the Implementation Review Group meetings, and increase funding and support for civil society to enable their active engagement in the mechanism.
- Improving efficiency: Instruct the UNODC to publish and regularly update the review mechanism’s work schedule. In the event of delays, the reasons should be clearly explained. Enhance coordination with other monitoring mechanisms and allow experts to consider their findings.
- Follow-up monitoring: Require states to complete checklists on the implementation of recommendations from previous review phases. Future reviews should consider the extent to which previous recommendations have been implemented, and states should be mandated to submit annual reports on progress, emerging challenges, and plans for further action.
- Assessment of convention implementation in practice: Develop indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of national anti-corruption measures, ensure transparency, and engage civil society in providing technical assistance to the UNODC.
We firmly believe that independent civil society organizations must be involved in the fight against corruption. We propose that NGOs be allowed to submit alternative reports and provide feedback on how individual countries are implementing the Convention.
Russia has actively opposed such measures. Together with China and Iran, the Russian delegation has blocked initiatives aimed at strengthening the role of civil society. It opposes granting civil society observer access to the Implementation Review Group meetings and releases the minimum amount of information permitted about its assessment of the Convention’s implementation, limiting itself to publishing only basic details.
Transparency International Russia will continue to advocate for these initiatives to ensure transparency and the involvement of civil society in monitoring the commitments of Russia and other states under the UNCAC.
