THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION
The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which came into force on December 14, 2005, is the most comprehensive and authoritative anti-corruption convention that is truly global. As of January 2013, the convention has been ratified, by 165 countries. The Convention obliges State Parties to implement a wide and detailed range of anti-corruption measures affecting their laws, institutions and practices, including international cooperation. The Conference of States Parties to the UNCAC is the instrument for the implementation of the Convention.
The United Nations Convention Against Corruption Global Task Force
GOPAC’s involvement in the UNCAC began with its participation at the Merida, Mexico signing ceremony in December 2003. Based on consultations with a global team of members, John Williams as Chair of GOPAC declared the organization’s support for the UNCAC, but also noted that strong parliamentary oversight would be essential to its effective implementation.
A resolution of the GOPAC Global Conference in Arusha, Tanzania in September, 2006 outlined the commitment to form the United Nations Convention against Corruption Global Task Force (GTF-UNCAC) to promote the effective implementation of the UNCAC and also identify complementary improvements in the governance roles of parliamentarians.
- GTF-UNCAC Members
Lord Fusitu’a
Tonga (Chair)Mr. Mr. Aliou Barry
GuineaHon. Hon. Mr. Hugh McDermott
AustraliaMrs. Irine Yusiana Roba Putri
IndonesiaMrs. Nurhayati Ali Assegaf
IndonesiaHon. Mr. Bekzod Rakhmonov
UzbekistanHon. Mrs. Thokozani Khupe
ZimbabweHon. Mr. Nigel Mills
United Kingdom- GTF-UNCAC Position Statement
Parliamentarians should seek to work in harmony with State Parties and international expert organizations to implement UNCAC at the national, regional and global levels. Members should work towards ensuring that State Parties consider parliaments as an important additional instrument of corruption prevention.
Parliamentarians should play a critical leadership role in the ratification, implementation, domestication, monitoring and review of the UNCAC.
- Implementation: Parliamentarians should identify and address legislative and other governance gaps that need to be overcome in implementing the UNCAC. In particular they should pay special attention to the criminalization of corruption through legislation and an independent judiciary system.
- omestication: Parliamentarians should help ‘domesticate’ the UNCAC by helping adapt international standards to regional or national needs.
- Monitoring and review: Parliamentarians should endeavour to play an important oversight role in the monitoring and review of the national effort to implement and domesticate the UNCAC. They should also participate, where appropriate, in regional or international review mechanisms, for example, if peer review teams are created.
Parliamentarians should work with expert agencies to help ensure that efforts are complementary to other ongoing initiatives as well as reflecting current substantive intelligence available on specific issues.
Parliamentarians should seek, where development assistance is available, additional opportunities to direct that assistance to governance initiatives, including those related to parliament itself.