Joint efforts against corruption to achieve the MDG in Latin America and the Caribbean

UNITED NATIONS INTERAGENCY AND REGIONAL WORKSHOP

Joint Efforts against Corruption to Achieve the MDG

in Latin America and the Caribbean

Contents

Presentation .................................................................................................................................................. 1

I. Background ................................................................................................................................................ 4

II. Pilot workshop and main results ............................................................................................................... 4

III. Findings .................................................................................................................................................... 7

IV. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................... 8

Reference web sites ...................................................................................................................................... 9

Outstanding document ................................................................................................................................. 9

Presentation

There is evidence showing that corruption is a limiting factor in the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), as well as in the progress of Human Development and the access to

Human Rights. On October 23, 2003 the UN Member States approved United Nations Convention

against Corruption (UNCAC), becoming the first legally binding global instrument in the fight

against corruption.

The Convention emerges from two main concerns. First corruption can flourish anywhere in the

world, but its consequences can be more damaging for the poorest countries, undermining efforts

for sustainable human development. Second, while corruption is experienced in both the local and

national levels, it is also a transnational phenomenon that requires international cooperation with

a joint and multidisciplinary approach.

Although there is no direct reference to the problem of corruption in any of the MDGs, it is

becoming increasingly clear that progress in achieving the MDGs depends on factors such as

greater institutional transparency, greater levels of integrity and accountability in public

management, and greater control and monitoring by citizens that actively participate using access

to public information tools. This has been documented for example, in cases of diversion of public

resources that could have been directed to social services (schools, hospitals, and medicines);

human development policies and economic development; and greater investment in productive

activities, among others. This diversion of resources tends to have the most adverse effects on

those sectors of society that are most vulnerable (people with fewer economic educational

resources). Moreover, corruption can affect the quality of democracy and the access to individual

freedoms, as shown by the testimonies of those known as whistleblowers, people who dare to

denounce corruption cases, and who often do not obtain support and protection from State

institutions.

Indeed, Chapter II of the UNCAC can be read as an authentic framework for good governance,

promoting actions against corruption, focusing on prevention from an integrated approach, rather

than pursue isolated measures.

It is precisely corruption as a multi-dimensional problem that requires cross-cutting approaches

for prevention, detection and sanctioning. Therefore it is necessary for the United Nations System

(UNS) to promote a coordinated interagency effort. The UNCAC is playing an increasingly

important role in Latin American and the Caribbean as a mechanism to promote integrated

anticorruption policies. At the same time, the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism,

effective as of November 2009 through Resolution 3/1 issued by the Conference of State Parties to

the UNCAC offers an opportunity to not only review implementation but also to support the

efforts of the States Parties to the UNCAC as they continue to strengthen their anti-corruption

systems.


Joint Efforts against Corruption to Achieve the MDG in Latin America and the Caribbean 2 DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Luch a C on ju nt a C ontr a la Corr u pc ión par a e l L ogr o de lo s O DM en Amér ic a Lat ina y E l Car ibe

In this context, UNDG LAC organized the First Regional and Interagency United Nations Workshop,

"Joint Efforts against Corruption to Achieve the MDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean," which

took place on 10-11 December 2012 in Panama. The workshop aimed was to create a space to not

only share experiences and practices, but also to identify possible areas of collaboration and joint

action against corruption and in favor of transparency and accountability by the various agencies

of the United Nations System. The workshop was aligned with UNDG LAC´s Work Plan Outcome 1

for 2012, which concerns promotion of the national achievement of the MDGs, and was facilitated

through joint efforts between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Workshop´s main objectives were to:

1) Strengthen UNS staff capacity on anticorruption, transparency and the UNCAC in regional and

country offices.

2) Identify the common problems experienced among different agencies of the UNS in the fight

against corruption.

3) Highlight the interrelation between the fight against corruption and the achievement of the

MDGs.

4) Identify opportunities to strengthen interagency collaboration in the field.

5) Promote the exchange of experiences and the dissemination of best practices.

This document shows the main results, findings and recommendations of the first workshop to

promote and further strengthen interagency work on anti-corruption, transparency and

accountability in Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of the document is to serve as source

and reference to promote future replications of the workshop through the Country Teams, and for

the preparation of the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs).

Finally, a sincere acknowledgment of thanks to all those who made the realization of this

workshop and the preparation and publication of this document possible, among which are:

Gerardo Berthin, Louise Agersnap, Virginia de Abajo-Marqués, Karen Hussmann, Miguel Peñailillo,

Borja De Aramburu, Bo-Shakira Harris, and Belita Ileana Siu.

Amado de Andrés Regional Representative UNODC

Freddy Justiniano Director a.i.

UNDP Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean



I. Background

In order to overcome the obstacles generated by corruption in the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations’ agencies must coordinate their work to promote

democratic governance, including accountability and policies for development, good governance

and the fight against corruption and impunity in the countries of the region. Likewise, the

impediments to development that corruption causes forces the entire organization to reflect on

approaches to integrate anti-corruption components into programs and projects in order to

achieve the MDGs. Progress in the achievement of the MDGs depends on factors such as the

quality of democracy, greater transparency of public institutions and the improvement of the

levels of integrity and accountability in the management of public resources. Given that the

phenomenon of corruption is cross-cutting and affects all countries’ sectors and institutions, it

requires an integrated mainstreaming approach for its prevention, detection and sanction. This

reality requires a combined interagency work effort in the UN System to reduce the factors that

can slow down the achievement of the MDGs until 2015, and strengthen the incorporation of

factors such as transparency and accountability in the future development agenda for the Post-

2015 era, when the MDGs expire.

II. The pilot workshop and its main results

The United Nations Development Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNDG LAC) together

with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes for Central America and the Caribbean in

Panama (UNODC/ROPAN), and the Democratic Governance Team of the United Nations

Development Program (UNDP) at the Regional Center for Latin America and the Caribbean

organized in Panama on December 10th and 11th of 2012, the first regional UNS interagency

workshop on anti-corruption, in commemoration of the International Anti-corruption Day. It was a

pilot workshop aimed at sharing experiences, knowledge and good practices, and also sought to

identify opportunities for the UNS agencies to work together. More than 30 professionals,

representing 9 UN agencies (UNDP, UNODC, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, ONU-SIDA, UNEP, UNOPS and

PAHO) from 4 countries in the region (Panama, Ecuador, Honduras and Guatemala) participated in

the workshop.

The majority of participants were advisors, technical experts, and/or UN program officers and for

several of them this was the first introduction to the anti-corruption topic. The participants were

provided with basic training on the phenomenon of corruption, approaches to prevent and

combat it, the impact of corruption on the MDGs, and the importance of mainstreaming

anticorruption in key development sectors (health, environment and natural resources or justice

and security among others).



The participants also received training in the UNCAC and its review mechanism. Last but not least,

they also focused on the UNDAF as one of the tools to plan interagency activities, which provides a

good entry point for incorporating measure for anti-corruption. The workshop was facilitated by

the UNDP Regional Centre´s Governance Advisor, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Officer of UNODC-Vienna, and two Associate Experts from the UNDP Regional Center’s Democratic

Governance area. The workshop methodology placed special emphasis in capacity building and

working groups.

The working groups identified a number of corruption risks in their respective sectors. For

example, in the environment and natural resources sector, the institutional weakness and avoiding

procurement procedures were recognized as risks, warning of additional factors such as organized

crime and drug trafficking. In the health sector multiple vulnerabilities were identified such as:

excessive overpricing of medicines; limited access to generic drugs because of weak regulations

and often times due to the generation of special interests; lobbying and financing of political

parties by commercial laboratories; retaliation and few guarantees with little protection for

whistleblowers; "cronyism," and political clientelism in public office appointments. In the security

and justice sector, lack of political will to strengthen administrative and judicial civil service career

systems, and shield them against potential political influences, such as conflict of interest within

organizations, both public and private.

Participants also identified existing mechanisms and/or best practices that the agencies use to

mitigate potential risks. For example, assessment tools to evaluate the capacities of government

counterparts to implement projects and programs (such as the Harmonized Approach to Cash

Transfers, HACT), technical assistance, performance indicators, public awareness, empowerment

of citizen observatories and promotion of participatory mechanisms. , They also highlighted the

importance of producing and disseminating strategic information and training for counterparts, as

well as the oversight mechanisms of the entities.

Finally, the working groups proposed eight preliminary initiatives for interagency anti-corruption

and transparency work:

1. Through coordinated inter-agency work, mainstream anti-corruption preventive and

strategic components in United Nations’ programs and projects.

2. At the country level under the leadership of the Resident Coordinators, promote and

identify opportunities to incorporate and/or mainstream an anti-corruption approach

with the government counterparts in programming tools like the UNDAF (especially

during the Comprehensive Country Analysis - CCA).

3. With the aim to promote the analysis and the strengthening of institutional capacities

and governance integrate, with the assistance of UNDP/UNODC, the approach of

governance and anti-corruption in the work of the specialized agencies and the

sectors and counterparts, especially with sub-national governments.



4. Improve the accountability of government counterparts through the promotion of

tools and indicators for monitoring and evaluating programs and projects.

5. Support the state audit organizations in the control of public procurement through

joint initiatives between UNOPS, UNDP, UNODC and international financial

organizations.

6. Offer training and capacity building opportunities, jointly by UNODC and UNDP, to

strengthen the capacity of managers, advisors, program officers and project/program

coordinators in their knowledge of the UNCAC anti-corruption measures and its

programmatic operationalization in key sectors and appropriate agencies.

7. Raise awareness in the justice and legislative bodies on tools for the prevention of

corruption through complementary efforts by UNODC and UNDP.

8. Promote programs for the protection of victims, witnesses and complainants of

corruption acts, as well as strengthen the participation of civil society in judicial

proceedings on corruption, providing training jointly offered by UNODC and UNDP.

Source: Based on presentation by Karen Hussmann in the Workshop, 2012



III. Findings

The pilot workshop helped to identify a number of key elements to take into consideration when

incorporating anti-corruption, transparency and accountability elements in agency and inter-

agency initiatives:

It was recognized that theoretical and practical knowledge is needed in order to identify

risks of corruption in the sectors where the agencies and their counterparts work, and that

for this end it is necessary to develop strategies, policies and anti-corruption tools.

There is evidence that in agencies´ programs and projects anti-corruption components are

not yet deliberately incorporated, and that there is little knowledge of the extent of the

judicial and legal impact of international anti-corruption treaties, including the UNCAC.

There is evidence of a need to more strategically and systematically incorporate anti-

corruption components in the UNS agencies’ programs and projects, as well as in

interagency initiatives.

It was also recognized that a moral conviction promoted by the UNS agencies could affect

positively the capacity to address ethical vulnerabilities in programs and projects with

government counterparts.

Internal control and evaluation mechanisms of UNS agencies were identified. In some

cases these are pertinent in preventing corruption in programs and projects, but are

generally not as known within the UNS.

Among participants, there is a genuine desire to promote partnerships and alliances to

work jointly in anticorruption issues with relevant actors in the region, and in accordance

with the mandates of the respective UNS agencies.

Image: United Nations Interagency and Regional Workshop, “Joint Efforts against Corruption to Achieve the MDGs in Latin America and

the Caribbean.”



IV. Recommendations

Taking into account all of the above, it is possible to make the following recommendations:

Promote transparency and anti-corruption as an interagency commitment to incorporate

components of transparency, integrity, and accountability in a more systematic way and

with a strategic vision in the UNS agency programs and projects.

Utilize programming instruments such as the UNDAF, and integrate the analysis of the

phenomenon of corruption in the CCA and other strategic documents as specific

mechanisms and entry points to implement interagency initiatives to combat corruption.

Mainstream anti-corruption issues through sector analysis, and with feasible and realistic

program frameworks for joint and/or coordinated efforts among the various agencies.

Train and build capacities within the UNS´ target groups from government and non-

governmental counterparts, on approaches and tools to prevent corruption and facilitate

the integration of such components in programs and sectorial projects.

In order to convey externally an image of coherent integrity and accountability in the UNS,

strengthen among UNS agencies the capacity to prevent and manage internal risk

processes.

Integrating anti-corruption components in programs and projects requires technical

support that can be provided internally by the UNS agencies such as UNODC and UNDP

with comparative advantages, especially in the area of preventive mechanisms and

institutional strengthening. Moreover, as the guardian of the UNCAC, UNODC can also

promote punitive and enforcement aspects, as well as relationships with justice systems.

The requests from UNS agencies for technical assistance and advice on anti-corruption and

transparency could be channeled through the UNDG LAC.



Reference web sites

UNDG LAC

http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=685

UNODC, Regional Office for Central America and The Caribbean in Panama (ROPAN)

http://www.unodc.org/ropan/

Regional Anti-Corruption Academy for Central America and the Caribbean

http://www.academiaanticorrupcion.org/index.php/en/

Tools and Knowledge products

Democratic Governance Practice Area, PNUD Regional Service Centre for Latin America and the

Caribbean

http://www.regionalcentrelac-undp.org/en/tools-and-knowledge-products-local-governance

Key document

United Nations Convention against Corruption

http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/Convention/08-50026_E.pdf



http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=685

http://www.unodc.org/ropan/

http://www.academiaanticorrupcion.org/index.php/en/

http://www.regionalcentrelac-undp.org/en/tools-and-knowledge-products-local-governance

http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/Publications/Convention/08-50026_E.pdf

For more information contact: Louise Agersnap Regional Coordination Specialist UNDG Secretariat for Latin America and the Caribbean City of Knowledge, Panama Tel: + (507) 302-4768 Email: [email protected] Melissa Flynn Coordinator Regional Anti-corruption Academy for Central America and the Caribbean (ARAC) UNODC Building 742, Balboa, Ancon, Panama Tel: + (507) 314-4920 Email: [email protected] Gerardo Berthin Governance Policy Advisor UNDP for Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Centre City of Knowledge, Panama Tel: + (507) 302-4500 Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Joint efforts against corruption to achieve the MDG in Latin America and the Caribbean

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