Promoting Government Accountability Abroad

Overview

In a globally interconnected world, corruption transcends borders and addressing it requires transnational cooperation. The agreed rules and standards for domestic action and international cooperation are contained in a number of multilateral anti-corruption conventions, culminating in the comprehensive United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). TI-USA and TI National Chapters around the world have played an important role in advancing the negotiation, ratification and enforcement of anti-corruption conventions and action by major economies to promote transparency, rule of law and accountability.

Advancing International Anti-Corruption Conventions

TI-USA has supported the negotiation, U.S. ratification and enforcement of several international agreements or “conventions” committing governments to enact laws and regulations that promote domestic action against corruption and facilitate international cooperation.

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption

With more than 140 parties, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) reflects the universal consensus on the necessary elements of a comprehensive framework for combating the global threat of corruption. Among the countries which have agreed to abide by the UNCAC provisions are emerging exporters, including China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The UNCAC provides common standards for national anti-corruption policies and practices and requires the broadest possible cooperation among parties to address transnational crime. Its most significant provisions include:

  • Prevention: Parties are to implement codes of conduct and conflict of interest rules for public officials; a regime for public access to information, and transparent procurement and public finances. The private sector is urged to implement internal controls and enhanced accounting and auditing provisions to prevent and detect corruption.
  • Criminalization: Parties are required to criminalize foreign bribery and solicitation.
  • Mutual legal assistance: Parties are to extend the broadest possible mutual legal assistance, thereby addressing the most significant impediment to investigating and prosecuting transnational corruption cases. Parties are not to decline mutual legal assistance on the grounds of bank secrecy.
  • Asset Recovery: For the first time, Parties agree to provide procedures to trace, freeze, seize and return stolen assets, which will help prevent “kleptocrats” from hiding and retaining illicitly-acquired assets and help prosecutors reduce obstacles to recovering assets.

 

US Ratification

The United States ratified the UNCAC in October, 2006. TI-USA mobilized a campaign to demonstrate broad support for the Convention in the non-profit, business and labor communities. TI-USA Chairman, Alan Larson, testified in favor of ratification at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

 

 

Today’s Challenge: Realizing the Promise

If implemented effectively, the UNCAC will help promote rule of law, good governance and accountability worldwide. The newly-created UNCAC renew mechanism will be critical in ensuring that countries enact and enforce consistent laws and regulations. It also can provide technical assistance to countries at different levels of development with differing levels of capacity and varying degrees of political will.

TI is working to ensure that all country renews include on-site visits and opportunities for civil society participation to ensure that reliable information is secured.

 

CEOs of Leading Companies Express Support for UNCAC Review Mechanism

TI reached out to CEOs of US and global companies to support an UNCAC montioring mechanism as part of a Joint TI initiative with the UN Global Compact, the World Economic Forum and the International Chamber of Commerce. We secured the signatures of 24 CEOS from leading global companies on a letter to UN Secretary- General expressing support for the UNCAC and calling on the Parties to establish a review mechanism at the November CoSP.

UNCAC Monitoring:

For prior reports, please visit our Archived Publications page

Inter-American Convention Against Corruption

The Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC), which entered into force in 1998, was the first regional anti-corruption convention. While not as broad as the UNCAC, it provisions include:

  • domestic and foreign bribery and extortion;
  • access to information, whistleblower protection, and procurement transparency; and,
  • mutual legal cooperation in investigating and prosecuting corruption-related crimes.

All members of the Organization of American States’ (OAS) except Barbados have ratified the Convention.

Inter-American Convention Against Corruption/OAS:

 

US Ratification:

 

Today’s Challenge: Realizing the Promise


Enforcement of the Inter-American Convention is monitored and promoted by a committee of government experts from 28 of the Convention parties. The results of country reviews to date are contained in country reports with recommendations for reform.

TI-USA was instrumental in building support to create the review mechanism and, since the review process began, 20 TI chapters from across the hemisphere have submitted views on their country’s efforts to implement the Convention. These recommendations have been included in the country reports and form the basis for country-level reform:

OECD Anti-Bribery Convention -- Addressing the Supply Side


In 1997, most of the world’s major exporting countries adopted the landmark Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (OECD Anti-Bribery Convention), which promised to stem foreign bribery as a factor in international business and development. The convention has 38 signatories, including 8 non-OECD members. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1999, all parties have enacted laws making it a criminal offense to bribe foreign officials. For more information on this important convention, click here.

Engaging the World’s Largest Economies in Fighting Corruption

G20


The Group of 20 (G20), a forum of industrial and emerging-market countries, has a crucial role in addressing the international financial crisis and restoring stability to the global financial markets.  Since November 2008, the Group has met three times, most recently in June 2010, to address the global financial crisis and released commitments to short and medium term actions that must be taken to address the crisis.

TI-USA has urged the G20 to  make explicit commitments to safeguard economic recovery funds and programs to ensure they are used solely for their intended purpose and not diverted for corrupt ends in either the developed or developing world, by:

  • Enforcing foreign bribery prohibitions
  • Requiring export credit agencies to ensure they do not support deals secured through bribery, fraud or collusion; and
  • Ensuring that donor institutions, such as the World Bank, enhance risk management and controls to prevent, detect and remediate corruption.

We have also urged that the G20 publicly report on how the corruption risk mitigation measures outlined above are being applied to recovery.

 

G20 Statements:

 

G8


For nearly a decade, at each annual G8 Summit, G8 Leaders have made specific commitments to fight corruption and increase good governance more broadly. Since 2007, TI-USA, in collaboration with other TI chapters in the G8 countries, has issued a G8 Progress Report to assess progress on these important G8 commitments to:


• Strengthen enforcement of anti-bribery laws enacted pursuant to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
• Ensure that export credit-supported transactions are not tainted by corruption
• Ratify and implement the UNCAC
• Ensure greater transparency of revenue flows from the oil, gas and mining sectors; and
• Prevent misuse of financial institutions and markets by increasing transparency and strengthening oversight of capital flows and markets


Meeting in June before the 2009 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, the G7 Finance Ministers acknowledged that the ‘violation’ of basic principles of propriety, integrity and transparency “contributed to undermine international economic and financial stability,” noting that existing instruments, including on bribery, “suffer from insufficient country participation and/or commitment.”


Their conclusion was underscored by the 2009 TI G8 Progress Report, which found inadequate OECD Convention enforcement, notably by Japan and the UK; lack of UNCAC ratification by Germany, Italy and Japan; and the need for the G8 to adopt stronger transparency for the global financial markets to prevent fraud, abuse, money-laundering and other financial crimes.


Given the lack of progress to date, TI-USA welcomed the Ministers’ commitment to “make every effort to pursue maximum country participation and swift and resolute implementation.” The G8 must set the example by enforcing its existing commitments, notably the OECD Convention, if they are to be credible in the important work of “reaching out to the G20 and beyond.”

TI-USA has called on the G8 for more consistent and detailed reports on the key issues analyzed in the TI Progress Reports to keep up the pressure for reform. In 2008, for the first time, the G8 committed to issue annual reports and released the first one, Accountability Report: Implementation Review of G8 Anti-Corruption Commitments. While the report was limited in scope and depth, it marked a significant step toward transparency and accountability and provides a basis for future benchmarking. A similar “Accountability Report" was issued during the 2009 Summit.

 

Other G8 Resources:


U.S. Agreements on Legal and Regulatory Transparency

Rules that promote a predictable, transparent and rules-based operating environment are critical to foster economic growth and to the public at large. Transparency and access to information are the primary instruments by which to ensure that government resources are used effectively and to help reduce opportunities for official discretion and extortion.

TI-USA has successfully advocated for inclusion of legal and regulatory transparency requirements, particularly for procurement, customs, inspection, and licensing, in U.S. free trade agreements, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. The UN Convention Against Corruption also has important provisions on procurement and budget transparency.

U.S. Free Trade Agreements


U.S. free trade agreements with Central America and the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region contain legal and regulatory transparency requirements, including specific rules for procurement transparency. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members have also adopted transparency standards. Most of the free trade agreements also call for governments to implement anticorruption conventions and to establish and enforce laws criminalizing bribery and protecting whistleblowers who report bribery.

TI-USA is working in collaboration with the business community and local national chapters to assess and promote implementation of these provisions.

Promoting Implementation of APEC Procurement Transparency Standards

TI-USA has launched a project to collaborate with TI chapters in emerging markets to assess how well APEC Procurement Transparency Standards are being implemented in law and in practice. The project will assess gaps in country procurement transparency laws and regulations assess actual experience of the private sector. The results will form the basis for an action plan.

U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue


The U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), created in 2006 to provide a cabinet-level framework for ongoing bilateral economic discussions, provided TI-USA the opportunity to highlight the need for legal, regulatory and procurement transparency and the importance of China adhering to its UNCAC commitment to prohibit foreign bribery.


At the first meeting, the parties put transparency on the agenda, and China thereafter adopted several transparency reforms recently, notably new Regulations on Open Government Information. The regulations form the basis for China’s first government information disclosure system.


The parties agreed to publish most trade and economic-related administrative regulations and departmental rules that are proposed for adoption, and to provide a public comment period of not less than 30 days from the date of publication.


In the trade area, the parties agreed to launch negotiations of a bilateral investment treaty based on the U.S. model, which reflects high-standards of investor protection and legal protections, including the right to nondiscriminatory treatment, due process, and transparency.