2013 G20 Anti-Corruption and Transparency Background Policy Brief

7/28/2019 2013 G20 Anti-Corruption and Transparency Background Policy Brief

1/4

Anti-corruption and Transparency

March 2013G20 Background Policy Brief

For more information,

please contact:

John RuthrauffDirector, International Advocacy

InterAction

[email protected]

1-202-552-6523

Sue Pleming

Senior Director, Communications

InterAction

[email protected]

1-202-552-6561

Comments and questions on

specific recommendations should

be addressed to:

Shruti Shah

Senior Policy Director

Transparency International-USA

[email protected]

1-202-589-1616

www.InterAction.org

1400 16th Street, NW

Suite 210

Washington, DC 20036

202.667.8227

The U.S. G8/G20 Advocacy Alliance (Alliance) welcomes the G20s continued focus on

global corruption and its commitment to closing the implementation and enforcement

gap. The G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan for 2013-2014 contains significant anti-

corruption commitments; the United States needs to press countries to fully and rapidlyimplement the plan.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Implement and effectively enforce international anti-corruption conventions, in-

cluding the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery

Convention.

2. Implement effective anti-money laundering actions and continue to support as-

set recovery initiatives.

3. Promote integrity, transparency, accountability and prevention of corruption in

the public sector.

Detailed Recommendations1. Implement and effectively enforce international anti-corruption con-

ventions, including the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and

the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (OECD Convention).

The World Bank estimates that corruption costs US $1 trillion each year1, and bribery by

public officials in developing countries totals as much as US $40 billion each year2. Fur-

thermore, bribery undermines economic growth, diverts development assistance, and

subverts environmental, health and safety controls. It also threatens political stability

and national security. In their 2013-2014 Anti-Corruption Action Plan, G20 leaders reit-

erated their commitment to UNCAC and to tackling foreign bribery.

United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) is the only legally binding

universal anti-corruption instrument. The conventions far reaching approach makes it a

unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to a global problem. UNCAC

covers five main areas: prevention, criminalization and law enforcement measures, in-

ternational cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information ex-

change. UNCAC also covers many different forms of corruption, such as trading in in-

fluence, abuse of power, and various acts of private sector corruption.

Two G20 members, Germany and Japan, have yet to ratify UNCAC. We urge them to


2/4


3/4

zz

laundering rules with a view to correcting gaps, redundancies, or inefficiencies. Other countries which have not

already undertaken such a review should consider conducting a similar exercise.

Furthermore, it is important that the G20 working group on Anti-Corruption collaborates with G20 finance ministers

on anti-corruption and governance issues in the financial sector, which would include strengthened rules on revolv-

ing doors and conflicts of interest for individuals who move between public office and the private sector, and vice

versa.

Asset Recovery

However, asset recovery efforts have had only minimal success to date. The Philippines provides an illustrative

example:

Former President Marcos is estimated to have siphoned off between $5 billion and $10 billion by the time he was

forced out in 1986. The asset recovery efforts of the Philippines extended over 18 years before achieving somesuccess. The largest single cash remittance from looted Marcos funds was made in February 2004, when $624

million was taken out of escrow and remitted to the Philippines Treasury. All receipts from assets recovered went

through an off-budget fund called the Agrarian Reform Fund, to be spent on agrarian reform programs. In Octo-

ber 2006, the Commission on Audit noted that a significant portion of the recovered assets were used to finance

excessive, unnecessary expenses unlikely to benefit the agrarian reform beneficiaries. Monies were also found to

have been used to procure items at inflated prices, while many spending items were not among the approved pri-

ority projects6.

To facilitate asset recovery processes we welcome the G20 commitment to continue their engagement with the

UNODC and World Bank Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) and facilitate mutual legal assistance proce-

dures. G20 countries should adopt the recommendations from StARs Barriers to Asset Recovery Report7.

In their 2013-2014 action plan, G20 leaders committed to develop and make them publicly available national

guides on international cooperation on asset recovery. We encourage G20 leaders to follow the model set by G8

countries on this issue.

3. Promote integrity, transparency, accountability and prevention of corruption in the public

sector.

Transparent management of public finances, which permits public oversight, is necessary to improve the likelihood

that limited resources are used as intended. All G20 countries should establish transparent and accountable public

finance management systems, including for budgeting and procurement. They should adopt and urge all other

countries to enact and implement standards for procurement and public financial management consistent with Ar-

ticle 9 of UNCAC.

Article 9 of UNCAC requires, among other things, the disclosure and declaration of any existing interest in particu-

lar public procurement8. It recommends that each party make all information relating to procurement public and

that all the requirements for awarding a contract be clearly established in advance and published. The selection

criteria must be objective and predetermined, and a system of domestic review and appeal must be available if a

conflict arises. Article 9 also lays down principles to promote transparency and accountability in the management

of public finances, which include a system of accounting and auditing standards and related oversight, as well as

effective and efficient systems of risk management and internal control.


4/4

zz

The G20 countries should urgently implement the principles for asset disclosure by public officials agreed on at the

Los Cabos summit in 2012. The High-Level Principles on Asset Disclosure by Public Officials9

include require-

ments that the disclosure systems be as comprehensive as necessary to combat corruption. They also state that

information should be made as widely available as possible within the government, as well as to the general public.

Finally, they state that disclosure should be required of those in senior leadership positions and/or in positions that

have a greater potential for corruption.

To further ensure accountability, G20 countries should not allow elected public officials to enjoy immunity when

charged with corruption offenses. An atmosphere of impunity may enable those guilty of corruption escape pun-

ishment. This impunity may result from breaking existing laws or exploiting legal loopholes, such as weak regula-

tions, statutes of limitations, and immunities.

In carrying out all of these recommendations, the G20 Working Group on corruption should operate with the high-

est degree of transparency, make publicly accessible draft recommendations, and provide opportunities for mean-

ingful civil society participation.

While the statement is not designed to be a consensus position of the contributors, it has been endorsedby InterActions leadership. The recommendations were developed by a Policy Team of the G8/G20 Ad-vocacy Alliance, whose members are listed below.

ActionAid USAGlobal Financial IntegrityHeinrich Boell Foundation-North America

InterActionONEOxfam AmericaTransparency International-USA

End Notes

1The Cost of Corruption World Bank Institute April 20042Barriers to Asset Recovery World Bank 20113 Exporting Corruption? Country enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, progress report, 2012.4Stolen asset Recovery: Politically Expose Persons, A policy Paper on Strengthening Preventive, Theodore S. Greenberg, Larissa Grey,

Delphine Schantz, Michael Latham, Carolin Gardner, 20095 Stolen asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative: Challenges, Opportunities, and Action Plan, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) and

the World Bank, June 20076Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative: Challenges, Opportunities, and Action Plan, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) and

the World Bank, June 20077World Bank and UNODC StAR initiative, An analysis of the key barriers and recommendations for action 2011http://star.worldbank.org/star/publication/barriers-asset-recovery8 Article 9 UNCAC9 High-Level Principles on asset disclosure by public officials.www.g20.org/load/780986631
http://www.g20.org/load/780986631http://www.g20.org/load/780986631http://www.g20.org/load/780986631http://www.g20.org/load/780986631

Documents

2013 G20 Anti-Corruption and Transparency Background Policy Brief