AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

African Gender Scorecard 2018

“Winning the Fight against Corruption:

A Sustainable and Gender Equitable Path to Africa’s Transformation”

Summary Report

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2018 African Gender Scorecard

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Table of Contents

Table of Acronyms

1. INTRODUCTION

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1.1. Background 1

1.2. Focus on Gender and Corruption 1

1.3. Objectives of the 2018 African Gender Scorecard 2

1.4. Structure of the Summary Report 2

2. RESEARCH APPROACH FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCORECARD

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2.1. Assessment Criteria 3

2.2. Methodology and Data Sources 3

2.3. Scoring and Scaling 4

2.4. Challenges and Limitations 4

3. SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

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3.1. The Level of Ratification and Reporting by Member States regarding Key Regional and International Normative Frameworks

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3.2. Progress made in Mainstreaming Gender into the Fight Against Corruption 8

3.3. Participation of Citizens, CSOs and Private Sector in Fighting Corruption 10

3.4. Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilization for Development, Poverty Eradication and Protecting Women’s Rights

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3.5. Strengthening the Implementation of Anti-corruption Policies 11

4. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 12

ANNEXURE 1: RESULTS OF THE 2018 AFRICAN GENDER SCORECARD

ANNEXURE 2: LIST OF AWARDEES

AfDB African Development Bank

AML/CFT Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism

AU African Union

AU-ABC African Union Advisory Board on Corruption

AUC African Union Commission

AUCPCC AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption

CEDAW Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

CSOs Civil Society Organizations

ECA United Nations Economic Commission For Africa

GEWE / WR Gender Equality, Women Empowerment and Women’s Rights

IFFs Illicit financial flows

NACAs National Anti-Corruption Agencies

NACS National Anti-Corruption Strategy

NHRI National Human Rights Institution

OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

UNCAC United Nations Convention Against Corruption

UNCATOC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNODC United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime

UN OHCHR UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

US United States

WGDD Women Gender Directorate Division

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

The African Gender Scorecard is a user-friendly action tool whose main goal is to provide the African Union Commission (AUC) and Member States with an easy-to-use monitoring and accountability tool to assess progress made in implementing their regional and global gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments. The Scorecard is also a gender responsive policy making tool that has the potential to support countries in addressing gender dimensions in policies and programs for achieving of the 7 aspirations of Agenda 2063, which is the continent’s development framework for transforming Africa into a prosperous continent based on inclusive growth, sustainable development, good governance, democracy, as well as respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law.

The Scorecard is informed by regional gender normative frameworks, which African leaders have committed to, such as: the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa; and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (“The Maputo Protocol”). The Scorecard also recognizes and is informed by global gender normative frameworks, including: the Convention on the Elimination of All for forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals; and the various resolutions relevant to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in Africa. The Scorecard’s results are presented in info-graphics that allow for greater data visualization.

The previous versions of the Scorecard focused on the African Union’s themes for their respective years of edition. In 2015, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) developed the maiden edition of the Scorecard for the AUC. It was based on the theme: “Women’s Economic Empowerment” and focused on 7 sectors (with 23 indicators) that have multiplier implications for women’s empowerment i.e. access to credit; parliament and decision making; employment; business sector; access to land; education; and health. The 2016 Scorecard, developed by the AUC in collaboration with ECA and the African Development Bank (AfDB) comprised of 56 indicators that concentrated on the AU theme: “Year of African Human Rights” with a focus on women’s human rights. The 2017 Scorecard, undertaken by the AUC in collaboration with ECA, AfDB and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was developed in consonance with the AU’s theme for the year: “Harnessing Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth”. With 73 indicators, the 2017 Scorecard focused on the following sectors: employment and entrepreneurship; education and skills development; health and wellbeing; and rights, governance and youth empowerment.

1.2. Focus on Gender and Corruption

African countries have made tremendous progress in terms of promoting gender equality, especially by adopting and domesticating international conventions, protocols and national laws on gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, corruption exacerbates inequality and affects the gains made in terms of promoting gender equality and women’s rights in Africa. Men and women can be affected by corruption, and everyone can be corrupted. Corruption however depends mainly on unequal power relations between people in powerful positions and those in marginalized positions, which are most likely women and the poor. Corruption in public services constitutes a barrier for women, girls and the poor to access public goods. This negatively impacts on their

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access to education, decent employment, health services (especially for reproductive and maternal health), which undermine their welfare and socio-economic development, as well as contribution to national development.

It is essential for Member States to ensure that the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights informs measures for fighting corruption in Africa. This is imperative from a human rights perspective, as well as from an economic development perspective, particularly in terms of achieving broad-based prosperity and transformative development on the continent in accordance with the aspirations of Agenda 2063.

The 2018 African Gender Scorecard has been developed by the AUC, through the Women Gender Directorate Division (WGDD) and the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AU-ABC) in conjunction with ECA and AfDB. This edition of the Scorecard comprises of 25 indicators (within 5 Performance Areas) that align with the AU’s thematic focus on the fight against corruption in 2018. Hence, the title of the fourth edition of the Scorecard: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable and Gender Equitable Path to Africa’s Transformation”. 1.3. Objectives of the 2018 African Gender Scorecard

The objectives of the 2018 African Gender Scorecard are to:

❑ Assess the enabling environment in Member States for fighting corruption in a manner that promotes gender equality and protects women’s social, economic and civil and political rights;

❑ Evaluate the extent to which Member States’ current measures to fight corruption takes account of gender dimensions, including citizens’ (women’s and men’s) participation in the formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of anti-corruption policies, strategies, programs; and

❑ Provide specific recommendations towards supporting Member States to take comprehensive steps and actions for ensuring that the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights informs measures for fighting corruption.

It is important to emphasize that the purpose of the Scorecard is not to rank countries. Rather, the Scorecard aims to introduce a monitoring and accountability mechanism that shows and values progress made by Member States in addressing gender dimensions of corruption, as well as in tackling such impediment to the continent’s inclusive growth and equitable development. As such, the performance of each country should be understood on its own merits based on the Member State’s particular set of circumstances. The findings of the Scorecard do not portray the status of corruption in any country and are not a substitute for agreed international reports on the subject. The findings mainly speak to the existence of legal frameworks that enable the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights to inform measures for fighting corruption. The findings do not reflect the level of implementation of these frameworks and policies for combating corruption. 1.4. Structure of the Summary Report

This document constitutes the Summary Report of the 2018 African Gender Scorecard. Following the introductory section, the Scorecard’s research approach, assessment criteria, methodology and data sources and limitations are articulated in section two. The main findings of the assessment, as outlined in section three, highlight inter alia how Member States are faring with regards to the performance areas of the Scorecard. In the last section, the summary report provides key policy recommendations and messages.

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2. RESEARCH APPROACH FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCORECARD

2.1. Assessment Criteria

Building on AU’s objectives for the Africa Year of Anti-Corruption, the 2018 African Gender

Scorecard focuses on 5 key performance areas, which through a set of 25 indicators,

assess the enabling environment in Member States for fighting corruption in a manner that

promotes gender equality and protects women’s social, economic and civil and political

rights. The indicators, which are based on the prescriptions of relevant international and

regional normative frameworks, as well as best practices, are strategically designed to

assess anti-corruption measures in the member States from a human rights as well as

gendered perspectives (implicit and explicit). The performance areas, indicators and data

sources for the Scorecard are set out in Table 1 below.

2.2. Methodology and Data Sources

The research approach for developing the Scorecard involved deriving primary data from member States through a self-assessment questionnaire administered to their National Anti-Corruption Agencies (NACAs). The questionnaire focuses on the legal framework and enabling legal environment within Member States, including how their National Anti-Corruption Strategies (NACS) mainstream gender equality and women’s rights. In addition, a specific workshop was held with NACAs, from 39 member States, during the Annual African Anti-Corruption Dialogue. This meeting was convened by the AU-ABC in Arusha, Tanzania (2nd – 4th October 2018), with the theme: “Towards the Development of an African Anti-Corruption Measurement.”

The development of the Scorecard also involved rigorous data analysis of credible secondary data sources selected from relevant studies and indexes that relate to the Scorecard’s performance areas and adapting them to suit the purpose of the Scorecard. In this regard, the Scorecard relies on data from the following reputable publicly available indexes:

❑ AfroBarometer survey on People and Corruption in Africa 2015;

❑ Afrobarometer survey on Police Corruption in Africa 2015;

❑ AfroBarometer survey on Corruption in Sao Tome & Principe 2018;

❑ Basel Institute on Governance Anti-Money Laundering Index 2017;

❑ Control of Corruption Index 2018 (Worldwide Governance Indicators 2018);

❑ EY Worldwide Transfer Pricing Reference Guide 2017-2018;

❑ Global Corruption Barometer survey on People and Corruption in MENA Region 2016;

❑ Government Effectiveness Index 2018 (Worldwide Governance Indicators 2018);

❑ US State Department Trafficking in People Report 2018;

❑ Voice and Accountability Index 2018 (Worldwide Governance Indicators 2018);

❑ World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Report; and

❑ World Bank’s 2018 Women, Business and the Law Report.

In addition, the Scorecard relies on the records of the AUC, AU-ABC, African Commission

on Human and Peoples Rights, UN Office of Drug and Crime (UNODC) and UN Office of

the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UN OHCHR), as well as desktop research, legal

review and the analysis of available online resources.

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2.3. Scoring and Scaling

The scoring for each of indicator of the Scorecard is done using the Min-Max method of a 0 – 10 system, where 0 indicates the lowest/weakest performance level and 10 the highest/strongest performance level. In order to reach a unified coding system, the individual sources of data (from both primary and secondary data sources) were collected and rescaled using the above scoring approach. Only after rescaling the data is the

information then applied in the Scorecard.

2.4. Challenges and Limitations

2.4.1. Challenges relating to the theme on corruption Developing the Gender Scorecard on the theme of corruption is not an easy undertaking. Most internationally recognized aggregate measures of corruption assess perceptions of corruption, but do not capture corruption’s gender dimensions.1 As such, the design of the Scorecard’s methodology limits the use of “perception indicators.”

2.4.2. Data availability Availability of data on the gender dimensions of the fight against corruption in Africa, particularly sex-disaggregated data, was a major constraint that limited the selection of the indicators for the Scorecard. In some instances, the Scorecard’s secondary data sources did not provide data for some countries. As examples, the AfroBarometer and Global Corruption Barometer surveys on access to public services in Africa only cover 34 Member States, while the EY Worldwide Transfer Pricing Reference Guide 2017-2018 covers only 22 African countries, although from a rich sample in terms of geographic representation, language blocks and legal systems in Africa that provide a good understanding of the general situation on the continent. As such, the paucity of data in those instances may skew the overall results/performance of those Member States.

Completed questionnaires were received from only 22 Member States through their NACAs.2 In order to address the resulting lacuna regarding indicators of the Scorecard covered through the questionnaire, additional desktop and online research were undertaken to generate data for as many Member States as possible that did not submit completed questionnaires. This additional research was based on records of the AU-ABC and the UN Office of Drug and Crime (UNODC) that provided country profiles on the implementation of the African Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption (AUCPCC) and the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) respectively. In addition, available online resources e.g. the websites of NACAs, supplanted these sources. 3

2.4.3. Element of subjectivity Some of the results may be slightly skewed due to the element of subjectivity by the respondents (NACAs of Member States) in completing the self-assessment questionnaire. 2.4.4. Assessment of the enabling environment rather than actual implementation It is important to note that several of the indicators and primary research tools employed in this Scorecard sought more to assess the enabling environment rather than actual implementation by Member States or the effectiveness of their NACAs.

1 UNDP and UNIFEM/UN Women. 2010. Corruption, Accountability and Gender: Understanding the Connection. Page 9. 2 The following 22 Member States submitted completed questionnaires for the Scorecard: Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Congo Republic,

Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo and Uganda.

3 Information contained in UNODC’s Country Profiles have been utilized irrespective of their dates or currency, except where the Member State has provided more recent information to the African Union Commission through the AU-ABC and/or WGDD.

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Table 1: Performance Areas, Indicators and Data Sources for the 2018 African Gender Scorecard

Performance Areas Justification Indicators Data Source

Performance Area 1 The level of Ratification and Reporting in terms of relevant international and continental instruments on the fighting corruption, promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights at the national level.

This performance area covers Objectives I and III [a] of the AU 2018 Theme. This area is important and fundamental in terms of assessing the commitment of a country, through its accession to international and continental normative instruments for fighting corruption, promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights.

a) Ratification and Reporting on the implementation of UNCAC

❑ UNCAC: UNODC database available online.4 ❑ AUCPCC: AU-ABC records / AUC Office of the

Legal Counsel. 5 ❑ Maputo Protocol: AUC Office of the Legal Counsel

and WGDD records. 6 ❑ CEDAW: UN OHCHR records. 7

b) Ratification and Reporting on implementation of AUCPCC

c) Ratification and Reporting on the implementation of CEDAW

d) Ratification and Reporting on implementation of Maputo Protocol

e) Ratification of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNCATOC) and is a party to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, especially Women and Children.

❑ US State Department Trafficking in People Report 2018.

❑ Database/website of UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. 8 9

Performance Area 2

Progress made in fighting corruption while mainstreaming GEWE/WR.

This performance area covers Objectives I, III [b], V and VI of the AU 2018 Theme. This area seeks to assess the performance of Member States in terms of:

▪ The strategic alignment of anti-corruption preventive systems with gender mainstreaming;

▪ Access to public services that are critical for promoting gender equality and women empowerment, which may be vulnerable to corruption; and

f) Establishment of a specialized National Anti-Corruption Agency (NACA) that:

▪ Has a Women’s Desk (or other feature that supports mainstreaming gender equality and women’s rights in the fight against corruption); and

▪ Consults civil society and institutions that focus on human rights and gender concerns.

❑ Primary data sourced from Member States through Questionnaires and AU-ABC’s workshop with African NACAs (Oct 2018).

❑ Review of National Anti-corruption Laws and Strategies within the records of AU-ABC.

❑ Additional online research.

g) Development of a National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) that

4 UNODC Country Profiles see https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/country-profile/index.html. Assessed 21 Sept 2018. 5 AUC records: List of Countries that have signed, ratified/acceded to the AUCPCC as at 18/09/2018: https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/7786-sl-

african_union_convention_on_preventing_and_combating_corruption_4.pdf. 6 AUC records: List of Countries that have signed, ratified/acceded to the Maputo Protocol as at 18/09/2018: https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/7783-sl-

protocol_to_the_african_charter_on_human_and_peoples_rights_on_the_rights_of_women_in_africa_5.pdf. 7 UN OHCHR records. See https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx. Assessed 24 Sept 2018. 8 United Nations Treaty Collection: status as at 24 September 2018. See https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12&chapter=18&clang=_en. 9 United Nations Treaty Collection: status as at 24 September 2018. See https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-a&chapter=18&clang=_en.

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Performance Areas Justification Indicators Data Source

▪ Measures to deter and tackle gender-specific forms of corruption.

mainstreams gender equality and women rights.

h) Level of Police Integrity Afrobarometer surveys carried out in 34 African countries between 2002 and 2013 contained in Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 56 of 2015.10

i) Access to Public Hospitals ❑ AfroBarometer People and Corruption Africa survey 2015 (28 African countries). 11

❑ AfroBarometer Corruption Survey for Sao Tome & Principe.12

❑ Global Corruption Barometer for Middle East and North Africa 2016 (providing data for 5 North African countries).13

j) Access to Public Schools

k) Access to ID, Voter’s Card and Permits

l) Access to Public Utilities

m) Access to Courts

n) Protection of: Witnesses and victims; and Whistleblowers

❑ Primary data sourced from Member States through Questionnaires and AU-ABC’s workshop with African NACAs (Oct 2018).

❑ Review of Reports by Member States on the implementation of UNCAC (UNODC Records).

❑ Records of the AU-ABC.

o) Legislation on Sexual Harassment in Employment and Education

World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law Report 2018, whose coverage includes 53 African countries. 14

p) Existence of Criminal Penalties and Civil Remedies for Sexual Harassment in Employment

q) Member State meets the Minimum Standards for the Elimination of Human Trafficking

US State Department Trafficking in People Report 2018 that provides an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to fight it (covers 53 African States). 15

10 Pauline M. Wambua. 2015. Police corruption in Africa undermines trust, but support for law enforcement remains strong. Afrobarometer. See

http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Dispatches/ab_r6_dispatchno56_police_corruption_in_africa.pdf. Assessed 22 September 2018. 11 Coralie Pring. 2015. AfroBarometer People and Corruption Africa survey 2015. See

http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Joint/partner%20publications/ab_joint_pubs_people_and_corruption_africa_survey_2015.pdf. Assessed 22 September 2018. 12 Samuel Adusei Baaye and Trey Hale. 2018. Weak public trust, perceptions of corruption mark São Tomé and Príncipe institutions. AfroBarometer Dispatch No. 200. See

http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Dispatches/ab_r7_dispatchno200_corruption_and_institutional_trust_in_saotome_and_principe.pdf. Assessed 19 October 2018. 13 Coralie Pring. 2016. Global Corruption Barometer for Middle East and North Africa 2016. See http://issuu.com/transparencyinternational/docs/2016_gcb_mena_en?e=2496456/35314511. 14 World Bank. 2018. Women, Business and the Law Report 2018. See http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/926401524803880673/Women-Business-and-the-Law-2018. Assessed 1 June 2018. 15 US State Department. 2018. Trafficking in Persons Report. See WWW.STATE.GOV/J/TIP [Accessed 16 August 2018].

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Performance Areas Justification Indicators Data Source

Performance Area 3

The Participation of civil society and private sector in the fight against corruption.

This performance area covers Objectives I, II and V of the AU 2018 Theme and seeks to assess the availability of spaces for individual citizens, civil society (including women/human rights institutions/ groups and the media) and the private sector to participate in the fight against corruption and promote transparency and accountability in furtherance of their civil and political rights.

r) The NACS provides for engagement with Private Sector and Civil Society (including women/human rights groups and the media) in the fight against corruption

❑ Primary data sourced from Member States through Questionnaires and AU-ABC’s workshop with African NACAs (Oct 2018).

❑ Review of NACS within the records of AU-ABC. ❑ Additional online research, including review NACA

websites.

s) The level of Voice and Accountability (this is the extent to which the country’s citizens are able to participate in selecting their government, as well as the level of freedom of expression, freedom of association and free media).

Voice and Accountability Index (Worldwide Governance Indicators 2018) covers 224 countries, including 53 African countries.16

Performance Area 4

Strengthening domestic resource mobilization for development, poverty eradication and protecting women’s rights

This performance area covers Objectives I, IV and V of the AU 2018 Theme. In order to boost the enabling environment for promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights, it is pertinent to curb the illicit syphoning of funds from Africa, through commercial tax evasion, corruption and crime.

t) Measures against Abusive Transfer Pricing by Multinational Enterprises

EY Worldwide Transfer Pricing Reference Guide 2017-2018 covering 22 African countries.17

u) Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The Basel Institute on Governance’s Anti-Money Laundering Index 2017 (covers 34 African countries).18

v) Existence of Legal Framework for Asset Recovery

❑ Review of Reports by Member States on the implementation of UNCAC.

❑ Legal review of Member States’ anti-corruption laws, where they have been provided to AU-ABC.

Performance Area 5

Implementation of anti-corruption policies

This performance area covers Objectives I, III [b], V and VI of the AU 2018 Theme. This area assesses critical areas that are pertinent towards strengthening the implementation of anti-corruption policies at the national level from a pro-poor and implicitly gendered perspective.

w) Government Effectiveness Government Effectiveness Index (Worldwide Governance Indicators 2018) covers 224 countries, including 53 African countries. 19

x) Control of Corruption Control of Corruption Index (Worldwide Governance Indicators 2018) covers 224 countries, including 53 African countries 20

y) Regulatory Quality regarding Ease of Doing Business

World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Report covers 190 economies, including 54 African countries. 21

16 World Wide Governance Indicators. 2018. See http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/#home. (Assessed 25 September 2018). 17 Ernst and Young. 2018. EY Worldwide Transfer Pricing Reference Guide 2017-2018. https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-2017-2018-tp-reference-guide/$FILE/ey-2017-2018-tp-

reference-guide.pdf. Assessed 16 October 2018. 18 The Basel Institute on Governance. 2017. Anti-Money Laundering Index 2017. See https://index.baselgovernance.org/sites/index/documents/Basel_AML_Index_Report_2017.pdf. Assessed 18/08/2018. 19 World Wide Governance Indicators. 2018. See http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/#home (Assessed 25 September 2018). 20 Ibid. 21 World Bank. 2019. Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30438. Assessed 6 November 2018.

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3. SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

3.1. The Level of Ratification and Reporting by Member States regarding Key Regional and International Normative Frameworks

The most relevant normative instruments that support the fight against corruption in Africa are the UN Convention Against Corruption – UNCAC (global) and the African Union Convention on Combatting and Preventing Corruption – AUCPCC (continental). In terms of promoting gender equality, the key normative frameworks are the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – CEDAW (global) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa – “the Maputo Protocol” (continental). The Scorecard also assesses the extent of the ratification of the key international instruments against human trafficking,22 which are the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNCATOC) and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, especially Women and Children (“the Trafficking in Person’s Protocol”).

The Scorecard confirms the commitment of Member States regarding ratifying and acceding to the regional and international normative frameworks towards fighting corruption, promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights. The ratification/accession by African countries is as follows: UNCAC (50 countries), AUCPCC (40 countries), CEDAW (52 countries), the Maputo Protocol (41 countries), UNCATOC (51 countries) and the Trafficking in Persons Protocol (49 countries). These figures indicate a stronger linkage demonstrated by African countries towards ratifying and acceding to international normative frameworks compared to regional instruments. This trend is also evident in terms of reporting on implementation of these instruments. While 50 African countries are reporting pursuant to CEDAW (in terms of which 31 are fully up to date),23 only 11 Member States have fulfilled their reporting obligations under the Maputo Protocol. These are Angola, Burkina Faso, DRC, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Togo.24 Similarly, although 44 countries are reporting pursuant to UNCAC (21 countries with complete Reports while 23 countries only have Executive Summaries),25 only the following 13 Member States have reported on AUCPCC: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. 26

3.2. Progress made in Mainstreaming Gender into the Fight against Corruption

3.2.1. How gender dimensions are mainstreamed in anti-corruption frameworks

The Scorecard shows that although 43 Member States have established NACAs, 27 only 17 NACAs have gender desks or similar features28 as part of best practices, towards ensuring that issues and sectors that affect women’s rights and gender equality are appropriately mainstreamed in the fight against corruption. During the AU-ABC workshop with African NACAs, several NACAs indicated that they do not have a particular emphasis on the gender dimensions, as they fight corruption mainly from pro-poor and gender-neutral perspectives.

22 Human trafficking is a key gender-specific form of corruption that greatly affects women and girls, which is facilitated by judicial

corruption (including police corruption) across its value chain. 23 UN OHCHR records. Op cit. 24 AUC records: List of Countries that have signed, ratified/acceded to the Maputo Protocol as at 18/09/2018 Op cit. 25 UNODC Country Profiles Op cit. 26 AU-ABC Records. 27 Some Member States may have other institutions dealing with corruption that do not fulfill the requirements of NACAs as envisaged

by the provisions of AUCPCC and UNCAC. 28 E.g. Female leader or research or other departments that inter alia focuses on the gender dimensions of fighting corruption.

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Only 31 countries have developed a NACS, whereas several countries are in varying stages of developing or reviewing their NACS e.g. NACS have been identified on priority lists (3 countries), draft NACS before parliament/cabinet (3 countries), lapsed NACS being reviewed (2 countries). The Scorecard reveals that there are only 17 countries where the development of the NACS involved input from the Department/Ministry of Gender and/or the NHRI. This highlights that there are insufficient collaboration and cross-pollination between ministries, departments and agencies involved in gender and human rights on the one hand and their counterparts at the frontier work of fighting corruption. This is also reflected in the quality of the NACS among Member States generally, which provides room for improvement in terms of mainstreaming the gender dimensions.

There are some notable practices by Member States regarding mainstreaming the gender dimension in combatting corruption, which include the following: ❑ Madagascar recently undertook a gender-based corruption survey aimed at

identifying tools for sensitization and awareness. ❑ The Democratic Republic of Congo developed a new campaign against corruption

with the branding of an African woman crying, with the slogan about stopping corruption so as to the dry the tears of women.

❑ Ghana's NACA is unique by having a hybrid model wherein the National Human Rights Commission (NHRI), Ombudsman and Anti-corruption Agency are fused into one organization, which ensures that gender dimensions are strategically and coherently mainstreamed in the fight against corruption. This is evidenced by the sterling quality of Ghana’s National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (2012 – 2021). 29

❑ In Niger, the 2016 Anti-corruption law sought to take gender issues into account with commendable quotas for the appointment of women into the NACA.

❑ Women lead the NACAs of both Senegal and Seychelles.

3.2.2. Measures to address gender-specific forms of corruption The findings of the Scorecard points out the need to strengthen the enabling environment in the Member States for addressing gender-specific forms of corruption. The Scorecard indicates that although 36 Member States have legislation on sexual harassment in the employment sector, only 13 Member States have such legal frameworks in the education sector. Also, while 30 Member States have criminal penalties for sexual harassment in the employment sector, only 13 Member States have the existence of civil remedies for sexual harassment in employment. Importantly, the Scorecard reveals that no African country fully meets the minimum international standards for the elimination of human trafficking. 3.2.3. Public services that are essential for gender equality and women’s rights The Scorecard interrogated how public services that are intrinsic to the realization of GEWE/WR may be susceptible to bribery and corruption risks. The results show (on a Min-Max scale of 0-10) that addressing corruption within the police service (5.3) and courts (7.2) are the two most significant growth areas for several Member States when compared to access to: public schools (8.3); public hospitals (8.1); public utilities (7.9); identity, voter’s cards and permits (7.8). 30

29 From the review of National Anti-Corruption Strategies that are part of the records of the AU-ABC. 30 AfroBarometer surveys on People and Corruption in Africa 2015 Op cit., Police Corruption in Africa 2015 Op cit., Corruption in Sao

Tome & Principe 2018 Op cit. and Global Corruption Barometer survey on People and Corruption in the Middle East and North Africa Region 2016 Op cit.

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3.2.4. Protection of witnesses, victims and whistleblowers

The Scorecard shows that only 22 Member States have adequate legal frameworks for protecting witnesses, victims, experts and informants, whereas 19 Member States have comprehensive whistleblower protection. Such protections are at varying stages in other countries.

3.3. Participation of Citizens, CSOs and Private Sector in Fighting Corruption

The results of the Scorecard indicate that the NACS of several Member States recognize civil society, citizen groups, NGOs, trade unions, business associations, academia, religious organizations and the media as important stakeholders in constraining corruption. This includes through policy formulation and implementation, as well as representing the interests of the general public and bringing corruption cases to light. As such, the NACS of several Member States are creating spaces for civil society, including women and human rights groups (38 countries) and private sector (35 countries). The Scorecard however highlights the poor performance of Member States generally regarding the level of voice and accountability. This refers to the extent to which the country’s citizens are able to participate in selecting their government, as well as the levels of freedom of expression, freedom of association and free media. These are important elements in terms of fighting corruption as well as promoting accountability, good governance and fundamental human rights (including women’s rights). In terms of the level of voice and accountability, only 26 African countries score at least 5 points (on a Min-Max scale of 0-10) in terms of which 7 points was the highest mark achieved in Africa by only 5 countries (Cape Verde, Ghana, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa). 31

3.4. Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilization for Development, Poverty

Eradication and Protecting Women’s Rights

3.4.1. Curbing Illicit Financial Flows The Scorecard shows the growing trend within Member States regarding addressing IFFs that occur through abusive transfer pricing practices by multinational corporations. The findings of the Scorecard suggests that 95% of the Member States studied have transfer pricing legislation in place that are typically based on the OECD transfer pricing Guidelines (which mainstream the arm’s length principle).32 However, only 62% of the Member States studied have disclosure requirements for related-parties transactions, while only 14% of the sample Member States has country-by-country reporting notification and report submission requirements. In the Member States studied, the likelihood of transfer pricing scrutiny/related audit by the national revenue authority is high in 29%; medium in 38%; and low in 34%.33 3.4.2. Measures to counter money laundering and terrorist financing The results of the Scorecard show that managing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing is a significant growth area for African countries with no Member State being classified as low-risk. The best performing African countries (South Africa, Egypt, Malawi and Mauritius) only achieved a medium-risk score of 5 points (on a Min-Max scale of 0-10) African countries in the index being classified as medium-risk (19 Member States) to high-risk (15 Member States).34

31 Voice and Accountability Index (World Wide Governance Indicators 2018) Op cit. 32 Ernst and Young. 2018. EY Worldwide Transfer Pricing Reference Guide 2017-2018. Op cit. 33 Ibid. 34 The Basel Institute on Governance. 2017. Anti-Money Laundering Index 2017. Op cit.

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3.4.3. Asset Recovery

43 African countries have measures for freezing, seizing and confiscating the proceeds of corruption, as well as measures to facilitate international cooperation/mutual legal assistance. 35 Despite the existence of legal measures in place to support asset recovery, implementation has been challenging due to a number of factors. These include: the complexity of international cooperation in legal matters; lack of technical capacity to trace stolen assets (in public and private sectors) e.g. lawyers skilled in multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional litigation; financial investigators; forensic accountants; and specialists in the financial center countries etc.). As at yet, only few cases have been successful to date.

3.5. Strengthening the Implementation of Anti-corruption Policies

The Scorecard interrogates pertinent factors for creating an enabling environment for ensuring that the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights inform measures to fighting corruption. It also assesses the levels of government effectiveness36 and the control of corruption, as well as regulatory quality regarding the ease of doing business.

The average scores for the Member States (on a Min-Max score of 0-10) are: government effectiveness (3.72 points); and control of corruption (4.02 points), which are low compared to that of regulatory quality regarding the ease of doing business (5.52 points). These results indicate that the levels of government effectiveness and the control of corruption are key growth areas that require significant improvement by Member States generally.

The results of the Scorecard indicate that between 2017 – 2018, there are significant reforms by Member States with regards to business regulations in respect of starting a business; dealing with construction permits; getting electricity; registering property; getting credit; protecting minority investors; paying taxes; trading across borders; enforcing contracts; and resolving insolvency. 37 These developments contribute to leveling the playing field, reducing bureaucracy and corruption, as well as increasing accessibility to women. In this regard, the figures from the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Report found an important improvement by African Member States. For instance, in terms of doing business in general, Mauritius is now top-20 globally (from 25th to 20th) and Rwanda is now top 30-globally (from 41st to 29th). One of the greatest improvements globally is from Djibouti (2nd best reformer globally), which remarkably is now ranked 99th globally from 154th. 38 The results reveal that 92.5% of African Member States made huge improvements from the previous year, with much of the improvement being attributed to increased digitization. 39 In this regard, Africa (excluding North Africa) is the most represented region among the top-ten improvers regarding the ease of doing business globally with four countries: Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda and Djibouti.40 Despite this performance, there is a lot of room for further improvement as put together, African economies currently score much lower than most high-income economies.

35 Reports by Member States on the implementation of UNCAC provided by UNODC Country Profiles. Op cit. 36 The indicator on Government Effectiveness assesses the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of

its independence from political pressures; and the quality of policy formulation and implementation, as well as the credibility of the government's commitment to such policies. See Government Effectiveness Index (World Wide Governance Indicators 2018) Op cit.

37 World Bank. 2019. Doing Business 2019. Op cit. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid.

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4. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations that are set out hereunder are pertinent to address the challenges that are enumerated in the findings of the Scorecard. These recommendations specifically pertain to key growth areas where improvements are needed in order to ensure that the promotion of gender equality and women’s rights inform measures for fighting corruption in Africa. 4.1. Mainstreaming the gender dimensions in national anti-corruption preventive systems

a) The NACS of Member States should strive to mainstream the gender dimensions, through inter alia a stronger focus on issues and sectors that affect the realization of women’s rights and gender equality, as well as broad-based consultation with institutions and groups that represent fundamental human rights and women’s rights.

b) It is important for ministries, departments and agencies involved in fighting corruption, as well as their counterparts working on human rights and gender equality to participate in the process of the development and implementation of NACS.

c) There is the need for capacity building programs for NACAs of Member States on mainstreaming the gender dimensions in the fight against corruption.

4.2. Access to public services that are intrinsic to gender equality and women’s rights

a) Member States are encouraged to adopt appropriate measures to eliminate corruption that affects accessibility to public services that are intrinsic to promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights. These include access to public schools, hospitals, utilities, identity documents, voter’s cards and permits.

b) In particular, it is important to strengthen the integrity of the police service and courts.

4.3. Addressing gender-specific forms of corruption

a) Forms of corruption that mostly affect women, such as sexual extortion and human trafficking, must be recognized as such and should be specifically addressed as part of core anti-corruption systems and measures. This may include providing supportive environments where women can report and take action to tackle these forms of corruption in male dominated spaces.

c) Member States should ensure adequate protection for witnesses, victims, experts, informants and whistleblowers.

b) It is also important to strengthen measures against sexual exploitation of women and girls, through appropriate criminal and civil legal mechanisms, including with regards to the employment and education sectors. It is essential for Member States to ensure effective implementation of such measures, as well as enforcement of laws that address these issues.

c) Member States are encouraged to adopt appropriate measures to ensure that they fully meet with the minimum international standards for the elimination of human trafficking and other forms of gender based violence.

4.4. Improving the ease of doing business

It is important for Member States to continue with reforms that improve the ease of doing business by reducing corruption and increasing accessibility for women. This is particularly important in the key sectors that are strategic to promoting women’s socio-economic rights and which support the actualization of the aspirations of Agenda 2063 (e.g. cross-border trade, agriculture and infrastructure).

Appendix 2: LIST OF AWARDEES

CATEGORY AWARDEES SCORES / NUMBER OF AWARDS

Best Overall Performance

(Based on countries that received the most awards in the Performance Areas)

Namibia 1st (PA1 & PA3), 2nd (PA2) & 3rd (PA5)

South Africa 1st (PA3 & PA4) & 3rd (PA1)

Rwanda 1st (PA1 & PA5)

Burkina Faso 1st (PA1) & 2nd (PA3)

Ghana 1st (PA3 & Special Award)

Performance Area 1:

The level of Ratification and Reporting in terms of relevant international and continental instruments on the fighting corruption, promoting gender equality and protecting women’s rights at the national level

Burkina Faso 10

Namibia 10

Nigeria 10

Rwanda 10

Ethiopia 9

Performance Area 2:

Progress made in mainstreaming gender into the fight against corruption

Zambia 8.5

Mauritius 8.3

Namibia 8.3

Tanzania 7.4

Togo 7.4

Performance Area 3:

The Participation of civil society and private sector in the fight against corruption

Ghana 8.5

Mauritius 8.5

Namibia 8.5

South Africa 8.5

Burkina Faso 8

Performance Area 4:

Strengthening domestic resource mobilization for development, poverty eradication and protecting women’s rights

South Africa 8

Cote d’Ivoire 7.7

Malawi 7.7

Algeria 7.3

Nigeria 7

Performance Area 5:

Implementation of anti-corruption policies in terms of government effectiveness, control of corruption and ease of doing business

Rwanda 7

Botswana 6.7

Cape Verde 6.3

Namibia 6.3

Seychelles 6.3

Special Award: (1 Awardee)

Best National Anti-Corruption Strategy in mainstreaming gender equality and women’s rights as core part of fight against corruption.

Ghana Ghana’s National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) 2012–2021 is outstanding

on the continent and provides a great Model and Benchmark of best practice in

Africa as well as the world. 41

41 This has been inter alia achieved in the NACAP through: (a) Substantive provisions that seek to proactively promote gender equality / protect women’s rights; (b) Strong focus on issues and sectors that affect the realization of women’s rights and gender equality; (c) Reference to normative frameworks on gender equality and women’s rights (including CEDAW, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1995 Beijing Conference on Women and the Beijing Platform of Action), as well as reference to Ghana’s National Gender Policy Document; and (d) Broad-based consultation with institutions and groups that represent gender equality, fundamental human rights and women’s rights.