UNODC & CIVIL SOCIETY

Civil Society Fighting Corruption

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) recognizes the role of civil society in preventing and combating corruption under Article 13, by calling on governments to increase transparency, improve public access to information and to promote public contributions to the government decision-making process. Article 13 also recognises the role of civil society to raise public awareness regarding the existence, causes and gravity of and the threat posed by corruption.

The Civil Society Unit (CSU) bolsters the capacity and engagement of civil society, especially from developing countries, by delivering trainings to CSOs on UNCAC and its review mechanism. The CSU also supports CSO engagement in intergovernmental meetings and provides the necessary tools for them to work constructively with their governments and the private sector on UNCAC implementation.

News

Strengthening Integrity in the Western Balkans

The event "Private Sector Integrity in the Western Balkans," held from 30 September to 1 October in Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, brought together more than 50 stakeholders. At the core of the event was the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), along with partners’ commitments to reducing corruption in the Western Balkans by enhancing business integrity. Read more.

Grants for Civil Society

The CSU's grants schemes aim to help develop and complement innovative projects and ideas on anti-corruption, specifically on the UNCAC implementation.

The CSU alongside the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative are currently sponsoring a grant programme entitled The Best Anti-Corruption Public Awareness Initiatives. CSOs in Southeast Europe are being supported in raising awareness about the implementation of UNCAC in specific thematic areas, including strengthening partnerships with local public institutions and the private sector to form CSO-public-private partnership.

A full report on the 13 CSOs grant projects sponsored in the Fast-tracking UNCAC project in Eastern Africa, Southeast Asia and South America and Mexico is available here.

Advancing synergy between UNTOC and UNCAC through the engagement of civil society
During the tenth session of the Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to UNCAC in Atlanta, USA, UNODC CSU in collaboration with the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and the UNCAC Coalition organized a special event. Participants had the opportunity to highlight and deliberate on the intricate links between corruption and organized crime across local, regional, and global contexts. Discussions centred on effective strategies to address these interconnected phenomena through the UNCAC COSP and other relevant multilateral approaches. Read more

E-Platforms

The online knowledge hub WhatsOn is a platform designed to bring together relevant stakeholders in the fight against transnational organized crime as well as corruption. Read the latest anti-corruption Impact Story from WhatsOn member - IPPR.

Additionally, our partners at the UNCAC Coalition, coordinate interactive e-platforms for Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Southeast Europe accessible here. CSOs can increase their impact by sharing experiences and corruption-monitoring methodologies, building partnerships and exchanging updates about the status of UNCAC reviews through these platforms.

Fast-tracking UNCAC Implementation website
The project enabled the creation of four Regional Platforms across the world of governments and civil society working together in South East Asia, Eastern Africa, South America and Mexico as well as in Southern Africa to effectively implement the UNCAC in support of SDG 16. Find out more here.

Publications and Tools

To provide guidance and assistance for the prevention of and fight against corruption, UNODC has developed several tools, manuals and publications.

Civil society assessments were undertaken in each of the Fast-tracking UNCAC Implementation regional platforms. Read them for Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, South America & Mexico, and East Africa. See an animated video on the project below.

You can access our latest guide "Civil Society for Development: Opportunities through the United Nations Convention against Corruption" in English, French, Russian, and an abridged version in Portuguese.

You can also access our leaflet "Fighting Corruption Together" showing cases of engagement.

Workshops

Through multi-stakeholder workshops, regional conferences and roundtable discussions, UNODC engages CSOs, governments and the private sector in a constructive dialogue and sharing of experiences, lessons learned and good practices regarding anti-corruption and UNCAC review mechanism implementation.

Together against corruption at the Multi-stakeholder Workshop in Montenegro
The three-day workshop organized, by UNODC Civil Society Unit in partnership with the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) and with support from the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), gathered over 50 stakeholders. The workshop aimed to delve deeply into the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), with a specific focus on Chapter II concerning preventive measures and Chapter V related to asset recovery. Read more.

Events

CSOs have the opportunity to participate in and conduct events on the margins of the sessions of the Vienna-based intergovernmental bodies, and other relevant meetings, such as the sessions of the Conference of the States Parties to UNCAC. The most recent and upcoming are:

UNODC, OECD and Regional Dialogue Jointly Strengthen Anti-Corruption Capacities of Civil Society in Central Asia

Тackling the issue of corruption at all levels of society requires an effective multi-stakeholder approach. On 29-31 March 2023 in Tashkent, UNODC, OECD and Regional Dialogue NGO convened a training aimed to build up the capacities of civil society organizations from Central Asia, Southern Caucasus, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on two anti-corruption country review mechanisms, namely the Implementation Review Mechanism (IRM) of the UNConvention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Istanbul Anti-corruption Action Plan(IAP), which is a peer review programme of the OECD’s Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN). Read the full story here.