CoSP 9 special events 

The Basel Institute will participate virtually at the 9th Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) to the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) this year due to the recently strengthened travel restrictions.

Some of the special events we are organising or supporting, or at which we are moderators or panellists, will now be held online and opened up to all participants. Do join us if you can!

Anti-corruption prosecutors under attack

 

Thursday 16 December at 12:00–13:30 EET (11:00–12:30 CET). 

Anti-corruption prosecutors are under attack everywhere. They are threatened, exposed to undue influence or hindered by abusive defence strategies. This session gives a voice to these front-line defenders of UNCAC and discusses measures that different stakeholders must take to protect prosecutors, and by extension protect the Convention.

The event is organised by the Basel Institute on Governance and Norway on behalf of the Corruption Hunter Network.

View more information or register directly here.

 

Environmental corruption as a roadblock to reaching the SDGs

 

Friday 17 December at 09:00–10:00 EET (08:00–09:00 CET). 

Environmental crime is lucrative, with its profits easily realised via financial crime and corruption. Panelists from government and civil society will explore the efforts and remaining gaps in leading national law enforcement and conservation efforts to attack this corruption by tracing both the illicit financial flows which facilitate environmental crime and the illegally obtained profits derived from it.

This event is organised by the Basel Institute on Governance.

View more information or register directly here.

 

Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) Day

 

Tuesday, 14 December – all day

The Basel Institute's International Centre for Asset Recovery is a co-organiser of the StAR Initiative's Orders without Borders side event at 09:30 EET (08:30 CET) on StAR Day, Tuesday 14 December.

Speakers will provide an overview of the conclusions of a new StAR publication on the direct enforcement of foreign confiscation orders Orders without Borders. They will cover current approaches used by jurisdictions on the direct enforcement of foreign confiscation orders and recommendations on how common obstacles could be overcome, including those related to confiscation orders derived from non-conviction based forfeiture mechanisms.

Oscar Solórzano, the Basel Institute's Head of Latin America and Senior Asset Recovery Specialist, will speak on the panel.

Gretta Fenner, Managing Director of the Basel Institute on Governance, will also speak at the high-level opening panel on StAR Day at 09:00 EET (08:00 CET).

Jovile Mungyereza, Financial Investigation Specialist, Green Corruption programme at the Basel Institute on Governance, will speak on a panel regarding corruption, tax and law enforcement from 16:15–17:15 EET (15:15–16:15 CET).

All StAR Day events will be open for public participation with no pre-registration required. Visit the StAR web page for the agenda and access link.

 

Do we need a Special Rapporteur on Anti-Corruption and if so, what should its mandate look like?

 

Wednesday 15 December at 19:00–20:00 EET (18:00–19:00 CET).

Implementors of the UNCAC increasingly face push-back: from individual attacks to the systematic undermining of anti-corruption institutions. This panel discussion will explore the set-up of a Special UN Rapporteur on anti-corruption and its possible mandate to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on major right infringements of those fighting corruption.

The Basel Institute on Governance is supporting this side event, which is organised by the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, the Centre for Civil and Political Rights and Norway.

See the U4 blog: Do we need a Special Rapporteur on Anti-Corruption and if so, what should its mandate look like? for a summary of the key points and a link to the recording.

 

Contemporary forms of slavery and anticorruption: Examining relationships and addressing policy gaps

 

Monday 13 December at 18:00–19:00 EET (17:00–18:00 CET).

There is a growing body of evidence that corruption is an underlying cause of and a facilitating tool for practices arising from contemporary forms of slavery. Yet, corruption and contemporary forms of slavery tend to be dealt with in isolation, with no international instrument that focuses on the important link between them, and a lack of systemic data collection efforts on corruption in contemporary forms of slavery. This has significant negative implications on human rights and gender equality.

This side event aims to explore the linkages between corruption and contemporary forms of slavery, including a gender perspective, and offer recommendations for the international community, governments, civil society and the private sector to develop effective strategies to prevent and address them.

Juhani Grossmann, Team Leader of the Basel Institute's Green Corruption programme, will speak on the panel, which is organised by UNDP and the Principality of Liechtenstein.

The panel is open to non-CoSP participants to attend. Click here to join the meeting.

 

Tools and best practices for asset recovery and non-conviction-based asset forfeiture

 

Wednesday 15 December at 12:00–13:00 EET (11:00–12:00 CET).

This side event will share and highlight State Parties’ expertise, best practices and available tools in asset recovery and non-conviction based asset forfeiture. It highlights the use of the new GlobE network in better implementing Chapter V of the UNCAC on asset recovery. The side event is organised by Saudi Arabia.

Oscar Solórzano, Senior Asset Recovery Specialist and Head of Latin America at the Basel Institute, will speak on the panel alongside representatives from the StAR Initiative, the UK National Crime Agency, UNODC and the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Download the event flyer.

 

Stepping up global action for business integrity

 

Tuesday 14 December at 14:00–15:00 EET (13:00–14:00 CET).

Despite progress in recent years, corruption remains a key impediment to sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic has all but intensified challenges to business integrity by disrupting supply chains and producing rapid shifts in corruption risks for companies. As a response, Collective Action by the public sector, the private sector, civil society and academia is required to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to prevent and counter corruption.

This special event will:

• Discuss the latest trends in the area of business integrity;
• Illustrate the impact of the private sector-funded work of UNODC over the past 10 years;
• Call on private-sector leaders and champions of integrity to step up their engagement.

Gretta Fenner will moderate the panel discussion, which is organised by UNODC and Siemens AG.

 

See the UNODC website for the full CoSP 9 agenda and programme of side events.