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Global Anti-corruption Forum Considers Concrete Measures

By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer

Brasilia, Brazil -- A global forum has moved the international community toward more robust implementation of the U.N. Convention Against Corruption and other anti-corruption and good governance measures, a senior U.S. official says.

“By picking up ‘from words to deeds’ as the theme of the just-concluded Fourth Global Forum on Fighting Corruption (GF IV), Brazil has helped the international community shift to practical aspects of the fight against corruption and recognize that this fight is not a rhetorical exercise,” said Daniel Fisk, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, in a June 10 Washington File interview.

Fisk, who participated in the forum, said that the gathering in the Brazilian capital was more about lessons learned than new ideas.

“My sense was that people were asking practical questions; this kind of questions that need to be asked to implement anti-corruption measures,” he said.

Fisk said he believes discussions on international conventions, the role of civil society, electronic government (e-government) and law enforcement have contributed most to relevant areas of international cooperation.

Ideas explored by delegates included mutual legal assistance as a way to overcome jurisdictional obstacles in pursuit of cross-border cases, integrity assessments of countries as an alternative to measuring corruption and the creation of national databases to improve transparency in management of seized assets. 

U.S. officials said that the United States’ participation in the Global Forum process reflects the continued commitment by President Bush to work with dedicated partners to implement international transparency and anti-corruption measures such as denying safe haven to corrupt officials, those who corrupt them, and their assets; the Millennium Challenge Account; and the Group of Eight nations’ anti-corruption and transparency initiative.

Another U.S. official Adolfo Franco, who headed the U.S. delegation to the forum, said that its theme was “extremely” timely because governments are now at a crossroads for turning international commitments into effective anti-corruption actions.

“As raised by many delegates during the forum, strengthening the collective political will to fight corruption and improve governance was a main objective,” said Franco at a June 9 press briefing in Brasilia.

In this respect, the gathering was a success, he said.

Franco, an assistant administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development, urged countries to ratify the U.N. Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) so that it comes into force by the end of 2005.

UNCAC is an “enshrinement” of the new global attitude toward corruption, according to U.S. officials. It addresses issues of prevention, criminalization, international cooperation, asset recovery and implementation mechanisms.

The convention has been signed by 123 countries and ratified by 25 since the U.N. signing ceremony in Merida, Mexico, in 2003, according to U.N. sources. Ratification by at least 30 countries is required for the convention to enter into force. President Bush has asked the Senate to ratify UNCAC.

Another U.S. official in Brasilia said that the convention will have entered into force by the next Global Forum in 2007.

But “the hardest work is still before us: to take actions necessary to implement international commitments, facilitate international cooperation and showcase these actions to the world,” said the official, who asked not to be identified, in a June 10 interview.

The official said that moving forward, as reflected in the GF IV final declaration, “we must deliver on our commitments and take actions that will achieve demonstrable results.”

An international anti-corruption drive, which has intensified in recent years, has already produced concrete results as attested by many delegates.

For example, Kimberly Post from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said that an increasing number of tax havens under growing international pressure have started demonstrating willingness to cooperate with international investigators. And Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told GF IV that his government, starting in July, will make electronic bidding an obligatory form of public procurement building on the experience of leading countries in e-government such as South Korea and Mexico.

GF IV played out against a background of several developing corruption scandals in Brazil. One involves officials at the postal service who allegedly took kickbacks to rig contracts. In a speech at the GF IV June 7 opening ceremony, da Silva said that his government will not hesitate to continue investigation in this and a related scandal to the “bitter end,” according to official translation of his remarks.