Attorney General John Ashcroft to Head U.S. Delegation to Global Forum

On May 28-31, 2001 in The Hague, the government of the Netherlands will host the Second Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity. This follows up the First Global Forum hosted by the United States Government in Washington in 1999; the United States is the cosponsor of the Second Global Forum

The United States delegation at the Second Global Forum will be headed by Attorney General of the United States John D. Ashcroft. Attorney General Ashcroft will head a delegation including officials of the Departments of Justice and State, and other concerned agencies of the United States government including the Department of the Treasury, U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Agency for International Development, U.S. Customs Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Further information on the Second Global Forum may be found at the Dutch government's Website "www.gfcorruption.org" The following is a listing of the workshop sessions and some of the subjects that the Dutch have included in the agenda for the Second Global Forum.

SECOND GLOBAL FORUM ON FIGHTING CORRUPTION
The Hague, Netherlands
May 28-31, 2001

WORKSHOPS AND WORKING SESSIONS

I. Integrity and Governance

Sub-sessions

-- Integrity and Political Financing
-- Integrity and the Police
-- Integrity and Public Administration
-- Integrity and Transparency in Government
-- Integrity and Democracy

II. Law Enforcement

Sub-sessions

-- Substantive Law
    Offenses
    Sanctions

-- Procedural Law: criminal procedures

-- Investigation I (financial investigation, integrity testing)

-- Investigation II (cooperation among police, prosecutor, tax collectors, accountants,
    banks, internal investigation offices, etc.)

-- Organization of the Judiciary

-- International Law and Cooperation (mutual legal assistance, extradition, confiscation)

-- Role of Independent Anticorruption Commissions

III. Customs

Sub-sessions

-- National Approaches to Integrity

-- Regional and International Approaches to Integrity

IV. Corruption, Transition and Development

Sub-sessions

-- The Media and Its Fight Against Corruption
-- The Role of Parliaments and Supreme Audit Institutions
-- Anticorruption Programs in Local Governments
-- Economic Reform and Anticorruption Programs
-- Case of Hurricane Mitch: Anticorruption Activities and Emergency Aid
-- Public Complaint Mechanisms
-- Council of Europe (Stability Pact Anticorruption Initiative, GRECO,
     technical assistance program on anticorruption standards)
-- Public Voice or Public Sector Management Matters
-- Beyond Transition: State Capture
-- Anticorruption Activities and Aid-Funded Procurement
-- Involving Youth in the Fight Against Corruption
-- The Role of IFI's, UN and bilateral Donors in Controlling Corruption

IV. Government and the Business Sector

Subsessions

-- Accountancy and Financial Reporting, Taxes
-- Compliance Programs and Prevention: The Role of Governments
-- Facilitating Payments: The Borderline Between Voluntary Contributions and Kickbacks
-- Financial Sector, Including Banking and Insurance, the Wolfsburg Anti-Money
     Laundering Principles
-- Globalization and Global Competition: Open Transparent Markets, Deregulation
     and International Competition Rules
-- Money Laundering, Recovery of Embezzled State Funds
-- Off-shore Financial Centers
-- Solicitation and Extortion
-- Whistle Blowing
-- Corruption in the Private Sector