International Cooperation
9th Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC in Sharm El Sheik
From 13 to 17 December 2021, the 9th Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
As last year, Ambassador Helmut Tichy led the Austrian delegation. On behalf of the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK), the Acting Director, Otto Kerbl, and three other (senior) officials participated in person or online in this event held in a hybrid format.
In her opening speech to the conference, UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly welcomed the 2,100 participants in the presence of the Egyptian Prime Minister. In addition, a video message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres was played. He highlighted the enormous destructive power of corruption and pointed out that on the African continent alone, an estimated USD 88 billion per year were lost through capital flight.
During the subsequent country statements in the plenary sessions, the Austrian Ambassador congratulated Egypt on its election as the chairing country of the Conference of the States Parties for the next two years, and again underlined the importance of Ghada Waly's opening words. Referring to a political declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS), he stressed the following points:
1. "The swift implementation of the General Assembly's proposal to launch global campaigns to prevent corruption.
2. Strengthening the UNCAC bodies and the implementation review mechanism. (Austria is already preparing its country visit in March 2022 as part of the second review cycle.)
3. All countries that have not yet done so are invited to join the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) and benefit from its experience, training and research.
4. The establishment of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE) under the auspices of the UNODC is welcomed. (The BAK is a member of this network and participated in the founding meeting in Vienna in November 2021.)
5. The efforts of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and various civil society organizations in the fight against corruption are highlighted, as is the importance of regional networks such as the European Partners against Corruption (EPAC) and the European contact-point network against corruption (EACN)."
The Conference of the States Parties enabled all participants to attend 65 hybrid sessions, presentations or panel discussions with a variety of topics. For example, at a side event led by the IACA on the third day of the conference, two speakers representing the City of Vienna presented completed and planned corruption prevention projects of the City of Vienna via live stream. Other key topics included special areas of corruption prevention, criminal prosecution or asset recovery.
During the five-day conference, no less than eight resolutions in the areas of UNCAC implementation, audit institutions and international law enforcement cooperation were adopted.