Fourth Conference of the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network

Organized by: UNDP-ACIAC

The Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network (ACINET) concluded its fourth conference entitled “Reconciling Hopes with Realities in the Fight against Corruption: Paving the Way for Innovation” which was held in Beirut on 14-16 April 2013, under the patronage of H.E the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lebanon. The Conference was held at the ministerial level and brought together more than 250 participants from 30 countries. Ministers and high level officials from participating Arab countries shared the progress of their recent anti-corruption efforts followed by an open discussion on strengths and weaknesses of the Arab experience in the past 10 years. They also drew lessons from the experiences of Malaysia, Brazil and Eastern European countries and provided recommendations to advance the anti-corruption experience in Arab countries through innovative approaches and enhanced strategic planning. Discussions continued to focus on specific themes with a view to helping participants exchange related experience and expertise and share ideas on relevant reforms. Participants discussed innovation in corruption prevention, including the use of ICTs for transparency and corruption prevention as well as the establishment of more effective systems for the management of conflicts of interest. They also discussed innovation in the criminalization and prosecution of corruption, including a focus on illicit enrichment and means to strengthen cooperation for asset recovery. Discussions were also held on innovation in anti-corruption in sectors, including a focus on the judiciary and customs. On 16 April, ACINET adopted the Beirut Declaration Against Corruption which presented important ideas to promote anti-corruption reform and included a commitment to further strengthen civil society participation in anti-corruption efforts and a call to reconsider current approaches including the revision of existing anti-corruption strategies and specialized anti-corruption agencies with a view to making them more effective and the need to give more attention to political corruption. On the side of the Conference, ACINET held its fourth General Meeting during which it reviewed the progress of its work in 2012-2013 and identified priority areas of work for 2013-2014. The meeting also saw the transfer of chairmanship from the Kingdom of Morocco represented by the Central Authority for Corruption Prevention to the Republic of Lebanon represented by the Ministry of Justice. In addition, ACINET held the second General Session of its Non-Governmental Group which reviewed the progress of its work for in 2012-2013 and discussed priority areas of work for 2013-2014. Members nominated the president of the Lebanese Transparency Association to chair ACINET’s Non-Governmental Group for the next cycle. A special workshop was also held on the side of the Conference on engaging the media in the Arab region in anti-corruption efforts. It was attended by more than 20 journalists and helped to generate key ideas that will be pursued through future activities.The Fourth Conference of ACINET was held with the joint support of the Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Development Programme, and in cooperation with a number of regional and international organizations including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Office of the Comptroller General in Brazil, the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Transparency International and the League of Arab States.