Scoping Visit to Support the Country Office in Jordan in the Development of its National Anti-Corruption Project

Jordan - Monday, November 3, 2014

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) completed a scoping mission to Jordan, undertaken by a team of experts provided through its Regional Programme, with the aim of exploring national needs and priorities in the area of anti-corruption and integrity, and discussing ways to strengthen cooperation at the country level in the period of 2015-2017.

The mission received wide media attention and lasted for a week starting on October 26th and ending on November 2nd. It included high-level meetings and in-depth working session with key concerned institutions, including the Anti-Corruption Commission, as well as others, namely the Ministry of Public Sector Development, the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Council, the Audit Bureau, the Royal Committee of Evaluation and Follow up on the Implementation of the Executive Plan of Integrity Charter, the Civil Service Bureau, and the Ombudsman Bureau. Furthermore, the mission provided opportunities to meet with officials responsible for Jordan’s efforts in the framework of the Open Government Partnership, as well as with parliamentarians and representatives of civil society and the private sector. On Tuesday, October 28th, UNDP held a meeting with development partners in Jordan. It enabled the mission to present results achieved during past cooperation in Jordan as well as potential directions for the future. Interactive discussions allowed participants to exchange information on their respective efforts and explore initial ideas to strengthen related cooperation and coordination in with a view to enhancing development effectiveness.

The Mission demonstrated strong national interest in deepening related cooperation with the UNDP, and helped to crystallize a number of concrete proposals in this regard. Those will be reflected in a comprehensive project document that will be presented to all concerned parties prior to its endorsement and the commencement of implementation by the UNDP Country Office in cooperation with the Regional Center that will be established in Amman pursuant to the agreement that has been recently signed between the UNDP and the Government of Jordan represented by H.E. the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Overall, priorities include strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks in order to enhance transparency and accountability, launching sectoral initiatives to reduce related corruption risks, and supporting a number of activities to expand the scope of stakeholders engaged in related national efforts, all with a view to supporting the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and the Execution Plan of the National Integrity Charter.

Jordan is a beneficiary country of UNDP’s Regional Project on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries (ACIAC), which was launched in 2011, and is currently preparing for its second phase that will start next year.