From its establishment, the IAACA has been instrumental in the fight against corruption. Its principal purpose has been to promote and support the implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), fostering constructive collaboration among its members in prevention, asset recovery and international cooperation. During its fourth annual conference and general meeting, the IAACA established a task force and held a special seminar on the work plan at the margins of the conference, as well as extensively soliciting opinions from participants. The task force reconvened in Singapore from 17 to 19 January 2011, hosted by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau of Singapore, to further review the following elements of the work plan for consideration and appropriate action by the Executive Committee of the Association, as mandated by the Macao Conference. The list of participants is contained in Annex I, while the various proposals submitted by its members are contained in Annex II.
I. RAISING AWARENESS
Awareness-raising would serve two key purposes. First, it would help the IAACA develop gradually a global identity, thus increasing its recognition and attracting appropriate attention and broadening its outreach. Second, it would also serve as a means of pooling resources, expertise and ideas which would help the Association offer its members a standard, but adaptable to local exigencies, set of materials to be used for public campaigns, including but not limited to the International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December).
A. Development and dissemination of brochures and other information material
The IAACA Secretariat will collect experiences and materials on raising public awareness against corruption from different countries as well as relevant international organizations, which IAACA members will offer in their own languages and English, where feasible. The Secretariat will place such material and information on the IAACA website for dissemination. Thereafter, the IAACA Secretariat will endeavour to update the information regularly and analyse the effectiveness and usefulness of this tool.
B. Newsletter
The IAACA will launch a periodic Electronic Newsletter, which will be disseminated among its members through the IAACA portal. The Newsletter will publish and report important events of the Association such as the Executive Committee Meetings, annual seminars, annual conferences and general meetings as well as important anti-corruption conferences or important anti-corruption activities organized by its organizational members or international organizations. The IAACA Newsletter will also focus on raising public awareness against corruption between organizations and individual members.
C. Web Site Re-Structuring and Maintenance
The IAACA will comprehensively revise and restructure its website, improving its functions and enriching its content, which will be pragmatic and service-oriented, providing more service to its members. IAACA website will also lodge an “ACA Forum”, with restricted access for IAACA members. This forum will provide a tool[1][1] to exchange consultations on various topics. A volunteer ACA will act as forum coordinator.
D. Production of Promotional Material and Public Service Announcement Videos[2][2]
The IAACA will cooperate with its members to produce and share trailers and educational films on raising public awareness against corruption in different countries and regions. Subject to copyright considerations, where possible, IAACA members should provide to the IAACA Secretariat copies of documentary programmes or their internet location, which have been broadcast on their national television networks, for uploading to the IAACA website.
II. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
In an effort to promote the skills of anti-corruption institutions of different countries, as well as relevant international organizations, the IAACA Secretariat will attach great importance to the collection and analysis of experiences and lessons learnt on the application of anti-corruption legislation and law enforcement actions as well as the effectiveness of preventive measures.
Relevant material will be included in the Legal Library and Knowledge Management Consortium, which is being developed by UNODC, with IAACA’s cooperation. Such inclusion will reduce greatly the efforts and resource requirements for the maintenance and updating of the products, thus achieving two purposes: firstly, creating value for members, and secondly, enriching the overall collection of essential material and information, as mandated by the Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC.
Possible products include:
A. Collection of Terms of Reference and Procedures of Anti-Corruption Authorities[3][3]
This collection will complement the legislation included in UNODC’s Legal Library and provide knowledge on the choices countries make on the structure and mandate of Anti-Corruption Authorities.
B. DIGEST OF CASES
Efforts will focus on creating a searchable digest of concluded and adjudicated cases in various countries, thus beginning to build a source of jurisprudence from around the world.
C. DIRECTORY OF ANTI-CORRUPTION AUTHORITIES[4][4]
As a tool for practitioners, the Directory of Anti-Corruption Authorities will aspire to be the most complete and authoritative compilation of anti-corruption authorities, which will facilitate the direct contact among such authorities in various countries and international organizations. The IAACA Secretariat will update the contact details of anti-corruption authorities on a continual basis.
D. DIGEST OF GOOD PRACTICES[5][5]
The Digest will endeavour to collect and systematize practices of Anti-Corruption Authorities operating under different legal systems.
III. TRAINING AND TOOL DEVELOPMENT
Seminars will be held in various forms, including global, regional, thematic or integrated seminars to improve law enforcement skills for officials from different countries and regions and promote implementation of UNCAC, based on the networking, as well as the collective expertise and resources of IAACA’s membership.
A training base will be set up in China, which will be open to the staff of anti-corruption agencies of various countries and regions. Training courses will be held at capital cities or other big cities in mainland China annually. The hosts will be responsible for the accommodation and transportation of the delegates during their stay in China. Renowned experts and scholars will be invited to deliver speeches in the seminars. The training courses and seminars will cover current and specialized topics, and functions as forums for the exchange of experiences and lessons learnt, as well as on challenges of international cooperation against corruption.
The IAACA will actively support and participate in the training programmes of international anti-corruption education institutions, such as the International Anti-Corruption Academy.
The IAACA will establish a Training Committee to consider the needs of IAACA members.
The IAACA will endeavor to establish collaborative relationships with related academic and research institutions around the world and will explore the possibility together with the academy to organize an Academic Forum to bring academics and professionals together with anti-corruption experts.
A. COORDINATION WITH IACA
All initiatives related with training will be fully discussed and coordinated with IACA, in order to bring synergies and avoid overlapping initiatives.
B. TRAINING COMMITTEE[6][6]
It is recommended that the Executive Committee set up a delegated Training Committee to propose, oversee and evaluate all training-related activities. The Training Committee will also be responsible to:
-Conduct Training Needs Analysis of the different ACA professionals and prioritise professional groups and topics to be targeted.
-Elaborate and/or approve contents, programs, and trainers of specialised courses and seminars.
-Select the training materials to be elaborated and their authors.
-Propose to the Executive Committee the signature of memorandums of understanding with universities and research centres.
As far as possible the Training Committee will maintain electronic relationship between its members.
C. Training Materials
The IAACA intends to invite renowned international experts in the field of fighting corruption to edit and publish a number of high-quality training materials and/or research papers to enhance the quality of the IAACA training courses.
D. Directory of Training Opportunities
The IAACA Secretariat will endeavour to include in the website of the Association information on training opportunities available to Anti-Corruption Authorities around the world.
IAACA Secretariat will gather, with the collaboration of all members, information about courses and seminars on anti-corruption topics organised by other institutions all over the world; this information will be distributed through the IAACA Newsletter.
E. Specialized Courses (Program and Curriculum Development)
The IAACA Secretariat will endeavour, in cooperation with the International Anti-Corruption Academy and other relevant and interested institutions, to develop specialized training plans and arrange specialized training courses tailored to the needs of Anti-Corruption Authorities, so as to provide suitable anti-corruption experiences and theories and practical support for different countries and regions.
F. “Anti-Corruption Authorities in a Changing World: Mandates, Organization, Structure, Procedures, Skill Sets”
IAACA will endeavour to produce a major publication that will compile the experiences of various Anti-Corruption Authorities with the implementation of their divergent mandates. The publication will serve as a key handbook for training courses.
IV. NETWORKING
In order to enhance exchanges and contacts between organizational and individual members of the IAACA and promoting international cooperation against corruption, the IAACA plans to adopt the following measures to improve information exchanges between organizational and individual members.
A. Annual Conferences and General Meetings
In order to strengthen the impact and value of the Annual Conferences and General Meetings, the IAACA Secretariat shall endeavour to reform such conferences and parallel meetings, and improve the quality of conference proceedings. For this purpose the IAACA Secretariat will identify and propose to the Executive Committee for its consideration specific themes and keynote speakers. The IAACA Secretariat shall compile the texts of the conference speeches, presentations and contributions every year so as to encourage organizational and individual members to share their valuable experiences and research achievements.
B. Links with Other Institutions and Organizations
The IAACA will gradually extend its contacts with relevant agencies and institutions and establish stable and regular working relationships.
C. E-mail Lists
See “Directory of Anti-Corruption Authorities” above.
D. Public Relations
The IAACA will explore the development of an appropriate public relations strategy, including the use of new media.
V. HOUSEKEEPING MATTERS
The Association is now entering a new phase in its existence. It would be advisable to take the time to explore and decide on the best way forward in terms of organizing itself in a way that would advance its aims and enable it to chart its future course. Several of the issues listed above relate directly to the matters raised below under “Implementation Modalities”.
A. Status of the Association
The Association will retain its Non-Governmental status according to its constitution and will seek ways to enhance its impacts and improve its influence.
B. Resource Mobilization
In order to maintain its vitality, IAACA would welcome suggestions from organizational and individual members regarding resource mobilization. The IAACA Secretariat will compile these suggestions and inform the membership at the next annual conference and general meeting for decisions, through the Executive Committee.
C. Membership Fees (structure, criteria, amount, collection Modalities, Accountability)
The IAACA plans to collect membership fees. Information on the collection and disbursement of membership fees shall be published.
D. Revision (as necessary) of Statute and Procedures
According to the practical need of the development of the IAACA, the Constitution and related procedural rules can be amended accordingly.
E. Secretariat Support
Currently the Secretariat of the IAACA is established in China, and is supported with human resources by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. The Secretariat encourages IAACA members to place staff to the Secretariat on secondment for specified periods of time. The Secretariat welcomes the offer of the International Anti-Corruption Academy to host a liaison office at its premises in Laxenburg and provide administrative and logistical support to that office.
VI. IMPLEMENTATION MODALITIES
In light of the current momentum of the anti-corruption movement globally, IAACA has great potential and will continue to be instrumental in promoting the implementation of UNCAC. Indeed, the work plan of the IAACA cannot be realized without the active support of its organizational and individual members. Therefore, IAACA welcomes the following:
A. supporting activities and events
The IAACA welcomes offers from anti-corruption authorities to host its annual conferences and general meetings, Executive Committee meetings, Training Committee meetings, training courses, seminars and academic forums. The IAACA also welcomes financial support for the realization of the work programme from its members, other than membership fees.
B. Regional Coordination Mechanisms
Regional Coordination mechanisms will be established to promote the realization of the work plan of the IAACA.
C. Task Force Approach
Individual Anti-Corruption Authorities are invited to volunteer to lead Task Forces which will undertake to implement the various components of the Work Programme.
D. COOPERATION WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
The IAACA will actively explore effective cooperation with relevant international organizations.
[1][1]The Central Vigilance Commission of India has offered to support this activity (http://www.blowyourwhistle.com) by launching a portal provisionally called Team ONEWORLD.
[2][2] ICAC Hong Kong offered support for this activity.
[3][3] Brazil and EPAC offered to support the Secretariat.
[4][4] Brazil and EPAC offered to support the Secretariat.
[5][5] Brazil offered to support the Secretariat.
[6][6] Malaysia, Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia (Spain) and ICAC Hong Kong offered to form the Training Committee.
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