Lobbying G8 meetings

The Group of Eight (G8) consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Russia and is best known for an annual economic and political summit meeting of the heads of government with international officials, which often covers controversial global issues. There are also numerous subsidiary meetings and policy research work done in preparation for the summit. The country holding the presidency hosts a series of ministerial-level meetings leading up to the mid-year three-day summit. The ministerial meetings bring together ministers in topics such as health, law enforcement, and labor, to discuss issues of mutual or global concern. There is also the annual G7 meeting of the financial ministers of the G-8 minus Russia, as well as officials from the European Community.

Efforts to influence the G8 summit discussions and conclusions (Communiqué) should begin early. Civil society organisations should consider communicating their messages to G8 consultation meetings with civil society, as well as to meetings of sous-Sherpa, Sherpa and Ministers that take place in advance of the G8 summit of Heads of State. During the G8 summit, civil society organisations may also be able to take advantage of the presence of a large press corps covering the meeting to communicate their messages.

TI and other groups were active in one or more of these ways at the 31st G8 summit in Gleneagles Scotland hosted by the UK government in July 2005. The focus of that summit was on the issues of global climate change and the lack of economic development in Africa. TI issued numerous press releases during the summit.
On the subject of corruption and conventions, point 14 of the Gleneagles Communiqué of the G8 declared, inter alia, that the G8 states will, with respect to Africa
“(b) Support greater transparency in public financial management including revenues, budgets and expenditure, licences, procurement and public concessions….
(c) Support African partners in signing and ratifying the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and provide support towards the implementation of the AU Convention.
(f) Work vigorously for early ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption and start discussions on mechanisms to ensure its effective implementation. Work to establish effective mechanisms, consistent with the provisions of UNCAC and previous G8 commitments, within our own administrations for the recovery of assets, including those stolen through corruption...We encourage all countries to promulgate rules to deny entry and safe haven, when appropriate, to officials and individuals found guilty of public corruption, those who corrupt them and their assets...”