By Georg Neumann

The studies found that in many of the countries legal gaps still exist with respect to requirements established by the international anti-corruption instruments most relevant for the region: the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC),2003, and the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and Related Offences, 2003. For example, in Algeria, despite the introduction of the concept of illegal enrichment as well as measures for judicial cooperation, the government has yet to implement effective anti-corruption measures.

Implementation of UNCAC and the AU Convention must now be top priority, and closing legal loopholes is essential. The AU Convention provides a very useful template to guide such a process thanks to its follow-up mechanism, whereby state parties are required to report to the Board on their progress in implementing the convention on an annual basis. State parties must also ensure that they involve civil society in the monitoring process. TI chapters have monitored implementation since the AU Convention came into force on 5 August 2006.

To advance in-country work on both conventions, nine TI chapters in Africa worked together with the international secretariat to take stock of the extent to which Convention standards are reflected in their national legislation. Drafts of these implementation reviews were made available at the UNCAC Conference of States Parties in December 2006.

Another common feature in most countries is the absence of comprehensive national strategies to combat corruption, as well as a lack of real political will to implement reforms.

For more information, please go to: www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2007/uncac_africa

By Georg Neumann

TI chapters have committed themselves to expand their activities to promote effective and equitable enforcement of the law and to continue to help citizens engage with their leaders to demand more transparent decision-making and delivery of public services. The Declaration raised the need for more open decision-making, the provision of civic education programmes in schools and communities to help citizens understand the way corruption affects them, and to inform them of their rights and responsibilities, as well as offering ways in which they can help combat corruption. The Declaration called upon governments to implement the eight Principles of Accountability agreed to by all Pacific Forum countries in 1997; to address corruption in forestry and fishing; to ensure that law enforcement agencies and the legal system identify and prosecute in a timely manner those who are corrupt; and to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

To read the complete declaration, please go to: www.transparency.org/regional_pages/asia_pacific/newsroom

Government agencies at risk, particularly police and other enforcement and regulatory agencies, are perceived to have the lowest levels of transparency and integrity. Respondents agreed that they were largely supportive of measures to reform the present governance system and that deeper systemic changes were necessary for more sustainable improvements. The MTPS is a part of TI Malaysia's on-going effort to raise public awareness and generate an informed debate on issues related to graft and integrity in Malaysia. The survey polled 1,000 representatives from the public sector and 400 representatives from the private sector between December 2006 and January 2007.