Transparency International (TI) launched nine country studies in April to analyse the implementation of anti-corruption laws and highlight the main shortcomings of the reform processes in Algeria, Burundi, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, and Uganda.

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. In Sierra Leone, an Anti-corruption Commission was established in 2000, but government interference in the judiciary continues.

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