Supporting vital anti-corruption reforms

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More than 2/3 of countries score below 50/100 in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

Since 2012, 26 countries improved their corruption perceptions index scores, while 22 countries decreased their scores.18

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Good governance, fairness and equality are the bedrock of sustainable development. They are also key to IDLO’s efforts to help build more just and prosperous societies in the fight against systemic corruption. COVID-19 has magnified the challenge of tackling corruption, which has not just hampered global efforts to respond and recover from the pandemic, but also further eroded already low levels of public trust in governments. Justice sector institutions that are free of corruption are clearly better placed to fight fraud and conflicts of interest, thereby increasing citizens’ confidence in public administration, justice and the rule of law.

“Corruption threatens peace and security, hampers the provision of public services and thwarts inclusive economic development, posing a significant challenge to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and its commitment to ‘leave no one behind’,” said IDLO Director-General, Jan Beagle.

In 2020, IDLO continued to implement its multiyear program Supporting Justice Sector Reform in Ukraine. IDLO experts provided technical advice and legal, administrative and logistical assistance to criminal justice and anti-corruption institutions, including the reformed Office of the Prosecutor General, with the goal of further advancing justice sector reforms and strengthening the rule of law. The team helped ensure transparency and integrity in the attestation of prosecutors, organizing an external competitive recruitment process for filling open positions, introducing a transparent and merit-based performance evaluation system, establishing a modern needs-oriented training center and developing and implementing a communications strategy.

IDLO also provided support in conducting thousands of background checks and knowledge tests, and developed integrity questionnaires to evaluate prosecutors’ professionalism, professional ethics and integrity, and to identify and investigate potential integrity concerns.

Also in 2020, IDLO supported anti-corruption and judiciary reforms in Armenia, The Bahamas, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Somalia, with a focus on developing and sustaining state actors’ capacities and commitment towards more effective and accountable governance. IDLO’s scope of intervention also expanded during the year to include active engagement with the international community in support of global efforts to help states comply with their obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

IDLO established links with the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, with a view to supporting the work of the group under the Italian Presidency in 2021, and participated in the preparatory process for the development of a Political Declaration on prevention, prosecution and legal empowerment of justice seekers to be tabled at the 2021 Special session of the General Assembly against corruption.

“We are grateful for the professional and logistical assistance we have been receiving from IDLO throughout the prosecution reform process. IDLO’s support and expertise have been critical in ensuring due process.”

Iryna Venedyktova, Prosecutor General of Ukraine