Mainstreaming transparency and accountability to strengthen democratic governance, reduce inequality

“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

Report Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice (COP) in Latin America and the Caribbean

“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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Report Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice (COP) in Latin America and the Caribbean

“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality”

San José, Costa Rica September 2011 “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - UNDP

UNDP REGIONAL CENTRE PANAMA

Freddy Justiniano DIRECTOR a.i. UNDP REGIONAL SERVICE CENTRE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Gerardo Berthin GOVERNANCE AND DECENTRALIZATION POLICY ADVISOR

Maria Angelica Vásquez CONSULTANT- DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Charlotta Sandin VOLUNTEER/RESEARCH ASSISTANT -- DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE Yael Bolaña CONSULTANT- DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE

UNDP REGIONAL BUREAU FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN - NEW YORK Álvaro Pinto COORDINATOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE CLUSTER

Gerardo Noto PROGRAMME SPECIALIST DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE CLUSTER

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME – COSTA RICA Luiza Carvalho, RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE UNDP, COSTA RICA

Lara Blanco PROGRAMME COORDINATOR UNCP, COSTA RICA Gilda Pacheco GOVERNANCE AND GENDER EQUITY OFFICER

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“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 9

The Crucial Role of Transparency in Strengthening Democratic Governance and Promoting Human Development was Reaffirmed .................................................................. 11

Opening session ...................................................................................................................... 13

Progress of Anti-Corruption Efforts in the World and in Latin America and the Caribbean ... 14

Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption Thinking into and across Key Development Sectors ........... 15

Support for Macro and Micro Preventive Anti-Corruption Measures: Key Lessons............... 17

Access to Public Information ................................................................................................... 19

The Role of Civil Society and the Private Sector ..................................................................... 21

Regional Approaches to Promote Anti-Corruption ................................................................. 22

Anti-Corruption Conventions (the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Corruption)..................................................................... 23

Programming on Anti-Corruption in the Region ..................................................................... 25

Concept Note and Agenda ...................................................................................................... 31

Annex 1. Evaluation Results of the Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean .......................................................................... 39

Annex 2. Evaluation Results of the Social Audit Workshop for Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs ......................................................................................................................... 44

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“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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Introduction On September 5 and 6, 2010 more than 50 participants, including program officers and representatives of 12 country offices of UNDP, academics, associate experts, and government counterparts, gathered in San Jose, Costa Rica to partipate in the Third Meeting of the AntiCorruption Community of Practice (COP) in Latin America and the Caribbean, to share information, exchange experiences, good practices and tools.

This third meeting is part of an effort to articulate transparency and accountability topics in Latin America and the Caribbean that began in 2008, when the First Meeting of the AntiCorruption Community of Practice (COP) in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Lima, Peru. In June 2009, the Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice (COP) in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Bogota, Colombia and provided a number of inputs about the needs of country offices and a selected number of experiences were presented.

In the Third Meeting a key assumption was that transparency and accountability are central elements to strengthen democratic governance at all levels, as well as to help reduce the high inequlaity trends.

In as much as it is difficult to ascertain, with current data and instruments, whether corruption has declined or increased in Latin America and the Caribbean region, progress has been documented on a number of fronts. For example, countries in the region today have greater access to a wide variety of technological, legal, institutional and administrative tools to combat corruption; awareness about the problem of corruption and its consequences has significantly increased; the analytical tools to understand and measure corruption have substantially improved and become more sophisticated; new actors have emerged on the anti-corruption front; as a result of an increased understanding of the nature, causes, and effects of corruption, multilateral organizations and international financial and development agencies have refined their anti-corruption strategies; today anti-corruption assistance covers a much wider range of program approaches than a decade ago; new Legal instruments and conventions (Inter-American Convention against Corruption-IACAC and the United Nations Convention against Corruption-UNCAC); and political corruption is beginning to be addressed more systematically.

However, despite these advances the high rates of corruption perception in the region persist, and therefore the thematic continues to be a challenge. A key challenge to build political will among policy makers and to promote action involves encouraging and supporting policy dialogue across sectors that positively impact the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), democratic governance and economic opportunities. Knowledge and capacity building become necessary elements to engage policy makers in policy dialogue, and to strengthen the capacity of UNDP Country Offices to discuss, convene, and increase the level of public discourse on the challenges brought by lack of transparency and accountability. Patterns of corruption can change across countries and across sectors. Each sector (health, environment, and economic development), must develop explicit approaches to address the unique challenges of corruption. This goes beyond attempts to ensure that resources and programs are protected from corruption; it also implies a proactive programmatic commitment to finding ways to reduce the impact of corruption throughout the sector. Another challenge is to encourage “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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cross-sectoral collaboration that supports the establishment of efforts country office-wide or across several practice areas to promote transparency and accountability in a more holistic fashion.

The objectives of the Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice were to: (a) Exchange ideas on how to mainstream transparency and anti-corruption thinking and actions across current and future programming in the Region; (b) Strengthen the stock of knowledge, both qualitative and quantitative at the UNDP country offices, about mainstreaming anticorruption programming; (c) Share and exchange practices, tools and experiences; (d) Increase capacity to plan and implement cross-sectoral transparency programming;(e) Explore possibilities for south-to-south cooperation with other regions; and (f) Develop and discuss and agenda for follow up of regional and country level initiatives on anti-corruption.

The Agenda of the Third Meeting was broad and in but also focused on the following topics: (a) Progress of Anti-Corruption Efforts in the World and in Latin America and the Caribbean, (b) Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption Thinking into and across Key Development Sectors, (c) Support for Macro and Micro Preventive Anti-Corruption Measures, (d) Access to Public Information; (e) The Role of Civil Society and the Private Sector, (f) Regional Approaches to Promote AntiCorruption, (g) Anti-Corruption Conventions (the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption).

In the following pages of this report, the main points that resulted from the presentations, dialogue, exchange of experiences and good practices are highlighted. Similarly, this Report presents the main conclusions and inputs for the UNDP programming on these topics. This report is expected to be a benchmark for UNDP work inside and outside the region, as well as for other actors interested in the topics of transparency, accountability and combat against corruption.

The Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice was a joint effort of the UNDP Country Office of Costa Rica, as a host country, and UNDP Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, through the Democratic Governance Practice Area, and supported by the Global Thematic Programme on Anti-Corruption for Development Effectiveness (PACDE) of the Bureau of Development Policy (BDP).

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The Crucial Role of Transparency in Strengthening Democratic Governance and Promoting Human Development was Reaffirmed Main conclusions: 

Sectoral approaches to promote transparency and accountability and preventing corruption are among the main challenges for UNDP. This requires more assessments on risks, designing integrated transparency and accountability mechanisms and approaches, more interagency and inter-practice cooperation. However, sectoral approaches should not replace national anti-corruption and transparency policies, rather, they should complement them.

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Local citizen participation is the most efficient, and important, preventive measure to enhance accountability and transparency. It was emphasized and concluded in all five working groups that civil society has a crucial role in fighting corruption. Civil society’s participation, including the private sector, in decision-making and monitoring local level policy actions, as well as in institutional building activities should be increased.

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Access to information is critical to enhance democratic governance. Various interventions presented at the COP Meeting showed a deficit of data, metrics, knowledge and information regarding how public services are provided, monitored and managed. UNDP and its partners, government, donors and academic centers, at the local, national, regional, and global levels, should evaluate more often the impacts of transparency and accountability mechanisms in order to find relevant indicators, and apply tools, lessons and efficient reform strategies. The COP Meeting also stressed the importance of sharing experiences, lessons learned and disseminate at regional and local levels. 

Several potential entry points were identified. For example, poverty issues with multidimensional approach and links to human rights; preventing corrupt practices and strengthening transparency and accountability in the area of taxes and revenues at local and national level; transparency and political parties; and institutional strengthening for transparency and accountability of sub-national governments.

Similarly, emphasis was given to UNDP´s role to support strategic approaches to combat corruption and promote transparency and accountability.

Other key topics proposed as inputs for a UNDP regional agenda included:     

Institutional strengthening of key governmental and non-governmental actors (CSOs); Using the framework and follow-up mechanisms of anti-corruption conventions to promote preventive measures; Innovative approaches and mechanisms, such as social auditing, illicit flows, youth and gender, and metrics and/or approaches to measure and understand the better depth, scope and impact of lack of transparency and accountability; Facilitate dialogue between Anti-Corruption agencies and organizations working sectoral topics; Link transparency and accountability with sectoral topics and regional projects, and their respective international and/or regional actors;

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 

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Mainstream in the UNDAF formulation and/or review process (in collaboration with other United Nations system agencies) activities related to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of transparency and accountability; Identify entry-points and linkages with local governance/local government and institutions able to detect and minimize corruption risks; building on document: Local Governance, Anti-Corruption and REDD+ in Latin America and the Caribbean: Exploring Synergies to Strengthen Transparency and Accountability; Disaggregating corruption data at the national and local levels, assess indexes currently being used and their relevance of what is being measured; measuring the impact of anti-corruption programmes already underway, and those initiatives that do not have explicitly anti-corruption elements; and formulation of region specific indexes; Analysis of the gap between international legal framework and the domestic legislation relating to transparency and accountability, and evaluate the application and/or implementation; Promote initiatives to test the tools already developed within projects and specialized projects; Encourage countries to establish and to make it work effectively, the minimum institutional structure required (according to their own context), to ensure transparency and accountability, as well as prevent corrupt practices; Assess key core risk areas in sub-national governments and articulate with ongoing decentralization efforts; and create incentives and a communication strategy to highlight broadcasts as good practices.

The COP accomplished its objectives and more, and generated a menu of potential strategic activities at the global, regional and national levels. The results of the evaluations provide further feedback and inputs (see Annex 1). In the following pages, the report presents a summary of the rich and participatory discussions that took place during the COP. Similarly, the results of the Workshop on Social Audit for Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs organized by the Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), through the regional initiative Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments (TRAALOG), and supported by the UNDP-Costa Rica Country Office. The Workshop took place inmediately after the COP (september 7 and 8). The objective of the workshop was to develop management and leadership skills to design, implement, communicate, and assess social audit processes, providing them concrete tools. The Workshop had 16 young leaders age 18-25, representing over 10 youth organizations from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica. The Workshop methodology incorporated not only an adequate theoretical-practical approach to understand the potential and challenges of implementing social audit, but also applied tools and policy and political dialogue. The main reference for the Workshop was the Practical Guide to Social Audit as a Participatory Tool. In addition, the workshop included various group exercises and small simulation of a social audit exercise.

According to the results of the evaluation (see Annex 2), the Workshop achieved its objectives and went beyond expectations. It strengthened youth leadership for social audit and for its immediate application in their respective communities.

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Opening session Luiza Carvalho, UNDP Resident Representative, Costa Rica and Rocio Aguilar Montoya, The General Comptroller of Costa Rica, welcomed the Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The General Comptroller of Costa Rica, Rocio Aguilar Montoya, began her key note address reflecting on government’s legitimacy and efficacy. She argued that both Democratic Governance and Accountability make us think about governmental actions that effectively accomplish society’s expectations and needs and generate sustainable trust in the government. Moreover, the General Comptroller stated that transparency and accountability constitute essential elements of the State and a fundamental principle of Democratic Governance.

Transparency and accountability must be distinguished. The first is a precondition for the second. Transparency by itself does not ensure effective accountability, since it transcends the simple act of disseminating information. It consists of making available and providing proper information in terms of quality and quantity in order to enable citizens to evaluate and monitor public management. The General Comptroller added that all the available information must be in an accessible format in which data can be understood by the majority of citizens and not by a small number of experts. Furthermore, she emphasized the principal role of social control as a complement to formal control mechanisms.

The crucial role of transparency and accountability in strengthening Democratic Governance and promoting Human Development was stressed. In order to make accountability work optimally, the General Comptroller explained that it is necessary to begin with certain conditions: 1) an integrated accountability system, 2) the development of instruments and information systems, 3) a legal framework that encourages public institutions to inform about management performance, verify compliance and sanction nonfulfillments. These conditions are underlined to be not only keys to develop democracies, but also paths to reducing poverty and improving social welfare.

The General Comptroller also noted 8 Accountability Principles, namely: 1) Accountability is a good government’s foundation; 2) Report and justify; 3) Integrity in the Accountability system; 4) Transparency; 5) Impose sanctions when obligations are not fulfilled; 6) Citizens’ active participation; 7) An integral Accountability legal framework; and 8) Superior Audit Entities’ leadership. To put these principles into practice, in a systematized and sustainable way, represents an important challenge.

Finally, she emphasized that the most important vowel that ought to leave a trace in public institutions’ daily work is the vowel “E:” Efficacy (achieving goals), Efficiency (best performance), Economy (resources acquired at the lowest possible cost and in a timely “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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manner), Ecology (with respect to the environment and sustainability) and Ethics (diligence, honesty and integrity).

Progress of Anti-Corruption Efforts in the World and in Latin America and the Caribbean Corruption has different faces and exists in all societies in all nations, but to varying degrees. It differs among regions and apparently, corruption seems to vary according to contexts, sectors and how it is measured. Nevertheless, corruption seems to be a “sticky” problem. Only two regions have managed to increase control of corruption during the past decade.

Corruption in Latin America forms part of the landscape. Over the past ten years the Corruption Perception Index has showed high rates in the region; between 3.3 and 3.7 on the scale where 0 is high perception of corruption and 10 is low perception of corruption. The institutions that seem to be most affected are the political parties, the judicial system, the legislature and Public administration. Business is affected to a lesser extent, as well as media, NGOs, religious organizations, the army and the education system.

Key-presentations Current Global Trends, (Charlotta Sandin, UNDP, Regional Centre of Latin America and the Caribbean) Current Anti-corruption trends in Latin America and the Caribbean (Miguel Peñailillo, Associate Expert) Global Trends and Emerging Issue (Aida Arutyunova and Tsegaye Lemma, UNDP/BDP /PACDE)

UNDP supports about 70 projects related to the fight against Corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean, to a total cost of approximately US$221 million. Of these 70 projects, 40% are considered development projects with anti-corruption components. Seven percent of the projects are directed specifically to anti-corruption objectives. These anti-corruption projects are preventive and aim at strengthening civil society, improving transparency in state institutions, strengthening the State Control Mechanisms and anti-corruption offices and policies, prevention tools, coordination and electoral transparency. At the regional level, there are some key initiatives in the region that support and/or facilitate transparency and accountability activities, for example, the SIGOB, the TRAALOG and the UNDP Virtual School.

On a global level, UNDP priorities for 2011-2012 are anti-corruption and MDGs; anti-corruption in key social sectors; illicit financial flows; anti-Corruption and Climate Change, REDD+; support to regional and country offices; support to UNCAC review process as entry point to a broader governance reform, knowledge generation and facilitation and global advocacy, and institutional strengthening and work more strategically with partners.

Strategic lines for the future:  

Transparency and corruption prevention should be considered as a central element in Human Development policies and the fight against poverty.

Components of anti-corruption should be integrated across all development projects in health, education and water provision.

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Tools on assessments and diagnosis, national and sectoral, promoting design and implementation of anti-corruption policies and programs shall be spread and integrated in the cooperation.

To speed up the process to achieve the MDGs, transparency and accountability must be top priority.

Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption Thinking into and across Key Development Sectors

Prior to the Community of Practice, three sectorial studies were conducted in order to analyze those areas prone to corruption and detect their vulnerabilities. All three studies (in the health, water and forest sectors) showed strong sectoral deficiencies and vulnerabilities.

Health Sector The study on vulnerabilities in the health sector, with case studies in Colombia and Peru, found that different systems offer different risks to corruption. National health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean are extremely heterogeneous regarding their structure and context. It is likely that corruption risks show considerable differences in the areas and processes most affected as well as of the types, manifestations and drivers of corrupt practices. The forms of abuse tend to differ depending on how funds are mobilized, managed and paid (including the public-private mix), and at which level of the state administration (centralized, decentralized or intermediate). At the same time, there are areas of the health systems that tend to face fairly similar vulnerabilities, such as procurement of drugs, goods and services, among others.

Key-presentations Vulnerabilities to Corruption in the Health Sector: Perspectives from Latin American Sub-systems for the Poor (Karen Hussmann, Associate Expert UNDP) Accountability in the Water Sector: The Cases of Colombia and México (Jose Ricardo Puyana/UNDP-Colombia y Paola Gomez/UNDP México) Local Governance, Anti-corruption and REDD+ in Latin America and the Caribbean: Exploring Synergies to Strengthen Transparency and Accountability (Beatriz Garcia, UNDP Consultant) The Experience of the Environmental Court of Costa Rica (Adriana Bejarano Lawyer Environmental Court)

Direct public provision can create risks for theft of medicines and resources, informal payments, derivation of patients to private practices, absenteeism and purchase of positions and promotions. When provision and financing are separated, the risks are: fraud in billing to governments, health institutions and medical insurances, and embezzlement. Both systems are vulnerable to risks related to illegal buying of medicine, equipment, and medical supplies, as well as to state capture.

The study revealed several emerging issues. There is a lack of diagnosis which makes it difficult to “prevent and not cure.” The political economy needs to be analyzed carefully and the opportunities and obstacles to reforms identified. Institutional reform can also “reform” risks to corruption (decentralization can decentralize corruption). The risk of capturing laws, norms and institutions (state capture) does not receive much attention. Systems of access to “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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information are key, as well as a strong need for sectoral transparency policies. An integral strategy of internal and external control is important and requires stewardship.

Water and Sanitation Sector Accountability in the water and sanitation sector has been analyzed in a comparative study of four cases in Latin America. The assessment discovered that lack of access to water and sanitation was related to governance problems such as regulation, leadership and control of water and sanitation services. Corruption is a major obstacle. Sufficient resources and knowledge exist, but still significant numbers amounts of people don´t have access to clean water and sanitation.

The Mexico case study, of the metropolitan zone of Xalapa, Veracruz, also showed that there is no direct correlation between natural availability of water and the access to drinking water. Several democratic governance challenges were addressed in the case study. There is a multiplicity of actors with different functions, references, autonomy and structures. The efficiency of the impact of the accountability mechanisms, horizontal, social and transversal, should be revised. There were found no, or limited, mechanisms of accountability in the services charging systems, reinvestment in infrastructure, payment for environmental services and debts collection. Citizen participation was also disorganized and ineffective. The second case study focused on municipalities located along the Bogotá River Basin in Colombia. The study revealed the most effective accountability mechanisms of the system and evidenced the idea that accountability is most effective when there were synergy effects between actors cooperating to improve access to water and sanitation. Also, the Colombia case supports the idea of strong social oversight as a key measure against opacity.

Forest and Climate Change Sector A sectorial approach has also been analyzed in the Forest sector and for REDD+. While subnational governments in the region are already vulnerable to many corrupt practices, when linked to forest issues corrupt practices manifest in many other ways. In the current context of the forestry sector, corruption manifests, in regulatory design (undue influence to capture laws and regulations), harvest/processing (illegal logging), and transport and trade (bribery to avoid permits, taxes and forests charges). With the upcoming REDD+ mechanism, which involves new mechanism of measuring carbon against a projected baseline of emissions and performance payments, the corruption risks in the design (current) phase and the (upcoming) implementation phase that were found were: in land administration (bribery related to allowing or excluding land), in carbon rights and measurements (fraud in reporting results and artificially inflating base lines) and in benefit and distribution systems (embezzlement, state capture, nepotism, and cronyism). It was found that local entities in charge of environmental control, if strong and capable, have a role in suppressing and preventing corrupt practices.

Certain measures taken at the sub-national level are useful in preventing corruption, notably “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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those that enhance sustainable forest management, secure access of local and indigenous communities to forest resources and participation in sustainable forest management, and allow the oversight of benefit distribution and forest operations in general.

REDD+ may involve corruption risks that differ from those observed in the forest sector (e.g. related to illegal logging, movement of timber and wood products and to the avoidance of payment of forestry charges). Specific REDD+ corruption risks may occur for example, in the allocation of carbon rights – including how they relate to tenure, setting of emissions baselines or in the design and implementation of benefit distribution systems. REDD+ may help reduce corruption in the forest sector if the issue is adequately addressed. When compared to existing anti-corruption measures, such as forest audit systems, investigation and social monitoring, REDD+ will be subject to greater oversight from a broader-range of institutions.

The Environmental Tribunal in Costa Rica established to address violations of Costa Rica’s environmental laws, was featured as an institutional tool that can help prevent corrupt practices. The Tribunal is the administrative headquarter that resolves actions and omissions that violate or threaten to violate the environmental protection legislation and natural resources. The Tribunal also provides sanctions.

Strategic lines for the future:         

There is a need for integration of anti-corruption in sectorial approaches.

In all three sectors studied, there is an urgent need for information about the sector, statistics and data, how it is monitored and how to access the information.

UNDP should support sectorial diagnosis of risks of corruption and collection of data and tools to evaluate experience and perception of corruption.

Good practices shall be compiled and shared; they are instrumental in preventing corruption.

Citizen participation is crucial and should be enhanced. There should be capacity building for civil society and local decision makers.

Cooperation with other UN-agencies to integrate a "risk of corruption lens" could improve the outcome, of UN efforts in the fight against corruption.

A methodology of “integrity screenings" of regulatory and supervision agencies of the sector should be developed.

Coordination between control agencies and integrated complaint systems must be enhanced from a protection of rights perspective.

Policy dialogue on financial resources for climate change, forest management and REDD+ is recommended.

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Four examples of preventive anti-corruption measures were presented. The Dominican Republic and Jamaican cases aimed at enhancing civil society and citizen participation. While the Peru and Colombia cases aimed at strengthening the institutional framework for transparency and accountability.

The objective of the “El Cercado Te Ve” initiative in El Cercado, Dominican Republic, was to involve young people in promoting and appropriating human development and democratic governance values, particularly those related to transparency and accountability. Youth from a small and impoverished municipality took the initiative to design and implement a TV program to raise awareness not only among youth, but the entire community. The experience shows that there is no reason to suppose that political institutions and power relations will change spontaneously. If society is not organized, empowered and the power relations is not restructured, there may not be the change expected in terms of Human Development. Because Human Development is a question of power.

Key-presentations El Cercado Te Ve, Dominican Republic (Anyarlene Berges, UNDP/Dominican Republic) Transparency in Regions and the Role of the Ombudsman Office (Mario Solari, PNUD/Peru) Promoting Ethics, Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments in Colombia (Marco Stella, UNDP-Colombia) Building Civil Society Capacity to support good Governance by Local Authorities (Sonia Gill, UNDP-Jamaica)

Peru In Peru, the area of Democratic Governance was identified as one of the main working areas in the UNDAF framework of 2012-2016. Promoting transparency and the fight against corruption was among the principal components. UNDP has had important interventions in this topic, through different projects that have contributed to build oversight and ethical systems in the judicial institutions, transparency in the regions with the Peruvian Ombudsman Office and the promotion of transparency in local governments (Transparent Municipalities). In the project with the Ombudsman´s Office, the objective was to strengthen the capacity of six regional governments with transparency tools and efficiency in the public administration, in regional governments, local authorities and civil society. Emphasis was placed on transparency and the delivery of basic public services, in particular to populations that live in poverty. The project strengthens the monitoring capacity of the Ombudsman´s Office. Also the transparency, accountability and access to information mechanisms of regional governments, as well as enhances communications and better understand the role of civil society, with emphasis on access to public information.

Colombia The UNDP Country Office in Colombia is implementing the programme “Promoting Ethics, Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments of Colombia” since 2009. Through “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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strengthening of institutions, organizations and forums, the focus was on the integrity, visibility and accountability of Cartagena, La Guajira and Santander local/sub-national governments. After two years of implementation, the transparency indicators have improved and the technical capacities have been strengthened among other positive results. The programme has also enabled construction of methodologies and instruments to diagnose the transparency components. The experiences and lessons learned have been compiled in a publication of good practices.

Jamaica In Jamaica the UNDP Country Office is starting up a programme on Civil Society Capacity Building to Support Good Governance by local Authorities. Jamaica is currently implementing a Local Government Reform Process, through a handover of significant autonomy to local authorities. The new institutional model includes a public forum at the local level to examine and assess the use of public funds by Parish Councils and municipalities, and a civil society body that will function as a key actor in anticorruption efforts. UNDP assistance will help to develop capacity of civil society organizations to support local authorities in financial transparency and accountability; provide technical support for policy and legislation related to local government financial management; build capacity of media to increase and improve coverage of local authorities public expenditure; and conduct capacity assessments of the Parish Development Committees and the Local Public Accounts Committees.

Strategic lines for the future:    

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Local governance projects are very sensitive to political context. Political will is fundamental for the success of these types of interventions.

Internal and external trust has to be gained to fulfill the aims.

Stakeholder buy-in requires patience and evidence of solid results.

While capacity-building needs to take place prior to and during legal reform, without appropriate legislative and governance infrastructure, the efforts may not have the expected sustainable results.

Strategic linkages need to be made with anti-corruption champions (e.g. support from the Office of the General Comptroller in assessing financial accountability of local authorities).

Local governments should respond to citizens’ demands, meet the expectations and support empowerment of youth.

Access to Public Information

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CIDE (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Economicas), a partner of UNDP, has conducted a study supported by the TRAALOG on access to information in four Central American countries and in four Mexican States.

This report is developed from a methodological approach that allows the comparative study of four Central American countries and four Mexican states (three states and the Federal District). The effort’s specific objective is to identify common challenges, recurring problems and best practices in access to government information. The selection of cases was made thinking about maximizing differences in the development of legislation on access to information and in the contextual conditions (political dynamics, economic and social development), both among the four Central American countries and in the sub-national governments in Mexico. In every case study, ten public institutions have been analyzed, including local governments.

Key-presentations Access to Public Information in Central America and Mexico: Assessment and Some Recommendations (Alejandra Rios, CIDE México, Maria Adilia Serrano and Rafael Reyes UNDP Associate Experts) The Experience of the Transparency and Ethic Council in Access to Public Information in Uruguay (Paula Veronelli, PNUD/Uruguay)

The right of access to public information is precisely that: a right that requires and needs to be acknowledged in specific law. However, its effectiveness entails a public policy that secures not only a normative framework, but also a responsible/guarantor entity, procedural adjustments to the public administration, and to those institutions that are responsible for information.

However, such an institutional framework would be useless without an extensive awareness campaign of this right, not only among citizens, but also among public servants. The final goal should be to build a culture of transparency, both for governments (that feel obligated to make their information public because they feel watched), and for citizens (that know and exercise their right).

In Uruguay, a Board of Transparency and Ethics (Junta de Transparencia y Ética Pública) was established after the ratification of Interamerican Convention against Corruption and the approving of the Law of the Misuse of Public Power. The Board is responsible for conducting surveys to measure corruption perception, create a network of public servants, and provide training and support to the implementation of the anti-corruption conventions. The main challenges are to consolidate a culture of open governance, to adapt internal mechanisms for organizing and classifying information, assignments of responsibilities, and implement a permanent system of self-assessments.

Strategic lines for the future:   

Civil Society Organizations are key partners to implement transparency and accountability policies.

Dissemination and training is important, a strategy to build ”capabilities for transparency” in the sub-national governments should be devised.

Sub-national governments, present a challenge for the design and implementation of transparency, accountability and citizen participation mechanisms.

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  

Information technologies should be used to streamline procedures and reduce costs.

The institution responsible for guaranteeing access to information must be defined clearly as well as its working area.

A transparency culture that goes beyond the sole right to request information must be promoted.

The Role of Civil Society and the Private Sector

In Chile, the self-assessment of the Implementation of UNCAC was made in collaboration with civil Society. The aim of this participatory approach was two pronged. First, involve civil society in anti-corruption themes in order to strengthen their role in vertical accountability. Second, improve the process of self-assessment and involve public opinions and views.

Key-presentations Multi Stakeholder and Participatory Self-assessment of the Implementation of UNCAC in Chile (Marcela Rios, PNUD/Chile) The Experience of the Global Compact and the Private Sector (Rocio Galiano, UNDP-Paraguay)

The United Nations Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anticorruption. As such, it is a collaborative initiative with peers and stakeholders in the industry to generate joint solution in the fight against corruption. The Global Compact was signed to commit stakeholders to a collective effort to reduce corruption and advocate for the ratification and implementation of the anti-corruption conventions in the countries. It has also proven to be a key mechanism to involve the private sector in transparency and accountability activities. There is an active regional network for Latin America and the Caribbean. In Paraguay, since the signing of the Compact, various trainings have been held, consultancies, risks maps to corruption and evaluation of the potential harm of corruption in human and economic development.

Strategic lines for the future:  

 

The most important limiting factors are found in the understanding and knowledge of the tools to fight corruption.

It is widely perceived that firms have a tendency to develop more anti-corruption measures and controls depending on the nature of the business. The private sector still sees corruption as an issue related to the public sector.

Corruption is associated with deeply rooted cultural features.

Collaborative work that includes civil society, the private sector and government could be an efficient means to tackle corrupt practices and raise awareness to prevent corrupt practices.

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Regional Approaches to Promote Anti-Corruption

SIGOB is a Project of the Democratic Governance Practice Area of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims at introducing tools to improve transparency, accountability and enhance efficiency and achievement of goals, in governments. Since the start of the project, 140 modules have been implemented in the region in the president´s offices, ministries, local governments, supreme courts and legislative assemblies/congresses. In the Presidency of Dominican Republic, five systems have been developed through the support of SIGOB, among them the Correspondence Management and Archives System. The project resulted in transparency in the circulation process of external and internal documents. Moreover, the management of documents was made more expedient and the decision-making process was enhanced.

Key-presentations SIGOB (Alejandro Genovesi) Management of Correspondence and Archives (Agueda Herrera/ Presidency of the Dominican Republic) Virtual School (Diana Torres) The Civil Service in Latin America: a Pending Issue in the agenda of State reform (Rufino Fernández/ University of Panama) Capacity Development (Ines Brill) TRAALOG (Maria Angelica Vasquez)

The Virtual School is currently offering 24 courses in the areas of Human Development, Democratic Governance, Crisis Prevention and Early Recovery for Development. Most of these have links to various topics related to transparency and accountability. For 2012 the plan is to offer a course in accountability and monitoring and evaluation of the MDGs, new modules of the course on Anti-Corruption and Human Development, particularly targeting the health, water and security sectors. Furthermore, emphasis will be given to mainstreaming anticorruption and inclusion of social media in transparency, accountability and citizen participation.

The Capacity Development Cluster at the UNDP Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, is aiming at developing capacities to professionalize public institutions – meritocracy to promote reforms and implement public policies, in compliance with the attributes of integrity, impartiality, efficiency and legitimacy. The main regional challenges to achieve transparency and accountability are: low meritocratic development, civil services that are heterogenic and absence of tradeoffs between merit and flexibility.6 TRAALOG is a regional initiative of the UNDP Regional Centre for LAC, and offers technical advice and assistance to UNDP Country Offices. The objective is to incorporate transparency and accountability in local governments throughout the region (municipalities, parishes, provinces, departments and states). After its launching in April 2010, the Transparency and “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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Accountability in Local Governments (TRAALOG) has been engaging, and interacting with, a number of UNDP Country Offices in the region to identify and prioritize entry points and programming opportunities. Several exploratory missions and/or virtual presentations were carried out targeting more than 12 Country Offices, and encourage them to take advantage of TRAALOG as a strategic means to incorporate, complement and mainstream anti-corruption preventive measures in Country Office programming.

The TRAALOG targets small initiatives at the local level that can be scaled up through policy support, institutional development and partnerships. One of the key activities of TRAALOG is to promote the development and systematization of knowledge products and tools, focusing on specific transparency and accountability initiatives and/or themes that are relevant to Country Offices, as well as to mainstream anti-corruption issues across program/practice areas.

Anti-Corruption Conventions (the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Corruption)

The MESICIC, (the Follow-up Mechanism of the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, for its initials in Spanish) is a joint exercise among the States Parties of the Convention, so they can reciprocally analyze how an individual State Party has implemented the Convention provisions. The analysis, carried out by a Committee of Experts selected by each country, ends with the publication of a report on the status of implementation and application of the Convention in each country. In Costa Rica, the Public Ethics Department is the central authority to monitor the national implementation of the Inter-American Convention against corruption and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and participates in the Committee of Experts of the MESICIC. As such, the Department has assisted with technical advice to design a Plan of Action in Costa Rica. In total, 18 institutions from the public and private sector are represented to discuss and commit to the plan.

UNODC is the United Nations Agency responsible for technical advice to the implementation of the UNCAC. UNODC is also the Secretariat of the Conference of State Parties (CoSP) of the UNCAC. The UNCAC's far-reaching approach and the mandatory character of many of its provisions makes it a unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to a global problem. The UNCAC covers five main areas: prevention, criminalization and law enforcement measures, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The UNCAC covers many different forms of corruption, such as trading in influence, abuse of power, and various acts of corruption in the private sector. The UNCAC has recently approved a Mechanism for the Reviewing of Implementation of the Convention. Countries are beginning to be reviewed on compliance through a peer review process. A UNCAC selfassessment check-list is developed and accessible through UNODC. It can be used as a tool to assess to what degree the national legislation is adjusted to the Convention, to expose and exchange good practices and define the needs for technical and judicial assistance. “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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Programming on Anti-Corruption in the Region During the Second Day of the COP, five working groups discussed possible programmatic entry-points, for UNDP, identified its strategic partners, and proposed actions on cross-cutting themes. Below is a summary of the results of the Working Groups.

1. Decentralization and Local Governance (Facilitator: Gilda Pacheco – Participants: Alejandra Rios, Angie Berges, Marco Stella, Miguel Calix, Rafael Reyes, Yael Bolaña, Alejandro Genovesi, Lotta Sandin) In this working group, the main themes of discussion were: a) Intergovernmental transfers (with special emphasis on: budgeting and, design and performance of accountability institutions); b) management of local revenues; c) Identify risk factors; d) the expansion of responsibilities of local governments; e) Increasing civil society’s participation in decisionmaking and monitoring local level actions; f) continue strengthening decentralization processes and institutional development to deal with new responsibilities and competencies of sub-national governments; g) Synergy between private sector and public sector; h) Demands of government transparency and institutional structure of accountability.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, strategic partners identified were: federations or associations of local governments, national and local councils, chambers of commerce, public universities, government institutions, bilateral cooperation partners and donors, and Associate Experts.

Overall, strategic actions would be: a) Disseminate, share lessons learned and best practices at the regional and local levels; b) Promote regional specific diagnoses on the situation around budget transfers recommending minimum requirements to receive intergovernmental resources and boost budget or results-based management; c) Encourage countries to establish the minimum institutional structure required according to the heterogeneity of the nation and recommend minimum standards for managing intergovernmental resources received; d) Facilitate the construction of a thematic network of CSOs; e) Incorporate bilateral/decentralized cooperation; f) Include in the assessment information on the activities that generate royalties; g) Make an assessment of which are the core areas at risk in local government as well as classifying and diagnosing problems of decentralization; h) Create incentives and a communication strategy to give more broadcasts to good practices, i) Become the catalyst between needs and resources.

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2. UNCAC 2. UNCAC (Facilitator: Miguel Peñailillo – Participants: Marcela Ríos, Gilberth Calderón, Gilberto Bonilla, Rufino Fernandez, Agueda Herrera, Leticia Santos, Laura Rivera).

This group recognized the subsequent five points of entry to the UNCAC with its respective actors, strategic partners and actions: a) TRAINING AND STRENGTHENING OF CIVIL SERVICE, training in international instruments and anti-corruption mechanisms. Actor: National and Local Governments, Municipalities. Strategic partners: universities and research centers, and other donors; b) STRENGTHENING THE PUBLIC FUNCTION. Actor: National Government, Ministry of Finance and/or Treasury. Strategic partners: Control Institutions, Congress, multilateral banks, and donors: EU, AECID; c) STRENGTHENING OF CIVIL SOCIETY on topics of democratic governance at local level. Local leadership and participation. Actor: Municipality/local governments. Strategic partners: the private sector, civil society, community organizations, NGOs, d) DISSEMINATION AND AWARENESS. Civic education campaigns in the values and culture of legality. Actor: Government. Strategic Partner: Mass Media, Private Sector, UN agencies depending on the subject or other international bodies; e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE for the design and evaluation of Anti-corruption policies based on the principles of the UNCAC. Actor: National Government. Strategic Partner: think tanks and universities.

3) Anti-corruption and MDGs (Facilitator: Karen Hussmann – Participants: Ines Brill, Maria Adilia Serrano, Ana Isabel Garcia, Marta Lee, Maria Angelica Vasquez, Paula Veronelli, Rocio Galiano, Marcela Smutt) This group identified the following potential entry points: a) Transparency and accountability can be the framework for linking poverty issues with multi-dimensional approach; b) Include in the formulation or revision of the UNDAF process mainstreaming in the prevention of corruption, transparency and accountability; c) make greater efforts to link human rights to transparency and accountability; d) monitoring budget process (participatory budgeting)and social investments (social audit); e) transparency and anti-corruption may be a niche for the UNDP portfolio in promoting capacity building of the social policy institutions.

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Key Actors identified: Parliaments/Congress/National Assemblies, Local Governments and Civil Society Organizations; Strategic partners: other international organizations, World Bank, IDB, GIZ, USAID, Transparency International.

Main actions to be implemented are: a) Facilitate dialogue between anti-corruption agencies and organizations working sectoral topics; b) Link transparency and accountability with sectoral topics and regional projects/initiatives (for example SIGOB, PAPEP, PROLOGO, TRAALOG, Virtual School) c) Need of actions inside and outside PNUD's structure and develop tools for this approach's mainstreaming; d) Develop disaggregated data and indexes on anti-corruption, transparency and accountability; e) Include indicators of corruption and/or transparency in the Statistical Compendium of the Human Development Index/reports; f) Anti-corruption, transparency and accountability topics can be a window for UNDP to promote sectoral collaboration with other UN agencies; g) Mainstream transparency, accountability and anti-corruption themes into other practice areas of UNDP work, and not only within the Democratic Governance practice Area. g) Incorporar los temas de transparencia, rendición de cuentas y lucha contra la corrupción en las otras áreas de práctica de trabajo del PNUD, y no sólo en el área de Práctica de Gobernabilidad Democrática.

4. Anti-Corruption for REDD+ (Facilitator: Estelle Fach – Participants: Beatriz García, Paola Gómez, Mario Solari, Tsegaye Lemma, Vanessa Retana) This working group identified potential programmatic entry points with its respective actors and actions. a) INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND CORRUPTION – CARBON CREDIT DEALERS (CCD): Define the role of UNDP regarding CCDs. CCDs acknowledge that Indigenous People requested international organizations to regulate carbon credit markets.

Key Actors: UNDP, Congress/Parliament/National Assembly, Indigenous People and their organizations. Strategic partners: Democratic Governance Group (DGG), Environment and Energy Practice Area.

Actions: encourage discussions on these issues in Legislative instances; support law makers to create, adapt or modify national regulations; foster background studies on weaknesses regarding corruption risks in national carbon credit markets; and seek the expertise of DGG “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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when implementing effective consultation and free prior and informed consent (FPIC) processes; b) LAND TENURE: risks with logging companies or other powerful actors (ignoring land titles claimed or belonging to indigenous communities) and risks or potential conflict in terms of subsequent policies ignoring and/or denying indigenous rights in benefit-sharing. Actions: UNDP could support developing safeguards for companies engaged in REDD+ (clear rules of the game) perhaps under UN Global Compact context; c) INTER & INTRA-AGENCY AND PRACTICE AREA COORDINATION: National Program Documents (ONU-REDD) have been supported by the Energy and Environment Group (EEG) but EEG does not necessarily have specific experience working with Indigenous People and/or with democratic governance issues. DGG has this expertise, working not only with applying the HHRR based-approach, but also with regional initiatives and concrete inter-agency mechanisms and tools. Actors: EGG, DGG, GIRPI (Inter-Agency Regional Group on Indigenous People). Actions: Joint CoP, good practice guidance, joint capacity and institutional development; d) CIVIL SOCIETY: strengthening of CSO partners at the national and local levels to play a role in monitoring corruption risks;, analyze and/or identify corruption within Indigenous People communities (indigenous NGOs can oversight, Advocate for transparency, indigenous NGO auditing). Actor: indigenous NGOs. Actions: Develop a capacity-development plan for an evidence-based advocacy in REDD+ (identify corruption risks, detect, prevent and denounce corruption). e) LOCAL GOVERNANCE INSTITUTIONS: identify entry-points and linkages with local governance/local government and institutions to enable detection of corruption risks and their mitigation; Actor: EEG, DGG Actions: mapping of relevant local institutions in UN-REDD partner countries and capacity needs.

5. Opening New Areas for Anti-Corruption (Facilitator: Sonia Gill – Participants: Gerardo Berthin, Jose Ricardo Puyana, Aida Arutyunova, Sabrina Mucaxi, Diana Torres, Lara Blanco, Anabelle Gallegos) a) ENGAGEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN UNCAC REVIEW. Actors: Academia (special interest media, non-traditional / political media like Twitter, Wikileaks, Temworks, Facebook). Key partners: Transparency International, UNODC, Government/ Primary government counterpart agency. Key actions by UNDP: Capacity development of anti-corruption agency, strengthening of CSO capabilities. b) REACH OUT TO COUNTRY OFFICES THROUGH REGIONAL BUREAU TO USE THE TOOLS ALREADY TESTED. Actors: Regional Centers, Country Offices, Practice networks/COPs. Key Partners: Relevant UN agency for the sector. Key actions by UNDP: Initiatives to test the tools within projects and specialized projects. Comments: Opportunity for South-South cooperation.

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c) ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS, ESPECIALLY MONEY LAUNDERING. Actors: Financial intelligence units. Key partners: Civil society, UNODC. Key actions by UNDP: Capacity development of MDAs. d) TRANSPARENCY AND POLITICAL PARTIES. Actors: Political parties, electoral authorities, academia/universities, civil society organizations. Key partners: Supreme audit institution, International Transparency, media organizations, IDEA (Regional Office), Ministry responsible for political matters. Key actions by UNDP: a) TI index for public institutions to be extended to political parties (revisit/expand/strengthen CRINIS project), b) Assisting political parties with designing transparency policies for their organizations (voluntary disclosure), c) Strengthening the electoral oversight bodies. Comments: Need more research to better understand the linkages between political parties and corruption. Comments: Politically sensitive for UNDP to work with political parties. e) LEGISLATION IMPACT, ENFORCEMENT & IMPLEMENTATION. Actors: Lawmakers (civil society), Think Tanks, Ministries of Justice. Key actions by UNDP: Analysis of the gap between international/national legal frameworks related to transparency and accountability; analysis of why laws are not having the intended effect and/or why they are having the intended effect; building capacity of units which carry out corruption risk assessment of laws. f) MEASURING CORRUPTION (BOTH NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL) AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. Actors: Local Governments, Universities/Experts, Statistical Institutes, Donors ( WBI), teams in CO responsible for HDRs. Key partners: Donors (World Bank), academic institutions, civil society organizations. Key actions by UNDP: Disaggregating the data at the local/sub-national level; Assessment of indexes currently being used and relevance of what is being measured; measuring the impact of AC programmes already underway.

Formulation of region specific indexes. Comments: A challenge is obtaining information disaggregated at the local level (collection/ indicators). g) ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND PREVENTING CORRUPTION IN NATIONAL AND LOCAL TAX SYSTEMS (SECTORAL APPROACH) AND COLLECTION. Actors: Department of taxes, Local governments, Private sector, Finance & Economy ministries, Justice ministries, Law makers, Certified Public Accountants. Key partners: government counterparts, country offices, Global compact, chambers of commerce. Key actions by UNDP: Sectoral assessments, Corruption risk assessments, awareness campaigns (impact on development).

Comments: Tax avoidance grows when there is no confidence in the tax system. h) COORDINATION AND EFFICIENCY OF INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES. Actors: Supreme audit authorities, Anti-corruption oversight authorities. Key actions by UNDP: Mapping of anticorruption institutions. Comments: South-south co-operation. i) BETTER USE OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION LEGISLATION. Actors: Media associations, Bar associations. Key partners: Access to information appeal tribunals, Transparency International, Civil society organizations. Key actions by UNDP: Building legal capacity of media to pursue and publicize claims under access to information legislation.

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Concept Note and Agenda Introduction Despite the impressive human and economic development trends and the array of anticorruption actors, tools and legal frameworks, equality and transparency indicators remain relatively low in Latin America and the Caribbean. Two recent UNDP regional reports, the Second Report on Democracy and the First Regional Human Development Report provide ample evidence that shows how economic inequality and centralized decision-making can provide a fertile breeding ground for corrupt practices, and even help to justify corrupt behavior, which, in turn, leads to further inequalities.

In as much as it is difficult to ascertain, with current data and instruments, whether corruption has declined or increased in Latin America and the Caribbean region, progress has been documented on a number of fronts. For example, countries in the region today have greater access to a wide variety of technological, legal, institutional and administrative tools to combat corruption; awareness about the problem of corruption and its consequences has significantly increased; the analytical tools to understand and measure corruption have substantially improved and become more sophisticated; new actors have emerged on the anti-corruption front; as a result of an increased understanding of the nature, causes, and effects of corruption, multilateral organizations and international financial and development agencies have refined their anti-corruption strategies; today anti-corruption assistance covers a much wider range of program approaches than a decade ago; new Legal instruments and conventions (Inter-American Convention against Corruption-IACAC and the United Nations Convention against Corruption-UNCAC); and political corruption is beginning to be addressed more systematically.

Current Trends and Challenges in the Region In spite of these important achievements, the problems persist. Like most governance reforms, anti-corruption efforts are long-term projects and that results are not always evident in the short run. While corrupt practices and transparency and accountability challenges manifest divergently throughout the region, it is still broadly recognized as a critical democratic governance and human development problem. As such, most international donors are still financing a wide variety of programs to reduce corruption in the region. They have also sponsored an array of studies that have yielded vital data and information, which has greatly enhanced the understanding of the nature, causes and consequences of corruption and the formulation of anti-corruption strategies.

In most countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, development efforts over the past three decades have been accompanied by efforts to modernize public institutions and improve democratic governance. Strengthening governments and making them more transparent and accountable is an integral part of the process of making public institutions more efficient, responsive and accountable to citizens. Nonetheless, it is also generally agree that political will is required to implement and sustain anti-corruption reform efforts. Even though most candidates seeking office today promise to combat corruption and include anti-corruption promises in their campaigns, once in office few have been able to follow-up on their campaign promises. Maintaining political will has proven difficult for many leaders for among other reasons: 1) opposition from those with vested interests in the status quo; 2) raising expectations too high on reducing corruption; 3) no practical or immediate consequence for “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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not keeping with electoral promises; and 4) inability of leaders to work with the opposition, build consensus and mobilize support for anti-corruption actions.

A key challenge to build political will among policy makers and promote action involves encouraging and supporting policy dialogue across sectors that positively impact the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), democratic governance and economic opportunities.

Knowledge and capacity building become necessary elements to engage policy makers in policy dialogue, and to strengthen the capacity of UNDP Country Offices to discuss, convene, and increase the level of public discourse on the challenges brought by lack of transparency and accountability. Patterns of corruption can change across countries and across sectors.

Each sector (health, environment, and economic development), must develop explicit approaches to address the unique challenges of corruption. This goes beyond attempts to ensure that resources and programs are protected from corruption; it also implies a proactive programmatic commitment to finding ways to reduce the impact of corruption throughout the sector. Another challenge is to encourage cross-sectoral collaboration that supports the establishment of efforts country office-wide or across several practice areas to promote transparency and accountability in a more holistic fashion.

Emerging Issues and Opportunities As was highlighted in the Fourth UNDP Global Anti-Corruption Community of Practice (CoP) Meeting held in Bangkok Thailand in November of 2010, new opportunities are emerging for UNDP to continue to promote and support transparency and accountability activities. The discourse of anti-corruption in UNDP has not been static, but rather can be described as having an evolving nature. For instance, in the early 1990s, UNDP was one of first multilateral organizations that integrated the fight against corruption into its development programs. This meant a shift from focusing solely on public administration reform, to a broader focus on policy issues, including politically sensitive. For example, more recently an evolving mandate emanated from the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and its review mechanism. The UNCAC provides an opportunity to develop a global anti-corruption language and a coherent implementation strategy. It gives an opportunity to establish an effective set of benchmarks for anti-corruption strategies, and to collaborate with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the Secretariat to the Conference of State Parties for the UNCAC. UNDP country presence in 24 countries in the LAC Region, can play a key coordinating role among UN agencies and serve as a bridge between the government and civil society, and thus is well positioned to further promote UNCAC implementation.

There are a number of other emerging issues, such as anti-corruption and MDGs (with emphasis on sectoral approach such as health, education and water). Lack of transparency and accountability hinders efforts to achieve the MDGs by reducing access to services and diverting resources away from investments in infrastructure, institutions and social services.

Success in meeting the MDGs largely depend on the “quality” of democratic governance at all levels. Also, UNDP’s work in mainstreaming anti-corruption into climate change programming, including mapping and assessing emerging trends and future scenarios based on the linkages between corruption and climate change. Sharing knowledge and experience of integrating anti-corruption work into climate change initiatives is an important emerging issue. Last but not least, social accountability and ethics training are also two key emerging issues.

Objective of the 3rd Community of Practice (COP) This Third Meeting is part of an effort to articulate transparency and accountability issues in Latin America and the Caribbean that began in 2008, when the 1st Latin American and “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality” September 5 and 6, 2011. Costa Rica

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Caribbean Community of Practice on Anti-Corruption was held in Lima, Peru. In June 2009, the 2nd UNDP Latin American and Caribbean Community of Practice on Anti-Corruption was held in Bogota-Colombia, and provided a number of inputs about the needs in Country Offices and other regional initiatives.

Against this background (context, trends and challenges), the 3rd UNDP Latin American and Caribbean Community of Practice on Anti-Corruption will take place, focusing on sharing the accumulated experiences and practices, as well as exploring how to continue mainstreaming transparency and accountability across sectors. The COP will also provide an opportunity discuss the relevance for UNDP to pursue initiatives dealing with transparency and anticorruption areas and to explore best ways and entry points to mainstream these topics into current and future programs and initiatives. The COP will provide not only the opportunity to analyze possibilities of promoting and supporting transparency activities, but also about the challenges and possible methodologies and strategies to be pursued. It will also constitute a forum to listen and learn about good practices and lessons from across the region and to explore possible synergies not only with current strategic initiatives, but also with regional and global initiatives. The COP will be a key forum for pursuing cutting-edge cross practice initiatives within UNDP. The main key objectives of the COP are:      

Exchange ideas on how to mainstream transparency and anti-corruption thinking and actions across current and future programming in the Region; Strengthen the stock of knowledge, both qualitative and quantitative at the UNDP country offices, about mainstreaming anti-corruption programming; Share and exchange practices, tools and experiences; Increase capacity to plan and implement cross-sectoral transparency programming; Explore possibilities for south-to-south cooperation with other regions; and Develop and discuss and agenda for follow up of regional and country level initiatives on anti-corruption.

AGENDA Monday September 5, 2011

08:00 – 09:00 09:00 – 10:00

10:00-10:15

10:15 – 10:30 10:30-11:30

Registration Opening Session  Welcome to the Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice (COP) in Latin America and the Caribbean Mr. Alvaro Pinto, Democratic Governance Cluster Coordinator UNDP/RBLAC  Opening Statement Ms. Luiza Carvalho, UNDP Resident Representative, Costa Rica  Statement of Host Government Rocio Aguilar Montoya, General Comptroller, Costa Rica Introduction of Participants  Introduction of participants and presentation of the agenda and objectives of the Meeting Coffee Break First Session: Progress of Anti-Corruption Efforts in the World and in Latin America and the Caribbean

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11:30-12:30

12:30 – 14:00 14:00- 15:00

15:00 – 16:00

16:00-16:15 16:15-17:15

17:15-17:30 19:30 --

Moderator: Gerardo Berthin, Governance and Decentralization Policy Advisor, UNDP Regional Service Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean  Brief presentation on current global trends on anti-corruption and emerging issues.  Brief presentation on current anti-corruption trends in Latin America.  Presentation on UNDP’s A/C work in the region. (Miguel Peñailillo, UNDP Associate Expert)  Looking to the future perspectives and challenges. (Gerardo Berthin Plenary discussion and Q&A Second Session: Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption Thinking into and across Key Development Sectors I Moderator: Diana Torres, Senior Researcher, UNDP Virtual School for Latin America and the Caribbean  Vulnerabilities to Corruption in the Health Sector: Perspectives from Latin American Sub-systems for the Poor (Karen Hussmann, Associate Expert UNDP)  Accountability in the Water Sector: The Cases of Colombia and México (Jose Ricardo Puyana/UNDP-Colombia y Paola Gomez/UNDP-México) Plenary discussion and Q&A Lunch & Group Photo Third Session: Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption Thinking into and across Key Development Sectors II Moderator: Estelle Fach, Programme Analyst, Knowledge Management & Governance (REDD/UNDP, Nueva York)  Local Governance, Anti-corruption and REDD+ in Latin America and the Caribbean: Exploring Synergies to Strengthen Transparency and Accountability, Beatriz Garcia, UNDP Consultant  The Experience of the Environmental Court of Costa Rica, Adriana Bejarano Lawyer Environmental Court Plenary discussion and Q&A Fourth Session: Support for Macro and Micro Preventive Anti-Corruption Measures: Key Lessons I Moderator: Rocio Galiano, UNDP-Paraguay  El Cercado Te Ve, Dominican Republic (Anyarlene Berges, UNDP/Dominican Republic)  Transparency in Regions and the Role of the Ombudsman Office (Mario Solari, PNUD/Peru) Plenary discussion and Q&A Coffee Break Fifth Session: Support for Macro and Micro Preventive Anti-Corruption Measures: Key Lessons II Moderator: Lara Blanco: UNDP-Costa Rica  Promoting Ethics, Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments in Colombia (Marco Stella, UNDP-Colombia)  Building Civil Society Capacity to support good Governance by Local Authorities in Jamaica (Sonia Gill, UNDP-Jamaica) Plenary discussion and Q&A Close of Business and Announcements Social Event (Dinner together) Tuesday September 6, 2011

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08:30 – 9:30

9:30-10:30

10:30 – 10:45 10:45 – 11:45

11:45 – 13:00

13:00 – 14:00 14:00-15:45

15:45-16:00 16:00-17:00

Sixth Session: Access to Public Information Moderator: Gilda Pacheco, UNDP-Costa Rica  Access to Public Information in Central America and Mexico: Assessment and Some Recommendations (Alejandra Rios, CIDE México, Maria Adilia Serrano and Rafael Reyes UNDP Associate Experts  The Experience of the Transparency and Ethic Council in Access to Public Information in Uruguay (Paula Veronelli, PNUD/Uruguay) Plenary discussion and Q&A Seventh Session: The Role of Civil Society and the Private Sector Moderator: Jose Ricardo Puyana (UNDP-Colombia)  Multi Stakeholder and Participatory Self-assessment of the Implementation of UNCAC in Chile (Marcela Rios, PNUD/Chile)  The Experience of the Global Compact and the Private Sector (Rocio Galiano, UNDP-Paraguay) Plenary discussion and Q&A Coffee Break Eight Session: Regional Approaches to Promote Anti-Corruption Moderator: Gerardo Berthin, UNDP Regional Service Center for Latin America and the Caribbean  SIGOB (Alejandro Genovesi)  Virtual School (Diana Torres)  Capacity Development (Ines Brill)  TRAALOG (Maria Angelica Vasquez) Plenary discussion and Q&A Ninth Session: Anti-Corruption Conventions (the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption) Moderator: Marcela Rios, UNDP-Chile  The Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the MESICIC (Gilberth Calderón Alvarado/ Attorney General/Director Public Ethics Department, Attorney General´s Office of the Republic  The Review Mechanism of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (Walter Hoflich, United Nations Office against Drug and Crime, UNODC-Peru) Lunch Programming on Anti-Corruption in the Region Facilitated Working Group discussions. Proposals and Analysis to be shared in Plenary according to these cross-cutting themes: 1. Decentralization and local governance 2. UNCAC and future activities 3. Anti-corruption, Human Development and MDGs 4. Anti-Corruption and UNREDD 5. Opening new areas for Anti-Corruption Coffee Break Agenda for Follow Up of Regional and Country Level Initiatives on AntiCorruption  Discussion in plenary of the Programming on Anti-Corruption in the Region.  Needs, “who does what how” and actions to enhance AC initiatives in

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17:00 – 17:30 19:00

the region.  Technical assistance windows (DGTTF, PACDE, TRAALOG and others)  Final Reflections Closing Session Farewell Dinner & Welcoming Participants of the Social Audit Workshop List of Participants

Name 1. Luiza Carvalho, UNDP-Costa Rica 2. Lara Blanco,UNDPCosta Rica

Charge Resident Representative UNDP/ Resident Coordinator UN

Lara.blanco@undp.org Human Development Coordinator

3. Gilda Pacheco, UNDP-Costa Rica 4. Anabelle Gallegos, UNDP Costa Rica

Governance and Gender Equity Officer

5. Gerardo Quiroz, UNDP-Costa Rica

Coordinator of the Project from Recovery to Sustainable Development: Beyond the Earthquake of Cinchona, 2009 Programme Consultant, Environment, Energy and Risk Management

6. Paula Zuñiga, UNDP Costa Rica 7. Gilberth Calderón Alvarado, Costa Rica 8. Adriana Bejarano, Costa Rica 9. Guillermo Bonilla, Costa Rica 10. Aida Arutyunova, DGG/BDP – UNDP 11. Tsegaye Lemma, DGG/BDP – UNDP 12. Estelle Fach,

Email Luiza.carvalho@one.un.org

Gilda.pacheco@undp.org gallegosanabelle@gmail.com

Logistical Coordinator Support in Costa Rica gerardo.quiros.cuadra@undppartners.org

paula.zuniga@undppartners.org

gilbertca@pgr.go.cr Procurator - Director of Public Ethics Area Lawyer of the Environmental Tribunal

bejaranoadriana@hotmail.com

gbalman@gmail.com Ombudsman Aida.arutyunova@undp.org Programme Specialist Anti Corruption and MDGs Tsegaye.lemma@undp.org Specialist Anti Corruption Programme Analyst,

Estelle.fach@undp.org

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BDP/UNREDD 13. Vanessa Retana, UNDP RSC LAC/UNREDD 14. Paola Gomez, UNDP México 15. Alejandra Rios, CIDE México 16. Anyarlene Berges, UNDPDominican Republic 17. Mario Solari, UNDP-Peru 18. Marcela Rios, UNDP-Chile 19. Sonia Gill, UNDPJamaica 20. Jose Ricardo Puyana, UNDP Colombia 21. Marco Stella, UNDP Colombia 22. Diana Torres, Virtual School 23. Rocio Galiano, UNDP Paraguay 24. Paula Veronelli, UNDP Uruguay 25. Walter Hoflich, UNODC Peru 26. Miguel Calix, UNDP Honduras 27. Marcela Smutt, UNDP El Salvador 28. Laura Rivera, UNDP El Salvador 29. Agueda Herrera, SIGOB Dominican Republic

Knowledge Management & Governance (REDD) Vanessa.retana@undp.org Project Manager UNREDD Programme Manager Democratic Governance Professor - Researcher, Public Administration Division, CIDE

Paola.gomez@undp.org Alejandra.rios@cide.edu

Anyarlene.berges@undp.org Governance Officer Governance Programme Officer Governance Programme Officer Assistant Resident Representative and Governance Advisor

Mario.solari@undp.org Marcela.rios@undp.org Sonia.gill@undp.org

Jose.puyana@undp.org Coordinator – Democratic Governance Area Governance Programme Officer Head of Research Area Officer Programme and Communication Programme Analyst Consultant, Organized Crime Technical Advisor – Democratic Governance

Marco.stella@undp.org Diana.f.torres@undp.org Rocio.galiano@undp.org Paula.veronelli@undp.org Walter.hoflich@unodc.org Miguel.calix@undp.org Marcela.smutt@undp.org

Governance Coordinator Laura.rivera@undp.org Programme Officer aguedaherrera@presidencia.gob.do High Direction of the Presidency

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30. Alejandro Genovesi, SIGOB Paraguay 31. Leticia Santos, SIGOB Dominican Republic 32. Karen Hussmann 33. Miguel Peñailillo 34. Maria Adilia Serrano 35. Rafael Reyes 36. Ana Isabel Garcia 37. Maria Beatriz Garcia 38. Ines Brill, Regional Centre UNDP 39. Rufino Fernandez 40. Marta Lee 41. Gerardo Berthin, UNDP RSC LAC 42. Maria Angelica Vasquez, UNDP RSC LAC 43. Yael Bolaña, UNDP RSC LAC 44. Sabrina Mucaxi, UNDP RSC LAC 45. Charlotta Sandin, UNDP RSC LAC

Coordinator Computer Component

Alejandro.genovesi@sigob.org

leticiasantos@presidencia.gob.do Head of Cabinet of the Minister of the Presidency Associate Expert

Karen.hussmann@gmail.com

Associate Expert

mpenailillo@gmail.com

Associate Expert

m_aserrano@yahoo.com

Associate Expert

rafaelreyesgarci@hotmail.com

Associate Expert

Anaisabel.gq@hotmail.com

Consultant UNDP Capacity Development Practice Leader Dean Public Administration Faculty, University of Panama University of Panama Governance Policy Advisor

Beatriz.garcia@gmail.com Ines.brill@undp.org

Rafernandezj51@gmail.com

martavillagod@gmail.com Gerardo.berthin@undp.org Maria.angelica.vasquez@undp.org

Consultant – Governance and Decentralization Logistical Coordinator – Governance and Decentralization

Yael.bolana@undp.org

Sabrina.mucaxi@undp.org Intern Volunteer

lottajaxelsson@hotmail.com

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Annex 1. Evaluation Results of the Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Community of Practice in Latin America and the Caribbean

“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Governance and Reduce Inequality” San José, Costa Rica September 5-6, 2011 1. Please rate on a scale of 1 (deficient) to 5 (excellent) the following:

Rate the Following Aspects 25

20

15 1 (Deficient)

10

2 3 4

5

5 (Excellent) No response

0

Average Scores on a Scale 1-5 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Achievement of the objectives 4.5 Content and subjects 4.7 Methodology of the Meeting 4.2 Presentations 4.4 Materials 4.4 Relevance to your work/activity 4.5 Exchange of ideas and experiences 4.5 Networking 4.6

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2. What specific aspects have contributed to enhance your understanding of the subject of the Meeting? (open ended question) Summary of the Aspects Mentioned in the Evaluation

Number of responses

How topics were covered from different approaches/perspectives (sartorial approach) Country Office experiences (bringing the experience to the country level) Presentations, informal conversations/exchange of ideas and experiences Knowledge of the regional context for AC work Access to information topics

9 5 6 2 2

The participation of Supreme Audit institutions

1

The presentations and working in groups allowed an integrated vision of UNDP and its agenda

1

Contact and Exchange between country offices/regional centre/DGG Knowledge of UNDP work in these topics Proposed strategic vision Presentations were very well structured Possibility to debate presentations Group work Dialogue about Access to information and UN-REDD Assess potential synergies

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Better understanding of the structures and institutions in the countries The articulation of the Programs at the regional level No response

1 1 1

3. What did you see from a different angle thanks to the Meeting? What new insights complemented your knowledge of the subject? (open ended question) Summary of the Aspects Mentioned in the Evaluation How the anti-corruption theme was covered (health sector, applied environmental approach, comparative analysis, access to information and MDGs) Experiences of country offices in the topics Anti-Corruption Conventions and the Follow-up mechanisms

Number of responses 10 4 2

The regional vision that the Meeting used to cover the topics Various dimensions of anti-corruption and different aspects Clarity over the complexity of the topic The complex institutional context for anti-corruption work and the need to understand the context The role of BDP

3 1 1

The AC topic is broad and presents challenges to envision the problem The experience of El Cercado TeVe

1 1

How panels were constructed and group work The wealth of transformation possibilities and the broad diversity of actions

1 1

The dimensions and possibilities to work the topic with civil society What was presented in the COP contributes to the work of the Country Offices

1 1

Work that is being done in other countries and how they can be replicated in the context of other countries Global Compact

1 1

Strengthen the depth of strategic knowledge in the working agendas of Country Offices

1

I did not know about this community of practice and experiences No response

1 2

1 1

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4. What sub-topics, or related areas, of the subject of the Meeting should be developed/addressed in the future? (Be as specific as possible) (open ended question)

Summary of sub-topics, or related areas mentioned in the Evaluation Anti-corruption and transparency at the local level ( and how to enhance local governance, climate change) Transparency and accountability public policy (Metrics of the transparency and accountability processes) Climate change and AC (Transparency and natural resources) Topics related to the civil service and links with civil society sectors The role of political parties in the fight against corruption Role and relations with the private sector MDG agenda and performance indicators (progress in accountability) Law Enforcement (how to respond to citizen expectations) Methodologies to transfer experiences/Exchange of experiences UNDP indicators on this topics Institutional arrangements for UNDP to work with NGOs Impact analysis Present more models Follow-up to the topics of the COP Work wit parliaments and judicial branch Context of oversight Implementation of anti-corruption laws Support to AC institutions and sectors to know more about actions in the region Public sector management and civil service Financing for projects/or initiatives Work with Young people (youth) Evaluation of the UNCAC two years after Inter-agency work in AC topics Metrics and indexes Closer collaboration with academic entities Corruption and human rights No response

Number of responses 8 6 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3

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5. How has the Meeting contributed to the following aspects? Please rate on a scale of 1 (deficient) to 5 (excellent)

How has the Meeting contributed to the following aspects?

25 20 1 (Deficient)

15

2 3

10

4 5 (Excellent)

5

No response

0 My knowledge of and It has motivated me interest in the subject to act as soon as has improved possible

The Meeting has given me ideas on how to apply what I have learned

The meeting has fulfilled my expectations

Average Scores on a Scale 1-5 1. My knowledge of and interest in the subject has improved 4.4 2. It has motivated me to act as soon as possible 4.4 3. The Meeting has given me ideas on how to apply what I have learned 4.5 4. The meeting has fulfilled my expectations 4.6

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6. What is your rating of the following? Please rate on a scale of 1 (deficient) to 5 (excellent)

What is your rating of the following aspects of the meeting?

25 20

15 10 5 0 Panelists

Topics covered

1 (Deficient)

2

3

Meeting Room

4

The organization of the event in general

5 (Excellent)

Materials and information

No response

Average Scores on a Scale 1-5 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Panelists 4.4 Topics covered 4.4 Meeting room 4.4 Organization of the event in general 4.8 Materials and information 4.4

7. Additional specific observations and comments of the Meeting Summary of Observations and additional comments mentioned in the Evaluation Excellent organization Little time to debate and go more in-depth

Número de respuestas 7 4

It is an Exchange space and potential generation of networks Many topics too Little time Better management of time in the presentations Allows to know the work of other colleagues Excellent quality of panelists It is a space to promote and share innovative ideas Methodology (in the first day there could have been a group work Short time for the second day Devolution in second day to key actors Invite Experts of other cooperation agencies and bilateral donors (WB, DIFID) Material should have been given at the end and not wait two weeks Regional differences (sub-regions) 8 knowledge products should have been distributed at the beginning to have material to reflect and be informed

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Integration of efforts among UN Agencies and others Broaden the agenda Preliminary distribution of materials The COP is an important moment to construct Great ability to focus on the topics of the Meeting No response

1 1 1 1 1 9

1

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Annex 2. Evaluation Results of the Social Audit Workshop for Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs

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“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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“Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Democratic Governance and Reduce Inequality�

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Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, Panama Local Governance and Decentralization Area/Democratic Governance Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments (TRAALOG) Project Internet: http://www.regionalcentrelac-undp.org/en/democratic-governance/66 United Nations Development Programme – Costa Rica Democratic Governance Practice Area Web Site: http://www.pnud.or.cr/

Cover Photo: Third Meeting of the Anti-Corruption of Practiceand (COP) in Inequality” “Mainstreaming Transparency and Accountability to Strengthen Community Democratic Governance Reduce Latin America andCosta the Rica Caribbean September 5 and 6, 2011.

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