Participation of Algeria in the tenth session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption CoSP10
The 10th Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (CoSP10) was held on December 11–15, 2023, Atlanta, USA.One hundred ninety-two(192) state parties, as well as specialized international and regional institutions, and over a thousand participants representing 101 non-governmental organizations were present.
Algeria has participated in the session works with a delegation led by the president of the High Authority for Transparency, Prevention and Fight against Corruption. The delegation included representatives from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad (the Permanent Mission of Algeria to the UN Office in Vienna and the Embassy of Algeria in Washington D.C), Ministry of Justice, the Central Anti-Corruption Office (OCRC) and the National Gendarmerie Command.
Mr. Richard Nephew, US Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption, presided over the session and delivered a speech in which he emphasized the importance of the CoSP10, which focuses on enhancing integrity, transparency, and accountability in public affairs management, along with the role that civil society is expected to play in the fight against corruption.
During the opening session, the President of the United Nations General Assembly and the Secretary-General of the United Nations General Assembly both made video messages stressing the significance of combating corruption in order to attain the goals of sustainable development. They were appreciated the results achieved since the UNCAC's adoption and entered into force. Mr. the UN Secretary-General emphasized the achievements that have been realized in the field of asset recovery, which according to the most recent estimates totaled $4.3 billion since 2010, while stressing that significant challenges still face countries in this regard.
The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also gave a speech, encouraging the best practices and challenges highlighted by the states review processes within the framework of the Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which will contribute to directing technical assistance toward the priority needs of States parties. She additionally mentioned the valuable knowledge and documentation that has been collected since the implementation of the UNCAC, as well as the roles of the conference's working groups.
The works were carried out within a public session in which representatives of the States Parties took the floor in accordance with the agenda. In this context, the Algerian delegation issued a statement highlighting the will of public authorities, led by the President of the Republic, to fight corruption through the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy and modernizing the legal system to align with UNCAC provisions, in addition to supporting the role of civil society in this field.
The Algerian delegation commented on the issue of Asset Recovery, emphasizing the need for countries that receive the proceeds of corruption replying to requests for international cooperation, while providing figures on the number of requests addressed to various states in cases of transnational corruption and money laundering since 2020, the Algeria's involvement in the relevant international efforts were noted, like joining to GlobE Network and cooperation with the StAR Initiative.
The 10th session concluded with approval of thirteen (13) resolutions related to:
1- Extending the deadlines for the second review phase.
2- Strengthening the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Small Island developing States.
3-Indicators and methodologies for assessing corruption and the degree to which efforts to combat it are effective.
4- Measures to confront corruption committed by organized criminal groups.
5- Enhancing the use of Beneficial Ownership Information in asset recovery.
6-Enhancing international cooperation in civil and administrative procedures related to corruption.
7- Strengthening whistleblower protection.
8- Tackling the social effects of corruption.
9- Follow up on Sharm el-Sheikh declaration on strengthening international cooperation in the prevention of and fight against corruption during times of emergencies and crisis response and recovery.
10-Follow up on the Marrakesh Declaration on the prevention of corruption.
11- Incentives provided to the private sector to adopt integrity measures to prevent and combat corruption.
12- Place of the nextsession (COSP 11).
13-Enhancing transparency and integrity in public procurement.
Furthermore to the Atlanta Declaration on improving accountability, transparency, and integrity in public affairs management.
The Algerian delegation took advantage of this opportunity to organize a number of activities. The High Authority for Transparency, Prevention and Fight against Corruption organized a side event to introduce the Algerian Network for Transparency, or "NARACOM," the digital platform for communicating with civil society in the fight against corruption, and the objective criteria that were adopted for selecting the network's members. The participating delegations, particularly the Arab ones, responded positively to this event.
The Algerian delegation has also taken part in side events organized by different countries including the meeting of the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network (ACINET).
One of the most significant events during the conference was the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR), which brought together the key actors in this field as well as the eight (08) focus countries: Algeria, Nigeria, Zambia, Iraq, Honduras, Moldova, and Ukraine. This opportunity allowed to Ministry of Justice representatives to meet with different partners to discuss mutual legal assistance and asset recovery cases. In addition to these extremely beneficial and promising meetings, Mr. Mokhtar LAKHDARI, Director General of the OCRC, emphasize on the plenary session the Algeria's efforts in the fight against corruption and the challenges that experiences in asset recovery process.
The Algerian delegation's participation in this session was an opportunity to show the government's efforts to prevent and combat corruption, and above all to improve the monitoring of cooperation procedures for the confiscation and recovery the proceeds of corruption transferred abroad. 