AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia P. O. Box 3243 Telephone: 5517 700 Fax: 5517844 Website: www. Africa-union.org EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Eighteenth Ordinary Session 24-28 January 2011 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia EX.CL/651(XVIII) Original: English REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE AFRICAN UNION ADVISORY BOARD ON CORRUPTION
Page 1 I. INTRODUCTION REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE AFRICAN UNION ADVISORY BOARD ON CORRUPTION 1. Governance deficits in the forms of co-existence of autocratic regimes, unlimited impunity and unaccounted exploitation of natural resources, is continuing to pose tremendous challenges to the continent s socio-economic development, despite recent progress in democracy and human rights in a number of African countries. 2. Public services are unevenly provided and of poor quality, if at all existing, and civil servants are often so poorly paid that they resort to petty corruption as a mode of life. Petty as well as structural corruption are rampant, as institutions, designed to provide checks and balances within the system are generally under-resourced and politically dependent. 3. It has been empirically asserted that sub-saharan Africa is the only region of the world where poverty has increased in the last two decades. Thirty-two (32) of the world s thirty-eight (38) seriously indebted and poor countries are in Africa. In addition to corruption, protracted armed conflicts, HIV/AIDS pandemic and declining terms of trade for non-mineral primary products continue to exacerbate the several challenges facing the continent. 4. Hence, the Member States of the African Union, concerned about the negative effects of corruption and impunity on the political, economic, social and cultural stability of African states and its devastating effects on the economic and social development of the African peoples, and convinced of the need to formulate and pursue, as a matter of priority, a common penal policy aimed at protecting the society against corruption, including the adoption of appropriate legislative and adequate preventive measures, have adopted at the Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, held in Maputo (Mozambique), 11 July 2003, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. 5. The Convention entered into force on 5 August 2006, thirty (30) days after the deposit of the fifteenth (15 th ) instrument of ratification. To date Thirty-one (31) member States have ratified and are State Parties to the Convention. 6. In accordance with Article 22 (5) of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, an Advisory Board was set-up as an autonomous organ. Its main mandate is to promote and encourage the adoption of measures and actions by State Parties to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption and related offences in Africa as well as to follow-up on the application of those measures.
Page 2 II. MANDATE OF THE ADVISORY BOARD 7. The duration of the mandate of the Board is two years. The first Board of eleven (11) members was appointed by the Executive Council at is fourteenth ordinary session held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 29 to 30 January 2009 (Ex.CL/Dec.485 (XIV), and its mandate will end in January 2011. 8. In accordance with Article 22 (5) of the African Union on Preventing and Combating Corruption, the main mandate of the Board is to promote and encourage the adoption of measures and actions by State Parties to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption and related offences in Africa, as well as to follow-up on the application of those measures. III. INTERNAL ACTIVITIES OF THE ADVISORY BOARD 9. The Advisory Board held its first meeting in May 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and elected by consensus the members of its Bureau led by Dr. Frene N. Ginwala, former Speaker of the South African Parliament. During this meeting, it discussed among other things its mandate and responsibilities as spelled out in the Convention and identified a number of priorities in order to develop its work programme for 2010. The Board also placed strong emphasis on the advocacy and awareness arising role as well as the importance in establishing contacts with national anti-corruption bodies at regional and sub-regional levels. 10. The Board also outlined a core provisional budget that will allow its functions and the establishment of an independent Secretariat, pending to its approval by the Executive Council and the Summit. Additional resources will be required for the activities of the Board. In order to mobilize additional resources preliminary discussion has been held with potential donors. 11. The Board discussed at length the comprehensive nature of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, the unique Convention that contains mandatory provisions with regard to the establishment of certain offences whereas the anti-corruption instruments including the United Nations Convention merely made such offences optional, in particular its deals with private-to-private corruption and requires transparency in funding political parties. The AU Convention seeks to harmonize legislation among State Parties and anti-corruption initiatives on the continent, and draws on the provisions of the regional communities: Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols. 12. Furthermore, the Board will need to assist State Parties to meet their initial and annual reporting obligations. It will be necessary for States to assess their policies and
Page 3 legislation in the context of the Convention requirements and domesticate its provision into their national legislation. The Board requests the Executive Council to call upon all State Parties to set-up and empower national anti-corruption bodies as required under Article 20 of the Convention. The Council should encourage member States that have not signed and ratified the Convention to do so in order to enlarge the scope of the Convention. 13. The Board in its Second meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in December 2009, finalized its rules of procedures, drafted its working programme, discussed the structure of the Secretariat of the Board and presented for discussion the draft budget for 2010, which was submitted to the approval of the African Union policy organs. 14. The Advisory Board held its third meeting in March 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting elected its new Bureau (Chairperson: Dr Berhe Tesfu Constantinos, Deputy-Chairperson: Dr Jane Ansah, Rapporteur: Mrs Henriette Diop Tall). It discussed among other things, its 2010 activities programme, and follow-up actions on the establishment of the Secretariat of the Advisory Board, strengthening of the capacity of national anti-corruption bodies and mapping of corruption in terms of its nature and scope, and the promotion of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. 15. The Board in its fourth meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in June 2010, adopted inter alia a Strategic plan for its activities for 2011-2012, and its code of conduct. It was also decided to send a baseline questionnaire to States parties, in pursuance of Article (220 of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, requesting the Advisory Board to report on a regular basis to the Executive Council the progress made by States Parties in the implementation of the terms of the Convention. A decision was also made to send the proposition of the structure of the Secretariat of the Board to the PRC for consideration and adoption, and to prepare a new strategic plan covering the period 2011-2015 for its activities. Further, the Board s delegation to the Summit in Kampala, in July 2010 was mandated to underline the problem of the length of the Board mandate caused by the discrepancy between the period of its election and the time of effectively assuming duty. 16. The Advisory board held its fifth meeting in November 2010, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Decisions were made to send the questionnaire assessing the level of internalization and domestication of the African Union Convention, as a matter of urgency, to States Parties; to recruit the Executive Secretary, a finance and Administration Officer and a documentalist, according to the fast-tracking procedure; entrusted the Bureau with the task of preparing the Board participation in the January 2011 Summit on shared values. 17. The Advisory Board has launched a call for consultancy services in order to carry out following studies: Analysis and synthesis of regional resolutions; participatory
Page 4 research on prevalence of corruption in Africa; methodologies for analyzing the nature, extent of corruption in Africa; sensitizing papers on the genesis and impact of corruption in Africa; preparation of documents to enable the Board to advise States on anticorruption measures; development of materials to assist States on concrete steps to implement the Convention; research on a code of conduct for partnership with international organizations and an analysis of the conduct and behaviour of multinational corporations in Africa. IV. EXTERNAL ACTIVITIES OF THE BOARD MEETING WITH OTHER AU ORGANS 18. The Interim Executive Secretary, Dr. Adolphe Lawson, participated in a workshop organized in Banjul, The Gambia, by the Department of Political Affairs for the launch of the African Governance Platform, 2-4 August, 2010. The objective of the meeting was to launch the African Governance Platform as the coordinating arm of the African Governance Architecture (AGA). The platform was thought to be a mechanism for collaboration and coordination among African governance institution and initiatives. It seeks to facilitate information flows, exchange, dialogue and synergies for joint action amongst the various governance actors such as (PAP, African Court of Justice, and other African Human rights related organs). The platform is not a new AU organ, nor a decision-making organ but just a mechanism to facilitate coordination among the AU organs active in the promotion of good governance. 19. The Interim Executive Secretary, participated in another workshop organized by the Department of Political Affairs to validate the Human Rights Strategy, in Banjul, The Gambia, 5-6 August 2010. 20. The Interim Executive Secretary, further met with Mr Phil Matsheza, Policy Adviser, Anti-corruption Democratic Governance Group, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP, New York, Mr Job Ogonda, Governance Officer from the UNDP, Johannesburg Office, and Mrs Chantal Uwimana, Regional Director for Africa & the Middle east, from Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin, Germany, to discuss future cooperation their respective institutions and the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption. 21. The Rapporteur, Mrs Henriette Diop Tall, participated in a Training workshop organized by UNECA, for National Anti-Corruption bodies in Central Africa. 22. The Chairperson of the Board, Dr. Costantinos and the Interim Executive Secretary, Dr. Adolphe Lawson, participated to the 14 th International Anti-Corruption Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand from 10-13 November 2010. The Conference Theme was: Restoring Trust: Global Action for Transparency. The gathering was used as a networking opportunity for the Board to build contact with global actors working in the field of anti-corruption and to enhance its visibility.
Page 5 23. An International Conference with the theme: Fighting Corruption And Strengthening Integrity in Africa In the New Millennium: Challenges & Opportunities, has been organized in observance of the International Anti-corruption Day on 9 th December 2010, by the Advisory Board on corruption, with the participation of the International Community based in Addis Ababa and Professor Bo Rothstein from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden). 24. The Board have received two reports on the assessment of the level of domestication of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption from two States parties: The Republic of Malawi and the Republic of Congo. CONCLUSION 25. Finally, the Board remained committed to ensuring the full implementation of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which entered into force in August 2006 and will fulfil its mandate as defined by the decisions of the Executive Council and the Assembly of Heads of States of the African Union. 26. The African Union Advisory Board on Corruption appeals to the African States who have not yet ratified the Convention on preventing and combating corruption to do so as soon as possible. 27. The Board encourages African States to fiercely combat corruption by putting in place necessary anti-corruption instruments and institutions, and appeals to Heads of States to adopt and promote the implementation of anti-corruption programmes in order to increase the level of domestication of the Convention at the national level and its harmonization at the regional level.