On 1 February 2019, the UNODC Civil Society Team (CST) organized a follow-up meeting to draft on an outcome document which affirms the fundamental importance of active participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector in the prevention of and the fight against corruption and raising public awareness regarding the existence, causes and gravity of and the threat posed by corruption. This event resulted from previous collaborations throughout the three multi-stakeholder workshops on the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and its Review Mechanism. The meeting brought together ten civil society representatives (including DPNSEE member organisation Cazas) and six private sector actors from the region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo* as well as partners from the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative, the UNCAC Coalition and the Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) Network.
The outcome statement Belgrade Outcome Statement spells out concrete and practical steps towards a strengthened cooperation in the areas of training and knowledge, implementation of UNCAC and its Review Mechanism and collective action. This document has been endorsed by the contributors and remains open for additional endorsements. Over the past few months there has been an increase in endorsements across South Eastern Europe.
The Statement is not intended to have legal force and will not be legally binding on the participants or their organizations, except to the extent voluntarily agreed to by the participants, their organizations, or any other signatories or parties signing on to the Statement. Involvement in the creation, finalization, and implementation of the principles or action items of this Statement are on a voluntarily basis.
The UNODC Civil Society Team intends to organize a side event at the eighth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Abu Dhabi, on 16-20 December 2019, which is seen as the next opportunity to engage some new stakeholders in order to showcase the statement and the work that goes with it.
In order for to add the name of your organization to the Statement document that features on the UNODC website, please an email confirming endorsement to unodc-ngounit@un.org.
To read the Statement follow this link>>>