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UNDP workshops at the 19 th International Anti-Corruption Conference.   Please see the flyer in the link below for more details on the timing of UNDP’s workshops at the IACC next week. Topics range from the next generation of anti-corruption priorities, to lessons learned from Republic of Korea on effective strategies and innovative partnerships, digitalization for anti-corruption, as well as youth as game changers in the Pacific. UNDP: https://anti-corruption.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/UNDP-Flyer-19th-IACC-Workshops.pdf   Addressing corruption risks in the age of COVID-19: Preventing and managing conflicts of interest in the public sector (Blog).  “The World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have joined forces to produce a Good Practices Guide on Preventing and Managing Conflicts of Interest in the Public Sector . This Guide has been developed at ...

Why Asia is losing its war on drugs (Opinion).  “The winners are well-organized professional crime cartels with global reach that continue to diversify and expand their operations while corrupting and undermining any official capacity for serious response.” Anthony Davis/Asia Times: https://asiatimes.com/2020/11/blind-eyes-and-payoffs-fuel-asias-drug-boom/   South Korea’s Moment for Chaebol Reform is Now (Blog).   “[Chaebols are] the massive, dynastically controlled business conglomerates that are the cornerstones of the South Korean economy]…routinely implicated in scandal after scandal…First, President Moon should push for updating South Korea’s sentencing codes to remove the loopholes that judges can deplay at their discretion…Second, [he] should make clear his opposition to giving chaebols…special treatment…Third, [he] ought to encourage all government figures…to keep their distance fro...

Anti-graft measures ‘must be retained’.  “Mana Nimitmongkol, secretary-general of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT), has called for rigorous anti-graft measures in the current constitution to be retained in any future charter amendments.” Mongkol Bangprapa/Bangkok Post: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2023127/anti-graft-measures-must-be-retained   Anti-corruption committee discusses recommendations to improve governance and integrity.   “The Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption…has agreed on several recommendations to improve governance and integrity, as well as to combat graft, in [Malaysia]… "This includes making the [Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission] Report Feedback Status Monitoring and the [Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission] report as a permanent agenda in national, state or department-level Anti-Corruption Committee meetings."” Hana Naz Harun...

Anti-graft group worried over systemic corruption among civil servants.  “Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has voiced concern over the systemic corruption among civil servants following the crippling of an immigration syndicate which involved Immigration Department officers.” Free Malaysia Today: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/11/18/anti-graft-group-worried-over-systemic-corruption-among-civil-servants/   Tackling forestry corruption in Indonesia (Resource).   “In collaboration with the [Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)], the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre undertook a systematic analysis of the KPK’s case verdicts related to forestry sector corruption in order to gain insights for the agency’s prosecution and prevention strategy…Based on what it has requested in its indictments, the KPK can be considered relatively successful. ” Sofie Arjon Schutte and Laode ...

Agenda for 19 th International Anti-Corruption Conference now available.  “The 19th International Anti-Corruption Conference has announced its line-up of workshops, plenaries, awards and film screenings, under the theme Designing 2030: Trust, Truth and Transparency . The world’s largest independent forum for anti-corruption will be held online for the first time, free and open to all, and is hosted by the Republic of Korea from 30 November to 5 December 2020” Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/press/agenda-for-19th-international-anti-corruption-conference-now-available      University student suspended after reporting rector over alleged graft.   “Semarang State University (Unnes) in Central Java has suspended a student for six months after he reported the university’s rector to the [Indonesian] Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)…claiming he had found irregularities in the univers...

All Hands on Deck: Harnessing accountability through external public audits (Report).  “In this report, we examine the strength of the audit and oversight systems across the world and provide guidance to various stakeholders on how to tackle identified weaknesses…On a global scale, the data indicate a weak performance on oversight. The average score for the 117 countries surveyed is only 37 out of 100.” International Budget Partnership: https://www.internationalbudget.org/publications/all-hands-on-deck-harnessing-accountability-through-external-public-audits/   MACC chief wans spectre of corruption, power abuse looms large on the horizon.   “Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki said that the anti-graft body is expecting an increase in corrupt practices and power abuse in Malaysia in the coming years. He said this is due to the vulnerable and complex environment that Malaysia currently...

Stealing from the poor (Opinion).   “The government had set aside Tk 1,250 crore (approx. US$ 148 mil) to give Tk 2,500 each [US$30] to 50 lakh [5 million] hardest-hit victims. According to [Transparency International-Bangladesh's] latest survey report, 69 percent of the surveyed listed poor are yet to receive a single taka even after six months had elapsed. For those who received money, 56 percent were victims of irregularities and corruption.” Mahfuz Anam/The Daily Star: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/the-third-view/news/stealing-the-poor-1994053   Governance Challenges in Tackling Corona Virus (Part II) (Report).   Transparency International Bangladesh released a comprehensive review of governance challenges in the country’s response to COVID-19, from lack of disclosure of purchase information, irregularities and corruption in the health sector, to lack of medical waste management. Note: Part I (from June 2020) can be found her...