Maximising the potential of UNCAC implementation: making use of the self-assessment checklist

The UN Convention against Corruption offers countries a unique framework to strengthen their ability to prevent and combat corruption. The self-assessment checklist is one of the few available methods where reports are generated through the software and submitted electronically through collecting information about the measures that a state has already taken. This paper lists the benefits and concerns about the checklist and recommends the way forward.

The publication identifies the following potential concerns with the checklist:

• It is not a country-led initiative because it is designed at the global level with checklist responses to an outside body rather than to a government’s own citizens
• It is open to executive bias because of limited input from the legislature, judiciary and other non-state actors
• Capacity constraints may impede effective data collection and validation
• It is a very resource-intensive process necessitating tying it to related processes of national assessment and feedback into the policy making process
• Reporting de jure versus de facto information – states may not pay adequate attention to this
• It requires countries to report on certain aspects that may or may not reflect their immediate anti-corruption efforts and national concerns
• Technical online difficulties in downloading and data entry take a lot of time distracting attention away from monitoring anti-corruption activities.

The paper reveals that the mere process of gathering information can have the following benefits:

• Through corruption research and monitoring activities priorities for reform can be identified
• It improves anti-corruption coordination and communication
• Encourages national reform dialogue
• Creating a tool for the reformers by providing them with an opportunity for voicing their anti-corruption concerns in writing
• Initiating broader development of systematic anti-corruption monitoring processes
• Assessing needs for technical assistance in a specific thematic field to promote country ownership of the process.

The publication recommends the following:

• Governments should emphasize the importance of anti-corruption reform, and the key role that the checklist plays in this
• Prioritization is a necessity, and the information gathered by the checklist should provide guidance to priorities
• Successful anti-corruption and governance reform depend on the participation of relevant state and non-state institutions
• The information gathered can be part of a broader process of dialogue with donors, and a country-led process of identifying assistance needs
• Civil society should engage with governments in the checklist process as much as possible.