Doha: Senior United Nations officials and civil society representatives have called for maintaining the outputs of the UN Convention against Corruption to battle the scourge of corruption and transnational crime. Speaking at a session held during the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP11) to the UN Convention against Corruption in Doha, participants said there is no apologetics for impunity when there are contingency cases, or even when conflicts and disputes flare up. They suggested that punishing criminals is a deep-rooted right as put out in all international charters and a core part of law enforcement and application of human rights principles.
According to Qatar News Agency, the speakers underscored the importance of exploring novel approaches that go beyond the national anti-corruption frameworks, citing that transnational crimes are amorphous and interlocked with conflicts and instability, particularly in conflict-battered zones. The session, themed: "Corruption and organized crime across the conflict cycle", deliberated on the importance of protecting those victimized by corruption based on transparency principles and providing all information related to all investigation stages, in addition to taking decisions to prevent manipulation that serves criminals.
The session further stressed that it is essential to have sustainable outputs when it comes to combating corruption and transnational crimes through regional and global coordination. Accordingly, the speakers called for boosting regional collaboration within different UN programs through operating in lockstep with the relevant organizations to pursue innovative initiatives in the fight against corruption and crime.
Regional Chief Advisor and Program Manager, the UNDP, Arkan Al Seblani, said the times of conflicts represent a formidable challenge when it comes to combating corruption. He stressed that numerous countries and entities are taking advantage of crimes while maintaining a grey zone between them and illicit activities to evade punishment. Confronting these challenges requires pre-emptive solutions and adaptation to the reality on the ground to figure out the issue and its technical entanglements by relying on expert entities that have already engaged in anti-corruption and organized crime activities in times of conflicts, Al Seblani highlighted.
Al Seblani stressed that leveraging successful models to combat corruption and protect victims during conflicts is extremely important to ensure the establishment of legal, regional, and international frameworks, as well as multilateral cooperation, that prevent the occurrence of corruption crimes and violations during wars and conflicts, which constitute a fertile environment for corruption and criminals. He also warned that global and regional networks active during conflicts take advantage of the state of confusion and instability to smuggle funds and carry out money laundering and terrorism crimes, which necessitates launching cross-border, regional, and multi-faceted programs to curb crime and prevent further victims, especially since criminal networks operate according to pre-coordinated schemes, requiring a similar response.
Effective anti-corruption efforts, to some extent, contribute to dismantling organized criminal groups, through realistic approaches that take into account the limited resources and multitude of priorities in many countries, Al Seblani pointed out. Al Seblani further affirmed that there are no ready-made models to fight corruption, rather, there are innovative solutions that deal with the existing reality. Subsequently, he noted, it is essential to consider modern criminal methods, ways of preventing impunity, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to confront the challenges affecting the fair treatment of victims.
Managing Director at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Tuesday Reitano, warned against the threats posed by the corruption cartels and their engagement in taking advantage of the preoccupation of countries in times of wars and conflicts. She called for forging regional and global collaboration to enforce accountability and punishment programs and help the exhausted countries prevent crimes. Applying contingency plans never entails glossing over corruption and organized crime, but rather remains the essence of implementing the mechanisms of handling contingencies, since criminal cartels mostly exploit wars and conflict to carry out their criminal operations, Reitano highlighted.
Reitano underscored that battling corruption and organized crime should come from bottom to top, not extensively focusing on ruling elites as they wield influence, but by essentially focusing on realistic solutions at the level of local communities. She stressed the civil community's role, alongside all individuals and civil institutions in combating corruption, calling on nations to launch annual forums and public discussions on the issues of corruption and combating organized crime, especially transnational crimes.