Concept note Government-Civil Society International Expert Conference: “RA Anti-Corruption Strategy under International Experience”

Background:

Since 2003, the Government of Armenia recognized combatting corruption as a priority and established an institutional framework aimed to curb corruption. In these years, Armenia joined a number of international legal instruments and implemented three iterations of Anti-Corruption Strategies and Action Plans. While country’s efforts led to progress particularly in ensuring compliance of the national legislation with international standards, and in advancing e-systems in all three branches of power, data from various surveys, nevertheless, indicates that corruption in Armenia was still endemic and that the country needed to reinvigorate its efforts to combat corruption.

In the outcome of the 2018 “velvet revolution” Armenia has kicked off comprehensive reforms in all spheres of public life, inclusive of public sector and anti-corruption, strengthening governance systems, setting up participatory mechanisms for citizen engagement, etc. With “anti-corruption” as one of the watchwords of Prime Minister Pashinyan, the new Government confirmed its strong political will to redraw the entire social and political structure of corruption-ridden Armenia.  A poll of Armenian public opinion by the International Republican Institute conducted in summer 2018, reveals the extent of the public support: 82 percent of respondents see the change in government positively, and 81 percent believe the handling of corruption has improved in the last six months.

Before the Velvet Revolution, the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia jointly fought for and succeeded in the adoption of the following essential legislative reforms in Armenia:

• On 16 December 2016, the National Assembly of Armenia unanimously voted for the draft criminalising illicit enrichment, and it came into force on 1 July 2017.
• On 16 December 2016, the new Law on Procurement was adopted; it includes a norm on beneficial owners.
• On 28 June 2017, the National Assembly of Armenia unanimously voted for the draft laws on the Corruption Prevention Commission, the whistleblowing system, as well as drafts of other related draft laws.
• 117 recommendations in the business sector were submitted to the RA Government; they were aimed at reducing corruption risks in the areas of taxation, customs, public

procurement, free economic competition, licenses and permissions, process of making the property a prevailing interest and systemic business reforms; the majority of these recommendations were accepted by the government.

Public support to anti-corruption efforts of any country – including Armenia- is essential for two reasons. The first short-term reason is that Armenia – as well as any country – will go nowhere in this fight unless the Government gets reliable information from the communities and people. The second, longer-term is the true mark of success in the fight against corruption: the extent to which citizens’ attitude is going to change.

Rationale

Today, when the Government is about to launch its 2019-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan, the path which it embarks on may prove to be critical for success or failure in curbing corruption. Opportunities for serious progress are realistic due to the degree of governmental commitment to curb corruption as well as the increased activism of civil society and youth groups. 

There have been rounds of e-consultations regarding the draft Anti-Corruption Strategy received through www.e-draft.am (Note: a unified website of the Ministry of Justice for publication of draft legal acts. End note.) and working level discussions with the civil society. The Armenian Lawyers’ Association has recently come out with an initiative to revise the new RA 2019-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan. The suggested changes have been accepted and included in the draft.  

The recommendations to improve the draft Strategy and Action Plan that emerged out of the consultation process include, among other:  improving analysis of results and lessons learned; strengthening M&E system; beefing up measures to combat corruption in judiciary; strengthening civic engagement for anti-corruption; creating stronger synergy between the proposed actions and the recommendations presented in OECD report on the 4^th Round Monitoring Report from July 2018. https://www.oecd.org/corruption/acn/OECD-ACN-Armenia-4th-Round-Monitoring-Report-July-2018-ENG.pdf

With political will and widespread public support in place, Armenia needs to strengthen institutional mechanisms and systems to ensure effectiveness of law enforcement, corruption prevention measures and anti-corruption education and zero tolerance towards corruption. To achieve that, there is a need to put in place reliable anti-corruption strategies and regulations, strengthen mandates and capacities of anti-corruption institutions and investigative policies, enhance capacity of the government to engage civil society and citizens – the most interested and legitimate actors – in anti-corruption programmes, etc. To make its anti-corruption quest effective, the Government also needs to utilize the capacity of anti-corruption watchdogs: civil society institutions, think tanks, NGOs, media outlets, etc., for independent monitoring and evaluation and impact assessments. This, in its turn, will improve accountability, transparency and integrity of public sector, positively affect public confidence in anti-corruption measures and reduce level of tolerance towards manifestations of corruption.

Why the Conference: Goals and Objectives

Organization of the Anti-Corruption Conference in Armenia is timely and important, since the Government of Armenia is in the process of finalization of country’s Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2019-2022 as well as broad government-public discussions are ongoing on the model of Independent Anti-Corruption Agency that Armenia shall consider for adoption in line with country’s legal and institutional framework.

The main objective of the Conference is to discuss necessary steps that will allow Armenia to leapfrog its anti-corruption reform.

The objectives of the Conference are four-fold:

1. To discuss draft Anti-Corruption Strategy and provide concrete recommendations for its improvement;
2. To present various models of Independent Anti-Corruption Agencies/Institutions globally and outline the necessary components of the Armenian model of the Anti-Corruption Agency that best fits its context;
3. To present international experiences in fighting corruption as it relates to law enforcement, asset recovery, prevention of corruption and anti-corruption education through the spectra of the anti-corruption agency, whistle-blowing system, beneficial ownership, and anti-corruption compliance;
4. To bring together various perspectives of key anti-corruption stakeholders in Armenia, including the government, civil society, private sector and international partners to continue the momentum on fight against corruption in the country.

The Conference is organised by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia in the framework of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project supported by the European Union, and in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Centre for International Private Enterprises (CIPE). The Conference will bring together national and international anti-corruption practitioners and experts, as well as representatives from the Government, civil society, private sector and donor organisations that also highlights the importance of collective and concerted action against corruption.  

Expected results:

Based on the above priorities and building on the previous rounds of consultations the Conference will re-focus on the “what” and “how” of the AC quest in Armenia by:

• Taking stock of the trends and challenges in the anti-corruption area as well as in the overall development context of Armenia;
• Sharing international experience, best practices and lessons learned in developing and implementing anti-corruption strategies through an integrated approach, establishing independent AC systems and institutions, as well as in enforcement and prevention areas;
• Presenting recommendations for assessment, measurement and prevention of corruption at various levels;
• Devising a roadmap for effective involvement of key stakeholders to prevent and combat corruption in Armenia;
• Providing concrete recommendations and proposals on the way forward in the Conference follow up report.