UNCAC Civil Society Coalition comprising representatives from prominent NGOs (among them Transparency International and Christian Aid) singing a song yesterday at the UN anti-corruption meet being held at the Doha Sheraton. They are discussing the mechanism for review of the implementation of UNCAC (United Nations Convention against Corruption) and urge the states to adopt a policy of openness in evolving the review mechanism.SHAIVAL DALAL

By Joyce C. Abaño

DOHA: The political and institutional structure of Arab states is seriously hampering the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, says a study done by Transparency International.

Tamara Kamhawi, programme coordinator for the Africa and Middle East department of Transparency International, said they decided to conduct the study as they have received a lot of inquiries about corruption in the MENA region in general.

“MENA has a very weak civil society and we hope to see more action regarding strengthening the presence of civil societies here… We also hope the countries will adopt the UNCAC (United Nations Convention against Corruption) review mechanism that will allow civil societies to have a role to play, and that they would publish country reports and allow country visits,” said Kamhawi in an interview.

Transparency International’s working paper on “Corruption in the MENA Region” was introduced at the 3rd Session of the Conference of the State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) held at the Doha Sheraton Hotel from November 9 and will conclude today.

“The political and institutional infrastructure of the Arab states partly accounts for the persistence of the governance gap in the region, while contextual factors such as insecurity, oil wealth and prevalence of conflict continue to fuel corruption and the lack of transparency,” the study showed.

It also showed throughout the MENA region, anti-corruption strategies have primarily focused on strengthening public institutions, reviewing laws and regulations and simplifying procedures, with little attention given to proactively improving transparency and democratic processes.

“We want to see development reform in Arabic countries regarding fighting corruption, our study shows we need to do more…,” said Kamhawi.

Kamhawi said the “Corruption in the MENA Region” paper also highlights which direction the Arab countries are taking on corruption reform, and corruption in the private sector, especially in Lebanon and Morocco.

“We also highlighted in our study the importance of the society in the Arabic region,” she said.

The study showed that addressing the root causes of corruption in MENA countries poses considerable challenges as it entails substantial reforms of national-level political and economic structures through the introduction of laws and mechanisms to increase accountability and transparent governance.

“Nevertheless, the successful introduction of anti-corruption reforms requires genuine political will to address the underlying causes of corruption as well as public support for reforms. Studies and research on the topic suggest that political will is missing, making it challenging to address the underlying causes of corruption in the region. Until this reality changes, through citizens’ demand for reform and external pressures from donor countries, fighting corruption is likely to remain a significant challenge,” the Transparency International’s study concluded.