Improving Transparency and Anti-Corruption Taskforce

B20 Mexico (2012)

This was the first year that the B20 set up dedicated taskforces, including a taskforce on Improving Transparency and Anti-Corruption. Other taskforces were: Food Security; Green Growth; Employment; Trade & Investment; ICT and Innovation; Financing for Growth and Development. The G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group also published a new Action Plan for 2013–2014.

B20 recommendations

Excerpts from the B20 statement or policy document on anti-corruption in this B20 cycle.

Policy document: B20 Task Force Recommendations: Concrete Actions for Los Cabos

Excerpts:

B20 key priorities for G20 governments

B20 strongly urges the establishment of a permanent G20 Working Group on AC through future G20 presidencies;
G20 should streamline their public procurement process to address the demand-side of bribery and to encourage and further incentivize business against corruption;
Piloting possible private sector engagement processes and mechanisms in the UNCAC review process and beyond;
Other government recommendations not included above:

G20 should endorse common principles on asset disclosure for public officials;
Compendium of best practices on the fight against solicitation/common principles on enforcement of foreign bribery legislation;
G20 governments should introduce measures asking companies, including SOEs to certify that they have a robust anticorruption compliance program in place as an eligibility requirement to participate in public tenders and to benefit from export financing;
Governments should address issues related to article 4.3 of OECD ABC and articles 48 and 49 of UNCAC concerning multiple jurisdictions, law enforcement cooperation, joint investigations and coordinated sanctions and should evaluate the need to revise national rules.

New list of recommendations

Ensure transparency in public procurement

Governments commit to conduct independent assessments of their procurement systems, for example through OECD procurement reviews or other international mechanisms;
Governments commit to put in place effective mechanisms to require public officials in vulnerable positions to disclose relevant assets;
Business commit to elaborate a detailed diagnostic of risks in public procurement cycles, including in the pre-tendering and execution phase;
Business commits to set up and regularly update ethics and compliance programs, taking into account international and industry standards;
Governments and business commit to enter integrity pacts, consistently with anti-trust regulations and to develop specific joint sectoral initiatives.

Collective Action Initiatives: Invite all private sector participants to join existing Collective Action initiatives in their respective sectors/industries or initiate multi-sector initiatives in their respective countries of origin and all countries in which they operate;
Documentation of private sector-led Collective Action initiatives: Document, measure and share the existing private sector-led Collective action initiatives through a central hub for reference to all countries/sectors;
Adoption of Codes of Conduct and Other Tools: Communicate and foster the adoption of codes of conduct and other tools available to private sector participants in order to ingrain anti-corruption in each organization’s corporate culture;
High-level Reporting Mechanisms: Continue establishing appropriate forms of high-level reporting mechanisms to address allegations of solicitation of bribes by government officials;
Public and private sector partnerships: Generate public sector and private sector partnerships to address the need to collaborate in anti-corruption initiatives.

Engage the Private Sector to Participate in Peer Reviews Required by the UNCAC and Continue Consultation with the OECD Working Group on Bribery in the Context of its Monitoring Mechanism.
Create Business Programs, Including Training, to Encourage Cross-fertilization within the Private Sector and Between Public and Private, with a Specific Focus on Capacity-building.
Encourage the Adoption of Business Codes of Conduct− Specific Focus on SMEs.
Strengthen the Legal and Regulatory Framework on Anti-Corruption.

G20 commitments

Excerpts from the G20 leaders’ statement relevant to anti-corruption.

Leaders’ Declaration (source)

Intensifying the fight against corruption

Excerpts:

Corruption impedes economic growth, threatens the integrity of markets, undermines fair competition, distorts resource allocation, destroys public trust and undermines the rule of law. We call on all relevant stakeholders to play an active role in fighting corruption.
Closing the implementation and enforcement gap remains an important priority, and we continue to make significant progress towards the full implementation of the Seoul G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan, and the commitments made in the Cannes Monitoring Report. We reiterate our commitment to the ratification and full implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and to more active engagement with the OECD working group on bribery on a voluntary basis. We welcome continuing engagement from the B20 in the fight against corruption and, in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the review mechanism, will involve the private sector and civil society in the UNCAC review process on a voluntary basis. We endorse today the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group principles for denial of entry to our countries of corrupt officials, and those who corrupt them, and will continue to develop frameworks for cooperation. We also endorse the Working Group’s principles for financial and asset disclosure systems for relevant officials to pre- vent, identify and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.
We commit to enforcing anti-corruption legislation, and we will pursue those who receive and solicit bribes as well as those who pay them in line with our countries’ legislation. To help facilitate international cooperation among G20 and non-G20 governments in their investigation and prosecution of corruption, we will publish a guide on Mutual Legal Assistance from G20 countries, as well as information on tracing assets in G20 jurisdictions. We renew our commitment to deny safe haven to the proceeds of corruption and to the recovery and restitution of stolen assets. We extend the man- date of the Anti-Corruption Working Group for two years to the end of 2014 and request the Working Group to prepare a comprehensive action plan, as well as a second Working Group Monitoring Report, both to be presented for consideration and adoption by Sherpas by the end of 2012.
We extend the mandate of the Anti-Corruption Working Group for two years to the end of 2014 and request the Working Group to prepare a comprehensive action plan, as well as a second Working Group Monitoring Report, both to be presented for consideration and adoption by Sherpas by the end of 2012.

G20 Action Plan

Some short description of G20 action plan

G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group Action Plan 2013-2014

Excerpts:

(13) Business is an important stakeholder in anti-corruption efforts and transparency within the private sector is critical. We will explore the potential and effectiveness of integrity pacts between business and governments and other mechanisms for sharing anticorruption expertise among businesses and governments and we will work with the B20 to achieve this. We call on representatives from the business community to develop capacity building programmes tailored to small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through supply chains and to report back on progress in early 2014.

(14) We reiterate our support for public-private partnerships to combat corruption in specific sectors such as extractives industries and construction and our support for or implementation of initiatives such as EITI and CoST. We will share experiences and best practices from existing sectoral initiatives and carry out a risk-mapping analysis of those areas and sectors at greatest risk, including considering sectors identified by the B20 as a priority, as well as, where appropriate, cross-cutting issues such as the awarding of rights, licences or other similar benefits.