Integrity and Compliance Taskforce

B20 Saudi Arabia (2020)

A B20 Integrity and Compliance Taskforce was created under the Saudi Arabia Presidency in 2020. In addition, the B20 established five other Taskforces that covered: Energy, Sustainability & Climate; the Future of Work and Education; Digitalisation; Finance & Infrastructure; and Trade & Investment.

B20 recommendations

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

B20 Saudi Arabia Integrity and Compliance Policy Paper 2020

Excerpts:

Recommendation 1: The G20 should pursue a culture of high integrity in the public and private sectors.

Policy Action 1.1 The G20 should engage with the private sector to implement or improve national anti-corruption plans, and to adopt new Collective Action initiatives.
Policy Action 1.2 The G20 should strengthen laws protecting whistleblowers, and engage with the private sector regarding best-practices in whistleblower programme management.
Policy Action 1.3 The G20 should ensure that anti-corruption plans and whistleblower protections empower women to become part of the solution to corruption.

Recommendation 2: The G20 should leverage emerging technologies to manage risks relating to corruption and fraud.

Policy Action 2.1 The G20 should adopt consistent digital identity standards and systems to enhance transparency in beneficial ownership, and improve third-party risk management in the private sector.
Policy Action 2.2 The G20 should develop digital public national registers to increase transparency around beneficial ownership information, and to improve third-party risk management.
Policy Action 2.3 The G20 should launch a public-private partnership project to support the development of new technologies to further improve data quality in, and data sharing among, national registers.

Recommendation 3: The G20 should enhance integrity and transparency in public procurement.

Policy Action 3.1 The G20 should ensure transparency, and promote integrity and accountability across the entire public procurement lifecycle.
Policy Action 3.2 The G20 should establish clear and consistent incentives to reward high standards of ethical business conduct in the context of public procurement.
Policy Action 3.3 The G20 should ensure greater integrity among public procurement officials by implementing conflict of interest policies and asset declarations in line with UNCAC Article 8 for procurement officials, while bolstering anti-corruption training for these officials and providing transparent and independent channels for them to report instances of corruption.

G20 commitments

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

G20 Leaders’ Declaration - Riyadh Summit

Anti-corruption:

We will continue to lead by example in the global fight against corruption. In this regard, we welcome the first G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting.

We will continue to promote global integrity in response to the pandemic, and we endorse the G20 Call to Action on Corruption and COVID-19.

We commit to taking and promoting a multi-stakeholder approach, including with international organizations, the civil society, the media, and the private sector, to preventing and combating corruption.

We welcome the Riyadh Initiative for Enhancing International Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Cooperation.

We endorse the G20 Action on International Cooperation on Corruption and Economic Crimes, Offenders and the Recovery of Stolen Assets.

We welcome the reformed approach to the G20 Anti-corruption Accountability Report, and endorse G20 High-Level Principles for: the Development and Implementation of National Anti-Corruption Strategies; Promoting Public Sector Integrity Through the Use of Information and Communications Technologies; and Promoting Integrity in Privatization and Public-Private Partnerships.

We will demonstrate concrete efforts by 2021 towards criminalizing foreign bribery and enforcing foreign bribery legislation in line with article 16 of UNCAC, and with a view to possible adherence by all G20 countries to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery Convention.

We welcome Saudi Arabia joining the OECD Working Group on Bribery.