The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, represented by the Legal Affairs Sector and Legal Affairs Department, convened the fifth session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention. The conference was jointly organised at the invitation of the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission and in close coordination and consultation with the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which currently presides over the Fourth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention.
Scheduled to take place from 5th to 7 May 2024, the conference will be hosted at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. Preceding this, the sixth meeting of the open-ended committee of government experts and representatives of independent bodies from states party to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention will convene on 5 May 2024, at the same venue.
Participating in the conference's proceedings will be representatives from states parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention, including the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Tunisia, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Sudan, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Palestine, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Kingdom of Morocco. Representatives from other member states of the League of Arab States, as well as international and regional organisations, will participate as observers.
The responsibility of chairing this session will be transferred from the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the State of Palestine.
The Arab Anti-Corruption Convention was ratified during a joint meeting of the Council of Arab Ministers of Interior and Justice on 21 December 2010. This underscores the imperative for Arab cooperation in addressing and combating corruption, recognising it as a transnational issue that requires collaborative efforts among nations. The convention aims to activate measures geared towards preventing, combating, and exposing corruption in all its forms and related crimes, as well as prosecuting perpetrators. Its broader goals include enhancing Arab cooperation, fostering integrity, transparency, accountability, and the rule of law, and promoting active participation from individuals and civil society institutions in anti-corruption endeavours. The agreement came into force on 29 June 2013, with a total of 15 Arab countries having ratified it thus far.
On the sidelines of the conference, a special Arab Forum titled "Strengthening Anti-Corruption Efforts: Realities and Challenges" will be held on 6 May 2024 at the Ritz-Carlton Cairo Hotel. This forum is organised by the Conference Presidency, represented by the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It will feature the participation of numerous experts in the field of anti-corruption from Arab countries, along with representatives from the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.
Watch the opening session speeches:
