“Deepening the judiciary's effectiveness in combating corruption”

Addis Ababa, 13 November 2007 (ECA) – The Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD) is organizing an Ad-hoc Expert Group Meeting (AEGM) on “Deepening the Judiciary's Effectiveness in Combating Corruption” from 19 to 21 November 2007 at the United Nations Conference Center in Addis Ababa.

The main objective of the meeting is to review and discuss the draft document entitled “Deepening the judiciary's effectiveness in combating corruption,” with a view to strengthen national mechanisms and institutions to fight against corruption. The experts from the judiciary, anticorruption and international organization working on corruption issues will first, review and examine national anticorruption strategies and action plans and their effectiveness in combating corruption. Secondly, they will examine the level of implementation, at the country level, of already adopted international instruments against corruption (i.e. UN Convention Against Corruption, AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct and the Rule of Law Initiative on anti-corruption).

Additionally, the meeting will allow the experts to share their experiences, best practices and lessons, as well as propose practical modalities to enhance the role of the judiciary and anticorruption agencies in combating corruption more efficiently at the national, subregional and regional levels. Based on their discussions, the experts will draw up specific policy recommendations, programs and action plans to curb the raising incidence of corruption in Africa, in a permanent and sustained manner, so as to promote socioeconomic development for the benefit of all.

:: Opening Remarks by Mr. Okey Onyejekwe, Director, Governance and Public Administration Division