The potential uptake in the peace process and the outcomes of the recent 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva are positive steps towards a peaceful Afghanistan. However, even if the peace process succeeds, Afghanistan needs to cover a long journey to have a stable economy. Fighting against corruption, including bringing reforms and building institutional capacity of key government entities are crucial for social contract between state and society, and sustainable peace in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Afghanistan\u2019s international legal obligations on preventing and prosecuting corruption are derived primarily from the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which Afghanistan signed on 20 February 2004 and ratified on 25 August 2008.<\/p>\n
Afghanistan has made steady progress in the fight against corruption, but the country has a long way to go.\u00a0Countering corruption is a complex\u00a0task that involves\u00a0legislation, institutional enhancement,\u00a0systems building, digitization,\u00a0political will\u00a0as well as peace and security. In addition, the country needs the resources and support from international partners to\u00a0succeed in this\u00a0endeavor.<\/p>\n
Denmark, as one of\u00a0main supporters of Afghanistan in rule of law and justice sector has stood with the country throughout the past two decades as the country rebuilt its institutions.\u00a0With\u00a0a\u00a0zero-tolerance\u00a0policy for\u00a0corruption, for\u00a0both\u00a0internal government\u00a0spending\u00a0as well\u00a0as\u00a0for\u00a0the use of\u00a0its\u00a0international development\u00a0funds, Denmark has played a leading role\u00a0in\u00a0supporting\u00a0anti-corruption\u00a0efforts\u00a0in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
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Through\u00a0partnership\u00a0with\u00a0the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)\u00a0in Afghanistan, Denmark has supported\u00a0anticorruption\u00a0efforts\u00a0by funding\u00a0Anti-Corruption, Transparency, Integrity and Openness (ACTION)\u00a0Project,\u00a0supporting\u00a0both\u00a0institutional\u00a0enhancement\u00a0and\u00a0civilian engagement\u00a0to increase public\u00a0involvement and\u00a0trust in the\u00a0Afghan Security and Justice institutions. On the government institutions, the project\u00a0is\u00a0supporting\u00a0the Anti-Corruption Justice Center (ACJC) to enhance their capacity to address high-level corruption cases. On the\u00a0public\u00a0engagement\u00a0side, the project\u00a0is\u00a0working\u00a0with civil society to improve public trust\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0state.<\/p>\n
By the same token,\u00a0Republic of Korea\u00a0has undergone a fast development journey, rising from the ashes of the Korean War in 1950s\u00a0to become a member\u00a0of the\u00a0Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)\u00a0Development Assistance Committee; and it has\u00a0accumulated\u00a0rich experience and\u00a0know-how\u00a0in tackling\u00a0corruption\u00a0through the years.<\/p>\n
Under the ACTION project funded by Denmark, and with support of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea\u00a0and UNDP Policy\u00a0Center\u00a0in Seoul an exchange of experiences\u00a0took place with the Attorney General\u2019s Office, ACJC and the newly formed Anti-Corruption Commission.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0experience sharing session\u00a0presented\u00a0how\u00a0the\u00a0Anti-Corruption\u00a0& Civil Rights Commission\u00a0(ACRC) of the\u00a0Republic of Korea\u00a0has\u00a0employed strategic tools for prevention of corruption, including:\u00a01)\u00a0Anti-Corruption Initiative Assessment (AIA)\u00a0for monitoring corruption prevention efforts in public institutions;\u00a0and\u00a02)\u00a0Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA)\u00a0removing corruption risks in bills and legislations.\u00a0These\u00a0tools\u00a0have\u00a0successfully created an institutional mechanism for\u00a0ACRC\u00a0to compel, institutionalize and incentivize\u00a0government and\u00a0public sector organizations to implement\u00a0targeted anti-corruption\u00a0initiatives and take proactive attitudes towards anti-corruption efforts\u00a0over the past two decades.\u00a0The Korean experience\u00a0also\u00a0highlighted the importance of\u00a0integrating\u00a0anti-corruption measures into all government functions and service delivery mechanisms for\u00a0sustainable anti-corruption governance.<\/p>\n
Corruption is a\u00a0central\u00a0issue\u00a0for\u00a0Afghanistan\u00a0to deal with,\u00a0as the country made a commitment at the recent\u00a0Geneva\u00a0Conference\u00a0on Afghanistan\u00a0and\u00a0as one of the main\u00a0conditionalities for continued support to the country\u00a0by the international community in Afghanistan Partnership Framework (APF).<\/p>\n
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For the UN, anti-corruption is central for achieving the\u00a0Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).\u00a0The SDGs make a\u00a0clear\u00a0link between corruption\u00a0and\u00a0peaceful\u00a0and inclusive societies.\u00a0SDG\u00a016 and its targets on reducing bribery, strengthening\u00a0institutions,\u00a0and access to information are not only valuable\u00a0aspirations,\u00a0but\u00a0they\u00a0are also vital conditions for the achievement of all the\u00a0SDGs.<\/p>\n
Tackling Corruption is a difficult task that needs\u00a0long-term\u00a0effort and commitment.\u00a0It\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0continues process, which requires not\u00a0only\u00a0government\u00a0institutions,\u00a0but\u00a0also the\u00a0people\u2019s\u00a0involvement to make\u00a0the institutions responsive to the needs of citizens,\u00a0bringing\u00a0transparency\u00a0and\u00a0accountability\u00a0to the\u00a0system and delivering equal services to the community.<\/p>\n
We are happy to see\u00a0that\u00a0Attorney\u00a0General\u00a0Office,\u00a0Anti-Corruption\u00a0Commission\u00a0and Anti-Corruption Justice Center\u00a0of Afghanistan\u00a0are\u00a0taking actions\u00a0to prevent, investigate,\u00a0prosecute,\u00a0and adjudicate corruption\u00a0cases.\u00a0Tackling corruption requires,\u00a0strengthened anti-corruption entities\u00a0through building their institutional and technical capacity\u00a0in a sustainable manner.<\/p>\n
Denmark and Republic of Korea,\u00a0in\u00a0coordination\u00a0with\u00a0UNDP\u00a0will\u00a0continue\u00a0to\u00a0support Afghanistan\u2019s effort to strengthen\u00a0institutions\u00a0to\u00a0prevent\u00a0and root out\u00a0corruption\u00a0in all its forms, utilizing proven tools which can be adjusted toward Afghanistan\u2019s situation.\u00a0This is a major issue\u00a0that cannot be addressed unless there is clear coordination between all actors\u00a0and willingness to join efforts collectively.\u00a0\u00a0The road ahead might be difficult, but it can be achieved if we are\u00a0consistent\u00a0and united\u00a0to\u00a0help the country deal with this issue.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
issue.<\/p>\n
AUTHORS:<\/p>\n
Nathalia Feinberg<\/p>\n
Ms. Nathalia Feinberg is\u00a0 the Danish Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Prior to her appointment to Afghanistan, she has served as the Head of Mission at the Danish representative office in Ramallah, Palestine. Ambassador Feinberg has held a number of positions within the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as head of multi-lateral cooperation and head of development policy. She has also served as the Danish Ambassador to Kampala and as deputy head of mission at the Danish Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Choi Tae-ho<\/p>\n
Mr. Choi Tae-ho is the Ambassador of Republic of Korea to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Mr. Choi Tae-ho is a career diplomat with more than 2 decades of experience in the Korean foreign service.<\/p>\n
Abdallah Al Dardari<\/p>\n
Abdallah Al Dardari is UNDP\u2019s Resident Representative for Afghanistan. Before joining UNDP, Mr. Al Dardari served as a Senior Advisor to the World Bank, and Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of State Planning Commission of Syria. Mr. Dardari holds an MA in International Relations and Economics from the University of Southern California and London School of Economics (LSE) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Richmond in the United States.<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The potential uptake in the peace process and the outcomes of the recent 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva are positive steps towards a peaceful Afghanistan. However, even if the peace process succeeds, Afghanistan needs to cover a long journey to have a stable economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17,18,225,5,8,6,174],"tags":[12,13,14,170,219],"class_list":["post-4665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-report","category-security_","category-peace","category-corruption","category-politics_","category-governance","category-afghanistan","category-analysis","tag-afghanistan","tag-taliban","tag-peace","tag-undp","tag-corruption"],"views":838,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}