In light of Egypt's presidency of the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (COSP9), the Administrative Control Authority, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), is holding an international meeting for international experts on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to discuss the implementation of the Sharm El Sheikh Declaration on fighting corruption during times of emergencies and crisis response and recovery. The meeting takes place on 12 and 13 December at the Egyptian Anti-Corruption Academy (EACA), in the presence of H.E. Minister Amr Adel, Chairman of the Administrative Control Authority; Ms. Brigitte Strobel-Shaw, Chief of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; representatives of 30 States; international organizations; and renowned experts.

The Administrative Control Authority believes in the importance of international cooperation in fostering information exchange; meeting challenges; and pondering best and successful practices to combat corruption in times of crisis and emergency. In this regard, the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, chaired by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh in December 2021, adopted the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration on “Strengthening international cooperation in the prevention of and fight against corruption during times of emergencies and crisis response and recovery.”

COSP9 called for the Open-ended intergovernmental expert group meeting to enhance international cooperation under the UNCAC, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to gather and review best practices and challenges relevant to international cooperation provided by States parties.

The first panel titled “Understanding emergency contexts: typologies

 of risks and constraints for effective and timely crisis response and recovery,” delves into the identification and assessment of typologies of corruption risks, which exacerbate during different times of crisis. Discussions address the understanding of legal, policy, and institutional constraints to further develop effective anti-corruption strategies; undertake apt measures, and map the roles to ensure optimal crisis response. 

The second panel under the title “Measures to prevent and counter corruption during times of emergencies, including through international and multilateral

cooperation,” tackles promoting multilateral response to the impediments facing international cooperation, as well as including actors outside the public sector towards mitigating risks in international financial assistance

Thorough discussions will be held during the breakout sessions on the sidelines of the panels, along with reports, key takeaways and resolutions to be presented to the plenary session.