Qatar - Qatar and UNDP finalize agreement to set up Arab regional anti-corruption initiative in Doha (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)
The UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at UNDP, Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, visited His Excellency the Attorney General of the State of Qatar, Dr. Ali Ben Fetais Al Marri, in Doha this week to discuss ongoing efforts to promote transparent and accountable governance in the Arab region.

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Qatar - Arab region experts draw on UNDP support and declare new anti-corruption initiatives in Doha (Tuesday, March 27, 2012)
Doha,the United Nations Development Programme held two meetings for anti-corruption experts from the Arab region in partnership with the Public Prosecution of the State of Qatar. The first meeting addressed the need to enhance Arab capacities to fight corruption crimes through law enforcement mechanisms. While the second meeting focused on the need to develop and disseminate training materials for the promotion of integrity in the private sector, including the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which requires signatory governments to take action on a broad range of fronts in the fight against corruption. The meetings were hosted by the Qatar University College of Law in Doha.
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UN Agencies - Regional Conference Public Service Delivery in Arab Countries: Corruption Risks and Possible Responses (Friday, September 30, 2011)
The conference was concluded on 30 September 2011 under the high patronage of H.E. the President of the Tunisian Republic and with the participation of delegates from 8 Arab countries including high-level officials and representatives from civil society organisations, the private sector and international organizations.
The sessions discussed the important challenges of public service delivery in Arab countries, including corruption and poor governance mechanisms. The sessions also explored in depth the role of various stakeholders in overcoming those challenges and discussed some experiences assessing corruption risks in public services delivery.
The Conference explored the complex and diverse corruption risks and challenges in the health, water and education sectors, and formulate comprehensive approaches and specific solutions that draw on international standards and comparative experiences while taking the national and local contexts into consideration.

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UN Agencies - Siemens and UNDP launch joint anti-corruption efforts for Arab region (Friday, September 30, 2011)
Siemens and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have teamed up to promote integrity and openness throughout the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
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UN Agencies - Qatar backs anti-corruption project in Arab States (Thursday, September 22, 2011)
Qatar partners with the United Nations Development Programme to implement a new Arab anti-corruption project, marking the first time that an Arab country will work with the organization on a regional democratic governance initiative.
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Arab Countries - Preparations for the First Regional Training for Non-Governmental Practitioners on Anti-Corruption Assessments (Monday, March 29, 2010)
Preparations are underway to organize a regional training session for non-governmental practitioners on anti-corruption assessments. The session, which will be held in Beirut (Lebanon) on 29-30 March 2010, is designed to contribute to the efforts aimed at empowering Arab non-governmental actors to contribute more effectively to the implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
It is the first link in a chain of regional activities that will be organized by UNDP’s Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR) over the next two years, in cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UNDP’s Oslo Governance Centre (OGC), with a view to supporting the establishment of a regional group of non-governmental experts on anti-corruption assessments, and developing the capacity of its members to become resource persons for UNCAC implementation efforts and related assessments in their own countries.
The overall objective of this regional training session is to introduce participants to basic concepts and experiences of anti-corruption assessments. The session will bring together practitioners from various non-governmental sectors in most of the Arab Countries, including civil society organizations concerned with governance, transparency, integrity and development, in addition to private-sector associations, the media and academic and research institutions.

Arab Countries - Integrity in the Private Sector to be Addressed at the Regional Level in Bahrain in March (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)
With more global attention being directed to the importance of strengthening integrity in the private sector as a foundation of sustainable development, Arab stakeholders in the region are becoming more interested in this subject. The need to support its introduction to the ongoing anti-corruption dialogue in the region has thus become necessary, especially given the fact that despite the various significant economic reforms achieved, the region continues to face serious challenges that weaken their competitiveness and ability to achieve productive integration in global markets. This is besides increasing evidence of the slowing down of human development in many Arab countries.
With a view to supporting the exploration of ways to strengthen integrity in the private sector in Arab countries, the United Nations Development Prgoramme (UNDP) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are preparing to organize a regional workshop in Manama (Bahrain) on 16-17 March 2010. The workshop will bring together representatives from the private and public sector from Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt, as well as experts representing specialized regional and international actors.
The workshop is hosted by the MENA Investment Centre under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Essa AL KHALIFA, the Chief Executive of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB). Public and private sector experts will have an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences on the important challenges that face the private sector, and to explore solutions in light of international anti corruption standards, instruments and best practices.
The Arab Anti-Corruption & Integrity Network (ACINET) will be represented in the workshop in the person of its Chair, H.E. Dr Abd SHAKHANBEH, Jordan's Anti-Corruption Commissioner. The workshop is expected to contribute to regional cooperation and knowledge sharing on integrity in the private sector, a key element in regional and global efforts towards a strong, fair and clean economy.

Yemen - Extension of Anti-Corruption Cooperation between Yemen and UNDP (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)
The Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC) in Yemen announced, on 24 February 2010, the extension of its cooperation with UNDP’s Country Office in Yemen in the framework of a project launched in 2007 to support media and civil society organizations in advocating transparency. SNACC’s President, Mr. Ahmed AL-ANSI, stressed the importance of the ongoing partnership with UNDP noting its role in strengthening the role of civil society and media in the field of anti-corruption.
Over the past two years, the project enabled Yemeni civil society organizations to implement various activities on transparency and integrity. It also contributed to enhancing the role of journalists in the fight against corruption; and provided six local radio stations with modern digital systems to enhance their coverage capacity. The project led to increasing the knowledge of SNACC and CSO practitioners on budget monitoring, control of public resources and access to information. Moreover, it increased knowledge on national and international anti-corruption legal instruments.
The project will work during the first half of 2010 to expand the training of civil society organizations and local councils to include nine Yemeni provinces, in respect of the principle of decentralization and balanced development. The training will address several issues including methodologies for measuring corruption and inclusive self-assessment processes, benefiting from international experience that will be provided by UNDP. The project will also strengthen cooperation between SNACC and the media; provide local radio stations with a studio that would help enhance their work; and develop an anti-corruption media campaign. Small grants will be allocated to civil society organizations to help them undertake activities to promote and advocate transparency.

International - Global Integrity Releases its 2009 Index (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)
On 23 February 2010, “Global Integrity” released its 2009 Index, which includes, this year, an assessment of anti-corruption mechanisms in 35 countries including Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon, noting that the number of countries varies from year to year.
The Index assesses the existence, effectiveness, and citizen access to key anti-corruption mechanisms at the national level in a country. It does not measure corruption per se or perceptions of corruption. Instead, it provides an “entry point for understanding the anti-corruption and good governance safeguards in place in a country that should ideally prevent, deter, or punish corruption”.
The Index utilizes a methodology based on a quantitative analysis rather than being a survey. It is a compilation of country-specific expert assessments backed up by standardized scoring criteria, sourcing requirements, and a blind peer review process.

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Iraq - Workshop in Iraq on the role of media and whistleblowing (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)
The Iraqi Commission of Integrity (CoI) held in Baghdad (Iraq) on 23 February 2010 a workshop to encourage the media to reveal financial and administrative corruption. The focus was on means to strengthen investigative journalism and utilize it in support of the Commission’s objectives based on the important role of media in the fight against corruption. During the workshop, the CoI revealed that it had developed a draft law on access to information in line with the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Participants recommended increasing the involvement of media professionals in training sessions to build their capacity on investigative journalism, in addition to developing a code of conduct for journalists that identifies methods of dealing with information and avoiding libel and defamation.