In the Name of God, the Almighty and Most Merciful
“National Conference on Identifying Best Practices and Effective Measures to Combat Corruption”
Summary of Recommendations
Kabul, 15th - 17th of December 2009
Considering the increasing level of corruption in Afghanistan that has weakened rule of law, social justice, has hampered development and reconstruction efforts and undermined the credibility of the Afghan Government at national and international levels;
Considering the need and the historic responsibility of office holders, political leaders, scholars, civil society groups, influential personalities, intellectuals, private sector and the general public, to strive towards saving Afghanistan from the crises due to corruption and to build a prosperous society on the basis of human values: honesty, integrity, meritocracy, respect for human rights, rule of law and justice;
Based on decree No. 1 dated 1st Qaws 1388 of the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan;
The High Office of Oversight & Anti-Corruption (HoO) organized a national conference in Kabul, from 15 to 17 December 2009, titled “National Conference on Identifying Best Practices and Effective Measures to Combat Corruption”. More than 450 participants from the three branches of the State, civil society, university professors, scholars, intellectuals from Kabul and the provinces and many representatives of international organizations took part in the event. After comprehensive debates and group discussions, the causes of corruption were identified and effective ways of addressing the problem were sought. In this conference, the following seven topics were discussed as the core and key set of issues:
- Political and social support for corruption in the country
- Corruption in the recruitment and management of human resources
- Corruption as an obstacle to equitable access to public services
- Corruption from the implementation of internal and external budget and procurement by Government and international organizations (contracting and procurement)
- Corruption in justice and judicial sector and law enforcement institutions
- Corruption cased by Government and Non-Government owned land/property usurpation.
- Review of the structure and powers of Anti-corruption institutions
The participants of the conference, emphasizing on the need for reform of administrative systems, law enforcement, and promoting public awareness, set the following as the most crucial elements in the fight against corruption:
- Emphasis on curbing support for corruption by some political groups, Government officials and other influential/lobby groups.
- Institutionalizing a culture of encouraging and supporting integrity, and combating corruption as a national value by Government and civil society.
- Simplification and streamlining access to public services
- Regular publication of reports on the level of corruption in different Government institutions
- Emphasis on the principles of competency, professionalism and meritocracy
- Putting an end to illegal impunity for corrupt officials and legal action against those who try to support corrupt people.
- Eliminating enlarged administrative structures
- Establishment of complaints mechanism and information provision in every Government office.
- Creation of a data centre to register and oversee the activities of firms and contractors
- Supporting privates sector and overseeing/monitoring their work
- Condoning corrupt behavior of employees and public officials must become a criminal offense
- Emphasis on respecting the independence of the judiciary
- Publication of decisions and final verdicts of the judiciary about important cases and cases of interest for the public
- Establishment of a high level board to resolve the issues of usurped land comprised of civil society representatives and with strong backing of its decisions by the government.
- Reforming the structure and empowering the High Office of Oversight to effectively combat corruption.
- Removing the presence of investigators of the Attorney General’s Office from all Government institutions.
The full findings and recommendations of the National Conference will be published shortly.
Wa Menal-lahi Al Tawfiq
National Conference on Identifying Best Practices and Effective Measures to Combat Corruption
