Last week we attended the Asset Recovery Working Group meeting in Vienna, that took place between the 3-5 September. In this blog we wanted to highlight what the meeting does, why its important for civil society to attend and what we wanted to, and were able to, achieve there.
What is the Asset Recovery Working Group
The Asset Recovery Working Group is a meeting that takes place twice a year as part of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Conference of States Parties. It’s a subsidiary body, during which States annually discuss issues related to asset recovery and international cooperation in between the Conference, which takes place every two years. It’s an opportunity for States to share their experiences, as well as to discuss cases and future cooperation, and to plan for any resolutions that will be tabled at the Conference. Resolutions are agreements by governments that are part of the UNCAC, that expand or clarify important topics related to the UNCAC.
Why attending it important for civil society
Unlike in other international forums, civil society is not allowed to directly attend the meetings of the Asset Recovery Working Group. However, we can attend and co-organise with States events that happen on the margins of the meeting, for example discussion meetings on particular topics, and there is the opportunity to meet with experts on asset recovery from the various government delegations to discuss current issues. Moreover, its important to continue to highlight the role and importance of civil society and citizen participation in asset recovery, even if we are not allowed to participate in the main discussions.
What we wanted to achieve
Attending the meeting was important for us for several reasons. Firstly, it gave us the chance to meet other civil society present, specifically colleagues from the UNCAC Coalition, to discuss our joint work on asset recovery in the coming months. We also planned and met several government delegations to discuss our asset recovery priorities and opportunities for collaboration. We further participated in an initial meeting for a project the UK is seeking to roll out, which would see greater transparency around asset recovery statistics.
Overall, the meeting has set us in good stead for the coming CoSP and in our joint role as CiFAR and in our role as Co-Chair of the UNCAC Coalition Asset Recovery Working Group we had productive discussions with delegations around potential work.
The upcoming CoSP in Qatar will be a good opportunity to continue these discussions and we’re hopeful of further progress being made to strengthen transparent, accountable and participatory asset recovery.