(2) Assistance for Governance (Including Anti-Corruption)
The existence of corruption, including the bribery of government officials during the process of economic development, has become a factor impeding sound economic growth in developing countries. Thus, it is necessary for donor countries to provide assistance for good governance, including anti-corruption measures, in order to realize an equitable and stable society in developing countries.
●Japan’s Efforts
As a State Party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the only universal framework in the international community that sets out measures to prevent and combat corruption through providing financial contributions to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the secretariat of the Convention, Japan has been actively engaged in developing legal systems concerning the prevention of corruption, and law enforcement operations, as well as providing capacity building assistance to law enforcement organizations in countries vulnerable to corruption. In 2019, following the previous year, Japan contributed to identifying and solving challenges in the global fight against corruption by funding UNODC in order to support the operation of the review mechanism of the UN Convention against Corruption, which assesses the status of implementation of the Convention and identifies technical assistance needs necessary for the effective implementation of the Convention.
In addition, through UNAFEI, Japan holds an international training course on the criminal justice response to corruption, on the theme of “Detection, Investigation, Prosecution and Adjudication of High-Profile Corruption,” for criminal justice practitioners in developing countries in Asia and Africa. The training course is held annually with themes selected from the key issues of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and contributes to the sound development of the criminal justice system and the strengthening of cooperative relationships for preventing corruption in each country.
Furthermore, Japan has held an annual seminar titled “Regional Seminar on Good Governance for Southeast Asian Countries” since 2007, with the objectives of supporting initiatives in Southeast Asian countries and contributing to human resources development in the area of criminal justice and anti-corruption. In 2019, a seminar was held in Tokyo, on the theme of “Effective Financial Investigation and Anti-Money-Laundering Measures for Confiscation and Asset Recovery to Counter New and Emerging Corruption Threats.”