Media Center

Participants receive basic orientation and documentation including copies of background papers and the list of participants

Welcoming Remarks: Senior representative of the Government of Japan

Keynote Address
Xxx
Senior Government Official, Japan

Opening Remarks

Mr. Herwig Schlögl (confirmed)
Deputy Secretary-General, OECD

Mr. Joe Eichenberger (confirmed)
Vice President, ADB

In this introductory session, participants will discuss countries' progress and major barriers encountered in the fight against corruption. Illustrative examples of the complex challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region will be given by a report from Cambodia about the latest developments in designing and implementing anti-corruption programmes and measures, an account of the situation of Anti-Corruption NGOs in Nepal, and an insight into regional co-operation at the example of judicial co-operation between Australia and the Philippines.

A discussion will follow where participants will be invited to share the experience of their own countries and identify measures to take in order to move from words to effective actions.

Designing a Comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy in Cambodia

Mr. Sum Manit (tentative)
Secretary of State,
Office of the Council of Ministers and
Secretary-General of the Council for Administrative Reform, Cambodia

Major Challenges for NGOs

Mr. Biswambher M.S. Pradhan (tentative)
Secretary-General, TI Nepal

Dividing the Burden: Police and Judicial Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific from an Australian Perspective

The Hon. Mr. Justice Barry o'Keefe (tentative)
Former ICAC Commissioner, Australiaor: counterpart from the Philippines

The complexity of corruption renders attempts to fight it a convoluted task. A well-designed, focused and comprehensive approach is therefore crucial. Concerted efforts between all actors that are affected, within a society as well as regionally, is key as well.

This session will present the Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia-Pacific to the audience. Participants will be invited to comment and discuss it.

Chairs: Mr. Rainer Geiger (confirmed)
           Deputy Director, OECD

           Mr. Shoji Nishimoto (confirmed)
           Director
           Strategy and Policy Department, ADB

General Discussion

Two simultaneous focus groups discussing measures to ensure accountable and transparent public administration by publicly disclosing information on assets and interest and enforcing rules governing transparency in politics.Note: No formal coffee breaks are foreseen during focus groups. However, soft drinks and coffee will be available outside conference rooms throughout the duration of focus groups.

Mrs. Hélène Gadriot-Renard (confirmed)
OECD Public Management Service
(overview on approaches and solutions in OECD countries)

• Disclosing Public Information on Corrupt Activity and Corruption Control Activities: the Experience of Thailand,
  or:
  Disclosure of Assets: the Experience of Thailand

  xxx, Thailand (tentative)




• Establishing Mechanisms to Ensure Free Public Access to Information

  xxx, Japan (tentative)
  
  Mr. Bart Edes (tentative)
  NGO liaison officer, ADB

General Discussion

Promoting transparency is a precondition for ensuring accountability and involving citizens in public affairs. Transparency can also be used as an effective instrument for combating corruption and promoting integrity in public life.

Ensuring transparency in key areas, such as requiring information on the personal interests of public officials is a powerful tool to avoid conflicts of interest as well as maintain close public scrutiny.

Presentations on recent measures introduced in Japan and Thailand will show how influentially these tools can change the traditional operation of public services and launch a discussion on designing and managing disclosure systems that could maintain direct public scrutiny. The main findings of the disclosure systems in OECD countries and the case studies of the recent survey on managing conflicts of interest will provide a comparative background for the discussion.

Mr. C.P. Srivastava (tentative)
Secretary-General Emeritus
International Maritime Organisation UN, and
Author of the book "Corruption: India's Enemy Within", India

• Enforcing Accountability and Transparency of Political Parties

  Mrs. Teresa Kok (tentative)
  Member of Parliament, Malaysia




• Reforming the Rules and Mechanisms on Transparency in Political Financing: the Experience of Thailand

  Prof. Likhit Dhiravegin (tentative)
  Member of Parliament, Thailand




• Comments and Comparison with OECD region:

  Mrs. Enery Quinones (tentative)
  Head, Anti-Corruption Division, OECD

General Discussion

Integrity in politics is a major problem in most countries and non-transparent political financing has been the root of recent major corruption scandals. In established democracies, political corruption contributes to a growing disillusionment with democratic processes. In emerging democracies, political corruption poses an even greater threat to the sustainability of democratic institutions.

To reduce political corruption and thus strengthen accountability in government, each system of political finance should strive for a high degree of transparency and disclosure and regulation of political financing with minimum standards of transparency.

Based on examples from Malaysia and Thailand, the focus group will discuss problems and solutions to integrity in politics and transparency in political financing.

Two simultaneous focus groups discussing concrete measures to help prevent corruption in the business sector, as well as measures to sanction it in cases where it occurs. The focus groups will explore two separate but related areas aimed at discouraging bribery and corruption in business operations: improving (compliance with) corporate governance standards as an essential preventive weapon in the fight against bribery (Focus Group 1); improving law-enforcement mechanisms for pursuing the objective of effectively sanctioning bribery offences in business transactions (Focus Group 2).Note: No formal coffee breaks are foreseen during focus groups. However, soft drinks and coffee will be available outside conference rooms throughout the duration of focus groups.

Prof. Mark Pieth (confirmed)
Professor of Criminal Law, University of Basel, Switzerland and
Chairman, OECD Working Group on Bribery

Mr. Ira Milstein (tentative)
Chairman, OECD/World Bank Private Sector Development Advisory Group

• The Tide Rises - Corporate Governance in India

  Omkar Goswami (tentative)
  Chief Economist, Confederation of Indian Industry
  
  xxx, Japan (tentative)

There is a growing understanding that the basic responsibility for preventing and detecting corruption in business operations resides with company management. Among the key management's functions are

1. monitoring and managing potential conflicts of interest of management, board members and shareholders

2. ensuring the integrity of the corporation's accounting and financial reporting systems

3. monitoring the effectiveness of the governance practices under which the firm operates

Against this background, success and challenges of current initiatives by policy makers and market participants in the region will be discussed. The 1999 non-binding OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, that policy makers and market participants alike can use as they examine and develop their own system of corporate governance, will be an important point of reference during the discussion.

Mrs. Nicola Crutchley (tentative) Deputy Solicitor-General, NZ, and Vice-President, International Association of Prosecutors

Mr. Honglang Li (tentative)
Supreme People's Prosecution Service (SPPS),
People's Republic of China

xxx Judge, Japan (tentative)

Mr. Gerald Sumida (confirmed) Counsel General, ADB

All countries of the region have made bribery of domestic public officials a criminal offence, and this extends to bribery of foreign officials in signatory states to the OECD Bribery Convention and a few other countries.

Despite these positive achievements, many countries have found it difficult to prosecute the offence, due to the difficulties of establishing all its elements, weak co-ordination between law enforcement agencies, slow co-operation with foreign jurisdictions, and lack of adequate resources.

Examples from the Peoples' Republic of China and Japan will encourage other participants to share their own experience in investigating, prosecuting and sanctioning bribery offences under their specific cultural and legal frameworks and formulate ideas on best approaches.

Two simultaneous focus groups discussing proactive steps that governments and NGOs can take to engage non-governmental actors in anti-corruption activities and strengthen NGO-Government co-operation, and to examine best practices and approaches in the non-governmental sectors, including NGOs, business sector, trade unions and media.Note: No formal coffee breaks are foreseen during focus groups. However, soft drinks and coffee will be available outside conference rooms throughout the duration of the focus groups.

Bart Edes (tentative) NGO liaison officer, ADB

• Enhancing the Capacity of the State to Process Political Demands and Claims: the Kyrgyz Experience

  Mr. Tolondu Toichubaev (tentative)
  Chairman, Corporate Technologies Centre, Kyrgyz Republic
  Government-NGO Cooperation in the Drafting of the Korean Anti-Corruption Law
  

  Mr. Rim Mi-Ok (tentative)
  Coordinator, Transparency Campaign PSPD, Korea

General Discussion

Participants will address mechanisms which governments can take to facilitate and encourage the participation of civil society and the private sector in national anti-corruption policies, and how NGOs and governments can better co-operate in their common goal of fighting corruption.

Two approaches will be used to highlight problems and best practices in this area: the interaction between the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and local NGOs to foster good governance, and the experience of a Korean NGO in co-operating with the Government during the drafting phase of the Korean Anti-Corruption Law. The work of the OECD on mechanisms for facilitating citizen-government relations and civic participation in policy reform will be an important point of reference during the discussion.

Mrs. Irma Hutubarat (tentative)
Institute of Civic Education Indonesia Discussants

• Changing Attitude: The Creation of TI Japan's Chapter
  xxx
• Reporting on Corruption: Investigative Journalism in the Philippines
  
  Mrs. Sheila Coronel (tentative)
  Executive Director,
  Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism, the Philippines

General Discussion

Many governments in the Asia-Pacific region have recently engaged in reforming the legal and organisational infrastructure for instilling transparency and accountability in governance. Laws have been passed and specialised anti-corruption bodies created. Yet, corruption continues to be rampant and top political leaders and judges themselves are charged with corruption, cronyism, and undisclosed wealth.

Under these circumstances, there is an increasing demand and recourse to civil society oriented measures for enhancing transparency and accountability. Such measures can include lifestyle checks, civil society watchdogs, report cards, citizen charters, and integrity pacts. The example of the newly found TI Japan chapter and the experience of the Media in the Philippines will give an insight into how civil society and the media can best call for and support national anti-corruption action.

Representatives from the Government of Japan, the regional civil society, the private sector and the international donors community will give an account on key outcomes of the conference. Before the audience is invited to a final discussion of the Action Plan, the four selected speakers will explain in what respect the Action Plan responds to their major needs and will be able to support their respective efforts in fighting corruption in the Asia-Pacific region.

Chair:
Mr. Rainer Geiger, OECD, and Mr. Jak Jabes, ADB

Xxx
Japan (tentative)

Mr. Tunku Abdul Aziz (tentative)
Vice Chairman of the Board, Transparency International (TI), and President, TI Malaysia

Mr. Robert Lees (tentative)
Secretary-General, Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC)

Mr. Phil Mason (tentative)
Anti-Corruption Co-ordinator, Department for International Development, United Kingdom

General Discussion

Mr. Rainer Geiger (confirmed)
Deputy Director, Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs, OECD

Mr. Shoji Nishimoto (confirmed)
Director, Strategy and Policy Department, ADB

Statements by regional governments and other key stakeholders on the Anti-Corruption Action Plan.

Closing remarks by ADB and OECD