MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) urged Southeast Asian countries to pay more attention to the protection of witnesses and other persons when fighting corruption in the region.
In a report released in March, the UNODC noted that while many Southeast Asian countries have laws to ensure the protection of such individuals, the “comprehensive and complete implementation” of Article 32 of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) “has proved to be challenging.”
Article 32 of UNCAC mandates each state-party to provide effective protection for witnesses, their relatives and persons close to them from retaliation or intimidation. UNCAC binds states to implement anti-corruption efforts.
UNODC specifically urged Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam to ensure that measures to protect witnesses in trials were consistently applied and were extended to cover relatives and individuals close to them when necessary.
Meanwhile, the UN body identified the need for measures to address the bribery of government officials, noting that nearly all Southeast Asian countries faced some gaps in preventing such crime.
It identified the matter as an “area for improvement” given that the enforcement of measures against the bribery of state officials could have an impact on the effectivity of other anti-corruption initiatives.
For instance, the UN body observed in Indonesia that there were “aggravated forms of bribery’’ that posed “issues of compliance’’ with article 37 of UNCAC, which focused on individuals’ cooperation with law enforcement agencies during investigations.
The UNODC also identified other challenges faced by the 11 countries such as the “freezing, seizure, and confiscation” of goods and assets involved in corruption.
It noted inconsistencies in local laws that facilitated confiscation efforts, establishments of central offices, and lack of resources to redeem goods and assets.
The UN body also identified the “liability of legal persons” and “laundering of proceeds of crime” as challenges. It recommended broadening the scope of anti-money laundering laws to include foreigners, maintaining a record of money-laundering cases, and “providing clear thresholds of liability” for the prosecution of individuals or entities involved in corruption offenses.
The UNODC based its report on country review reports that were compiled after experts visited the 11 countries from 2012 to 2016.
The UNODC noted that while information may not reflect the most recent updates in each country, “it sets out areas for improvement, positive examples where relevant, and forms the groundwork for continued implementation efforts on UNCAC.”
The March 2024 report was the first review to compile most common challenges, recommendations, and good practices among anti-corruption efforts in Southeast Asia.
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