Good governance on the public agenda

Until recently, citizens of democracies had little insight into the day-to-day workings of their governments. Typically, they would vote once in three to four years and then leave their elected representatives to manage their affairs. Now and again a scandal would erupt, over the awarding of a public contract, the financing of a political party, or the inordinate influence of a lobby group, but these were not matters of regular public scrutiny.

In the age of electronic information flow, this is changing fast. When United States President Barack Obama’s Administration launched the website Data.gov three years ago, making thousands of government datasets publicly available, that was a revolutionary move. Now scores of governments, national, provincial and municipal, have established similar sites. Increasingly informed citizens are more attentive to how well their tax money is being managed. Also, public tolerance of corruption is dwindling. Politicians know that public discontent can spread like wildfire through social media. A new understanding is growing of the importance of ethical integrity in public office, of accountable institutions and efficient use of public resources. Good governance has firmly arrived on the public agenda.

Promoting security and stability through good governance was a priority of the 2012 Irish Chairmanship of the OSCE. Expert and political meetings on money laundering, corruption and stolen asset recovery revealed that while international policy documents, commitments and standards exist - such as the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism – efforts to implement them are often mired in complexity and take a long time to realize.  A call for showing stronger political will for effective implementation was therefore a common refrain.

The OSCE’s Foreign Ministers heeded that call at the Ministerial Council meeting in Dublin when they issued the Declaration on Strengthening Good Governance and Combating Corruption, Money-laundering and the Financing of Terrorism. Agreed at a meeting where States otherwise were unable to reach consensus on questions of human rights, the Declaration affirms that good governance concerns political, economic and human security equally. It affirms that good public and corporate governance are essential foundations for a sound economy, which can enable states to reduce poverty and inequality and increase social integration and opportunities for all.

New avenues of support

The detailed, six-page document, the first comprehensive political statement of its kind agreed by the OSCE,  provides the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) with many new avenues for supporting States in strengthening good governance in both the public and private sectors.

It promotes integrity, the rule of law, high ethical standards and codes of conduct, openness and transparency in the management of public institutions and governments. It recognizes the importance of adopting and enforcing measures against bribery, for instance through the  criminalization of bribery of domestic as well as foreign public officials. It also acknowledges the importance of open and non-discriminatory procurement processes, taking into consideration resources such as the model law on public procurement developed by UNCITRAL. Notably, it mentions multi-stakeholder partnerships such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative.

The Declaration supports the introduction of anti-corruption safeguards and watchdog measures. For example, the pledge to take measures for the effective protection of whistleblowers and their family members is an important achievement in view of the fact that currently most OSCE participating States, with the exception of a few, do not have adequate legal provisions for protecting persons who dare to come forward and expose corrupt practices in the public or private sectors.

The need for full and equal participation of women in contributing to good governance and anti-corruption policies and activities is given special recognition.  

For the first time in an OSCE document, there is explicit mention of furthering effective recovery and return of stolen assets and denial of safe haven in OSCE countries to the proceeds of corruption, an area that has become urgent in the wake of the Arab Spring. The Declaration encourages the OCEEA to support States in their international asset recovery initiatives, in co-operation with the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative and the International Centre on Asset Recovery (ICAR). 

The OCEEA is also given a clear mandate to continue supporting governments in their efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Furthermore, the declaration acknowledges the importance of the independence of the judiciary, an area in which the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and many OSCE field operations have been working, thus opening the door for future co-operation among different parts of the OSCE.

Including civil society and the business community

A crucial aspect of the Declaration is that it encourages the OSCE to strengthen its dialogue with civil society in support of good governance and recognizes the need for States to involve their civil societies in implementing their international and national anti-corruption commitments This is important because the inclusion of civil society in the review of the implementation of good governance measures has been an area of contention in the past. It tasks the OCEEA to explore opportunities for co-operation with the Open Government Partnership, a global coalition of governments and civil society committed to good governance launched in 2011. It also recognizes that access to information enables civil society –and the media – to contribute to preventing and combating corruption.

Arguably even more crucial is the declaration’s recognition of the importance of engaging with the private sector in favour of a fair and transparent business environment. While members of civil society are often victims of corruption, members of the private sector can be perpetrators. Fostering a sense of ownership of transparency policies within the business community can go a long way towards making them effective.

The Declaration on Strengthening Good Governance was not easy to achieve. Some of the provisions are the result of weeks and months of negotiation and persuasion. Like all OSCE documents, its adoption required consensus among all 57 participating States. That gives it all the more weight as an expression of political will at the highest level. It strengthens the hand of citizens as they hold their governments to account, and it strengthens the mandate of the OSCE to encourage its participating States to govern in a manner that is open and fair and in the interest of the citizens they serve.