Multilaterals

Workshop

With Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) and DCAF (Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces),  DAC organised a workshop on the topic of how multilateral bodies can promote and support integrity building in defence institutions in Geneva. For more, see the publications section below.

NATO

The DAC programme is extensively engaged with NATO in the building integrity in defence establishments programme, with its focus on development of anti-corruption mechanisms for use in Partner Nations, with the expertise thereby developed being transferable to other regions and contexts.

One element of the programme is the development of the Self-Assessment tool for defence ministries, to assess the vulnerability of the institution to corruption. It was trialled in Bosnia this July, with the subsequent Expert Team Visit including a representative from DAC. The tool has also more recently been trialled in  Ukraine and Norway.

Another element of the programme is the 5 day training module in building integrity in defence establishments for defence practitioners. It was trialled twice in the past quarter, first at the Defence Academy of the UK in July, and then at the Oberammergau NATO Training School in September. Both trials were regarded as overwhelming successes by staff and participants. The final trial will be held in December at the Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Sarajevo, Bosnia, before the module is rolled-out in full next year. DAC has been an integral part of the team which developed the module and taught several of the sessions during the pilots. 

OECD

In response to the harsh criticism of the OECD relating to the UK's track record of implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (in its phase 2 bis report on the UK) Transparency International UK issued a press release deploring the UK's poor anti-bribery record and calling for swift corrective action. The press release was picked up by broadsheets including the Daily Telegraph.

Civil Society

Bulgaria
DAC presented at the defence anti-corruption conference organised by the Euro-Atlantic Education Initiative in Sofia in October, hosting break-out sessions on defence anti-corruption and integrity-building. The Euro-Atlantic Education Initiative (EAEI) is a non-governmental, non-profit and non-political organisation, which works to design educational programs, NGO forums, open discussions and seminars on Euro-Atlantic integration processes, regional perspectives and security. The EAEI's project on 'transparency in  decision-making process in the Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria' is funded by the German Marshall Fund. Following the conference, the EAEI will develop and publish a manual - freely accessible, and to be translated into English - for all stakeholders on 'transparency in  decision-making process in the Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria'. Papers will be posted on EAEI webpages.

United Nations arms trade treaty

The UN First Committee convened in New York in October 2008 to consider the assessment of the scope and feasibility of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty by the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE). In our submission, Transparency International UK´s ´defence against corruption´ programme urges the UN First Committee to make the inclusion of strong anti-corruption controls a core part of the proposed treaty. Read the Transparency International UK submission “Anti corruption provisions in the arms trade treaty“

History of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty

UN Resolution 61/89 "Towards an arms trade treaty: establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms“ was approved by the general assembly in December 2006. 139 states voted in favour; 1 state voted against (USA); and there were 24 abstentions. In supporting this resolution, an overwhelming majority of states recognised the importance of strengthened and global standards to control the arms trade.

Why anti-corruption provisions?

Corruption facilitates the circumvention of arms controls. Left unchecked, corruption has the potential to undermine the very raison d'être of the Arms Trade Treaty.  The effectiveness of the Treaty depends therefore, among other factors, on it tackling this most important issue in a comprehensive and meaningful way. The case for the inclusion of strong anti-corruption provisions in the proposed treaty is further strengthened by 

• Broad support: In written submissions to the UN on the ATT, at least 19 states made explicit references to the issue of corruption and bribery (these included Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Iceland, Japan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Togo, UK and Zambia). Some states specifically proposed the inclusion of a ‘bribery risk assessment’.
   
• UN call for intensification of efforts: The United Nations Guidelines for International Arms Transfers, as developed by the Commission on Disarmament and endorsed by the UN General Assembly, call on States to “intensify their efforts to prevent corruption and bribery in connection with the transfer of arms”.
   
• Econometric research: has uncovered the existence of a positive link between corruption and arms imports in Africa, showing that the greater is corruption the greater is the import of arms. Corruption in turn has been shown to undermine development and growth. 
   
• Poor public perceptions: Transparency International’s ‘Bribe Payer’s Index’ showed that globally the arms trade is viewed globally as one of the two most corrupt sectors (with the construction sector) 

With its submission Transparency International UK urges the UN First Committee to include rigorous and detailed anti-corruption provisions in the heart of the ATT.

Building Transparency and Reducing Corruption in Defence

With Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) and DCAF (Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces),  DAC organised a workshop on the topic of how multilateral bodies can promote and support integrity building in defence institutions in Geneva. Proceedings and outputs from the workshop can be viewed in the workshop report here.

Specific areas for action were identified including the development of a defence integrity alliance, the review of reform processes by the NATO School with Transparency International, the development of civil society tools for oversight of defence budgets including the potential extension of the Open Budget Index to the defence sector, the possible extension of other accountability tools to the defence sector by multilaterals such as the World Bank, and the engagement with new bodies and expansion of current engagements with bodies such as the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the African Union and the EU Defence and Security Sub Committee.

Forthcoming DAC publications

• 'Public Perceptions of Corruption in the Military in Europe and the Rest of the World'
  • to be published in "European Security" journal on 29 December 2008
  • This paper presents the results of the Global Corruption Barometer Survey 2006 and 2007 as they relate to the military, showing that globally the military is regarded as relatively corruption-free compared with other institutions such as political parties and parliaments. Only religious bodies and NGOs benefit from more favourable perceptions. The most positive perceptions of the military are found in Western Europe, while the least favourable are found in Africa, Latin America and Newly Independent States. The disaggregated results also reveal broad variation in perceptions by country, with some surprising scores thrown up. The analysis is enriched with context and local perspectives provided by anti-corruption experts.

• 'Ethics and business conduct in defence establishments - an international review',
  
  • Whilst no countries had perfect regimes, the research demonstrated a more proactive approach from Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Norway, Romania, South Africa, UK and the USA
  • publication date tbc

• 'The extent of defence corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa'
  • evidence paper based on third-party research and reports commissioned by UK Department for International Development
  • publication date tbc

• 'A first look at the extent of single source contracting in the defence sector'
  
  • to be published in "Defence & Security Analysis" journal, publication date tbc

Colonel USA MC Tabak, Commandant of NATO School Oberammergau

Prior to his position as commandant of NATO School, Colonel Tabak was commanding officer of Combined Arms Training Centre Camp Fuji, Japan, where he trained marines for deployment, to for instance Afghanistan and Iraq, and for engagement in tsunami relief. Previously Colonel Tabak served for 27 years in the marine corps.

Transparency International UK’s defence against corruption programme spoke with Colonel Tabak about the ‘building integrity in defence institutions’ training module recently piloted in the NATO School.

"In terms of key areas in defence institutions for anti-corruption reform, each country has its own strengths. As far as transparency and accountability go, each country also has its places that might need improvement. Similarly, when it comes to implementation – for instance accomplishing budget credibility and comprehensiveness, or transparent, policy based budgeting – each country has its own systems; and a system which works in one country or culture may not work in another. That said, external scrutiny and audit might be the one area where all nations can improve – tending as they do to bring a laser focus on to a nation’s systems.

In the ‘building integrity in defence institutions’ programme, we stress a country led approach. Each country can take a hard look at themselves through the use of the self assessment. Based on the results of this they can submit to a much more in-depth and comprehensive assessment that is tailored to the results of the initial assessment. After this countries are further provided with a compendium of best practice, allowing in the areas where they may have weaknesses to observe how others have tackled those exact same issues and to identify elements of best practice that might best suit them. Specifically to support all of this, our programme allows for the training of officials who play a role in self assessment and implementation. It is a country led approach. We are not here to tell countries how they should do business because all countries no matter who they are suffer to a greater or lesser degree in this area.

We were really pleased with the results of the building integrity in defence institutions training module. The actual module doesn’t belong to the NATO School, rather it was developed jointly by Transparency International UK, the NATO International Staff, the UK Royal Defence Academy, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Swedish National Defence College and the NATO School. We held the training module here at NATO School in September 2008. 11 nations were represented. From the student feedback it was very well received. Nations expressed their desire to attend next time the course is held here, while others asked for the course to be held in their nation. For instance the entire package has been invited to Afghanistan for the first part of next year, to support the training of their government officials. My gut feeling is the reason it has met with a positive response is because we are not telling people what to do. It is a country led initiative. Whether it is the tools for self assessment, the compendium of best practice or the training course, it is in their ballpark and countries pursue it as best they can. It is country led, supported by Transparency International UK, the UK Defence Academy, NATO International Staff and the NATO School. We support their best efforts.

With our nascent experience thus far there seems to be a real hunger in many nations and quarters for this type of support to their good efforts. I see this growing and as being a good contribution to nations that are doing good work. It has a bright future."

Monterey Conference

With NATO and the United States Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), DAC is involved in the organisation of  a major international conference to take place in the NPS, Monterey, California, in February 2009. This event will form the backdrop to the 60th Anniversary celebrations of NATO in the United States. The conference will take stock of progress to date on the programme of building integrity in defence institutions, and plan for the way forward.

The NPS press release 'NATO conference on building integrity and institution building in the defense sector to be held in Monterey' (10 July 2008) notes "the invitation-only gathering brings together senior officials from NATO member countries, Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries, non-NATO partner countries, international oganizations such as the World bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), defence industry groups and companies, and non-government organizations in preparation for the 2009 NATO Summit. It provides an opportunity for participants to present their contributions in the development of more efficient and effective defense forces in the areas of institution building and countering corruption, the introduction of new tools for support integrity building initiatives among NATO member and partnership nations, and the identification of opportunities for continued collaboration and promotion of best practices."