Rabat Hosts COSP to Arab Anti-Corruption Convention

Rabat Hosts COSP to Arab Anti-Corruption Convention
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Rabat Hosts COSP to Arab Anti-Corruption Convention

Rabat Hosts COSP to Arab Anti-Corruption Convention

Rabat is scheduled to host on January 7 the third session of the two-day Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention.

It will be held under the Moroccan presidency and organized in the framework of a partnership between the Arab League and the “National Authority for Integrity and the Prevention and Combating of Bribery” in Morocco.

According to a statement by the Authority, the first day will focus on activities of an Arab forum that will discuss national anti-corruption strategies and will showcase a comprehensive, integrated, participatory approach that guarantees effectiveness and optimal impact.

Heads and representatives of anti-corruption authorities and bodies in the Arab countries will participate, as well as the relevant national sectors and institutions, regional and international institutions, civil society representatives, experts and researchers specialized in the field of integrity and prevention and combating of bribery.

The second day will witness the participation of delegations of states parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention, which includes Jordan, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iraq and Oman, in addition to Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, and Morocco.

The conference will also be attended by delegations of other Arab countries that are not members of the agreement, namely Yemen, Libya, and Mauritania, in addition to a group of regional and international organizations, all acting as observers.

The participating Arab delegations will focus on following up on the implementation of the decisions issued during the second session of the Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention, which was held at the Arab League’s headquarters in December 2017.

They will also discuss the report and recommendations of the third meeting of the open-ended committee, consisting of governmental experts for the state parties to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention.

A set of decisions proposed by member states will also be presented to the conference for approval, including a proposed resolution submitted by Morocco.

The establishment of this convention dates back to December 2010, when it was ratified by the Arab Ministers of Interior and Justice, based on the affirmation of the need for Arab cooperation to prevent and combat corruption, being a transnational phenomenon.

It entered into force in June 2013 and seeks to activate measures aimed at preventing, combating, and exposing corruption in all its forms, as well as all related crimes, prosecuting perpetrators and enhancing Arab cooperation in this field.

The convention further aims at enhancing integrity, transparency, accountability and the rule of law and encouraging individuals and civil society institutions to actively participate in preventing and combating corruption.



Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
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Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)

Geneva has hosted a third “roundtable” of meetings involving Sudanese political and civil groups aimed at bridging the gap between the country’s warring parties. These talks, coordinated by the French organization Promediation, follow similar meetings held previously in Cairo and Geneva. The primary goals are to negotiate a ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians.

The two-day meetings, which began on Monday, include representatives from the Coordination of Democratic Civil Forces (Tagadum), the pro-army Democratic Bloc coalition, and armed movements aligned with the bloc. However, some groups have announced their boycott of the meetings.

The Democratic Bloc has shown conflicting stances on attending the Geneva talks. Mohammed Zakaria, spokesperson for the bloc and a member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), announced his group’s decision not to participate.

Omar Khalafallah, a leader in the Democratic Unionist Party and another bloc spokesperson, refuted Zakaria’s statement, insisting that the bloc would attend the meetings to promote a national vision.

A source within the Democratic Bloc told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meetings revealed significant internal divisions in the coalition. The JEM, led by current Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, appears to be charting its own course, which the source described as a form of defection.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sharif Mohammed Osman, a leader in Tagadum and the political secretary of the Sudanese Congress Party, explained that the meetings seek to achieve consensus on ending the war through negotiated solutions, starting with a humanitarian truce to ensure aid delivery and the opening of safe corridors.

These measures are considered preliminary steps toward a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict, he underlined.

A wide array of civilian leaders are participating in the talks, including key figures from Tagadum, such as Sudanese Congress Party leader Omar Al-Dukair, Federal Gathering Party leader Babiker Faisal, and head of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council Al-Hadi Idris.

Osman expressed optimism that the participants would issue a unified final statement addressing the peaceful resolution of the war and agreeing on a humanitarian truce to facilitate aid delivery.

In October, Cairo hosted a similar meeting, which resulted in a final statement signed by the participating groups, except for the Sudan Liberation Movement – Minni Minnawi faction and the JEM – Jibril Ibrahim faction, which refused to endorse the Cairo declaration despite attending the discussions.

Promediation, a French organization supported by the French and Swiss foreign ministries, has played a consistent role in Sudanese affairs. Since June 2022, it has organized roundtable discussions, initially focusing on negotiations between Darfuri armed movements before expanding its scope to include Sudanese political and civil forces in the wake of the war.