November 28, 2003
The current edition of the World Bank Institute's Governance and Anti-Corruption newsletter highlights upcoming activities, as well as past activities from the end of October through November, and ongoing work on partnerships, websites and governance data.
Upcoming/Current Events
- High-Level Conference: Signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Mérida, México
- IDLO Development Dialogues on Good Governance, Romania, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan and Lithuania
- Governance and Anti-Corruption Core Course, Washington, DC
- Governance, Community Empowerment and Social Inclusion in Latin America
- Open and Participatory Program at the Local Level for Francophone Africa
- Combating Financial Abuse in the Middle East
- Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism in Central Asia
- Dialogue on Governance & Development In the Middle East and North Africa
- Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism in East Asia and the Pacific
- Good Governance for Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development, Switzerland
- Governance and Insecurity in West Africa, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
- Gender and Access to Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Organization of American States Meeting of Democratic Governance Experts, Washington, DC
- Judicial Reform for Improving Governance in Anglophone Africa
- CSR EconCrime Conference
- The Use of Anti-Corruption Indicators to Design an Anti-Corruption Plan: Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda
- Fifth Global Forum on Reinventing Governance, Mexico
- Sierra Leone: National Workshop and Workshop on Access to Information to Improve Governance
- Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism, South America
- Governance Knowledge Initiative with the Development Gateway Foundation
- WBI Course Websites
- WBI In the News
- Update on the Governance Diagnostics in Africa and Latin America
High-Level Conference: Signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption
Mérida, México, December 9–11
Representatives from many countries and the World Bank will attend the signing of the UN Convention against Corruption next week in Mexico. The World Bank will make presentations in the plenary, as well as in side events, which will include panels on The Role of Private & Public Sectors; The Role of Civil Society & Media; Legislative Measures to Implement the UN Convention; and Measures to Fight Corruption in National & International Financial Systems. A workshop in the days preceding the UN Convention Conference is being organized by Transparency International and its National Chapter in Mexico, Transparencia Mexicana. This Measuring Corruption Workshop (December 7–9), will focus on increased awareness of national and international efforts concerning the measurement of corruption, highlighting lessons learned from the past, challenges for the future, and the coordination of efforts to enhance the usefulness and application of the various analyses worldwide. The World Bank will also be represented at attend this workshop and present panel discussions.
For more information, visit
IDLO Development Dialogues on Good Governance
Romania, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan and Lithuania—December 2–3
WBI is participating in two Development Dialogues on Good Governance delivered by the International Development Law Organization. On December 2, "External Controls for Good Governance" is being delivered to Romania and Egypt. Key issues will relate to instituting appropriate mechanisms for receiving input from civil society on legislative and regulatory agendas, procedures for accepting civil society comments, and private sector attention to consumer complaints. Participants include senior government policy makers, legal advisors, members of parliament and NGO representatives. On December 3, "Tools and Indicators of Good Governance" is being delivered to Ghana, Jordan and Lithuania. The main topics will be organizational capacity to provide services; finance contract purchasing; and infrastructure network, information delivery and training.
For more information, visit our calendar of events at
Governance and Anti-Corruption Core Course
Washington, DC—December 1–3
The World Bank is hosting its third core course for its staff who assess or confront problems of weak governance and corruption in developing assistance strategies and country programs. Speakers will include experts from throughout the World Bank. Through the presentations, participants will probe the links between politics and governance, discuss key processes and systems to promote transparency and accountability in decision making, explore the role of civil society and media, survey the diagnostic and assessment instruments, and present country strategies.
For more information, visit our calendar of events at or the Public Sector Governance page at
Governance, Community Empowerment and Social Inclusion in Latin America
Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru—October 28–December 11
The objective of this distance learning program is to facilitate the sharing of country experiences on how to empower communities and other excluded groups and to build skills needed within civil society and government to ensure more participatory and inclusive governance. This year's central theme is "Social Accountability and Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation", and includes, inter alia, (i) Principles and Strategies of Community Driven Development (ii) Communications, Advocacy and Coalition Building (iii) Citizen Participation in National and Local Governance; (iv) Strategic Planning (v) and Monitoring and Participatory Evaluation. The course is designed to bring together NGOs, community groups and other organizations that represent those who often have little voice in the decision making process, as well as government officials and representatives and institutional departments.
For further information visit or contact María González de Asís (); or Jairo Acuña-Alfaro ().
Open and Participatory Program at the Local Level for Francophone Africa
Burkina Faso, Morocco, Madagascar, Benin—November 20–December 18
The main objective of this distance learning program is to support processes of institutional change at the sub-national level by facilitating the design of tailor-made institutional reforms for participating municipalities. In the past, the distance learning program has been delivered in Latin America, Anglophone Africa and the Asia region. The course aims to provide local government officials from four Francophone Africa countries with tools and mechanisms to devise, design and implement anti-corruption programs in their own institutions, and to help in the development of a good governance environment. Contents/Modules include (i) Participatory Methodology for Designing Anti-Corruption Action Plans; (ii) Diagnostics: Internal and External Instruments (iii) Information Systems and the Use of Technology (iv) Social Accountability Systems (v) Institutional Strengthening Reforms and (vi) Monitoring and Evaluations Mechanisms.
For further information visit or contact María González de Asís (); Victor Vergara (), Eric Champagne () or Jairo Acuña-Alfaro ().
Combating Financial Abuse (Policy Dialogue via Videoconference)
Middle East—December 2
The policy dialogue "Combating Financial Abuse" in Middle East invite relevant policy makers and supervisory/regulatory authorities to discuss 1.) what has been the response of governments? what are the current challenges for regulators? what is the appropriate institutional structure for each country in implementing an effective program to fight financial abuse?; 2) how does abuse of financial systems fit into the broader context of corruption and poor governance?; 3) what are the future challenges in combating the abuse of financial systems in participating countries?; and 4) how can the World Bank and IMF help countries strengthen their response to financial abuse?
Contact Emiko Todoroki () or John McDowell () for more information.
Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
Central Asia—December 4
On November 14, the fifth session of this GDLN course, "Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)" for Central Asian countries, took place with financial supervisory authorities, financial police, regulators and other relevant government officials and financial industry representatives. The next session, on December 4, will be the final session. The Central Bank of Russia will discuss organizational and administrative authority for effective supervision; AML/CFT compliance auditing of all financial sectors and non-prudentially regulated sectors, and training and the role of professional associations (banking, securities and insurance associations). Based on an earlier Moscow conference, this course aims to increase the number of officials and representatives involved with AML/CFT issues. It will create an environment conducive to fostering close collaborative relationships among different agencies in and across the participating countries; and aims to contribute knowledge, experiences, and best practices in the discussion of an overall framework for strengthening AML/CFT regimes.
Contact Emiko Todoroki (), Cari Votava () or Divya Gupta () for more information.
Dialogue on Governance & Development In the Middle East and North Africa
Paris, France—November 21
This World Bank conference featured stimulating high-level discussions between Europe, Washington, DC, and Beirut, with 80 attendees in Paris alone. Participants included ambassadors, foreign ministers, and private sector representatives from throughout Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. This conference follows the September release of the World Bank report "Towards better governance in the Middle East and North Africa" ("Vers une meilleure gouvernance au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord: Améliorer l'inclusivité et la responsabilisation"). WBI made a presentation on Rethinking Governance (as applied to MENA and the recent MENA report).
For more information, including the agenda, background report, presentations and links (in both French and English), visit
Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (Policy Dialogue via Videoconference)
East Asia and the Pacific—November 19
The Global Policy Dialogue Series II has been held for East Asia and the Pacific on "Building Effective Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Regimes". The dialogues brought together representatives from supervisory/regulatory authorities and financial institutions in East Asian countries. More than 130 participants from 4 countries engaged in this dialogue.
Contact Emiko Todoroki () or John McDowell () for more information.
Good Governance for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for Infrastructure Development
Geneva, Switzerland—November 17-19
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE): The purpose of the Forum was to identify good governance procedures that can improve the delivery of projects; examine specific cases which work well - as well as those which do not - to identify the causes of good and bad governance; and consider the elaboration of guidelines for improving good governance in PPPs, e.g. a declaration against corruption, model conditions, tender guidelines, dispute resolution systems in cooperation with all stakeholders. and taking account of existing guidelines prepared by UNCITRAL, UNECE and European Commission. Participants included representatives from the public and private sectors and NGOs. The second session of the UNECE PPP was held in conjunction with the forum. WBI contributed a keynote address: How do we define Good Governance in Public-Private Partnerships? Are Public-Private Partnerships contributing to Good Governance in Europe?
For more information on this event, please see
Governance and Insecurity in West Africa
Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois—November 13–15
Sponsored by the Northwestern University's Program of African Studies, this conference addressed the question: How can countries in the West Africa region simultaneously improve governance, strengthen states, and increase economic performance? The West African focus will address the region's dynamic tension between states, the persistent autocracies and failed or shadow states, the renewed vigor of regional organizations, the expanded opportunities for regional cooperation with the removal of Liberia's predatory regime. WBI contributed the keynote address, "Governance Redux".
For more information on this event, please see
Gender and Access to Justice
Latin America and the Caribbean—November 13
As part of the World Bank's gender and governance program in Latin America and the Caribbean, WBI, the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Gender & Law Thematic Group and the Legal Vice Presidency delivered a video-conference workshop as part of the Interamerican Seminar on Gender and Law in Viña del Mar, Chile in partnership with the Justice Studies Center of the America. The session reviewed the mechanisms for the implementation of International Conventions on Women Rights.
For further information please contact María González de Asís (); Teresa Genta-Fons (), Milena Sanchez () or Jairo Acuña-Alfaro ().
Organization of American States Meeting of Democratic Governance Experts
Washington, DC—November 12
Participants at this two-day workshop prepared an analysis on the strengthening of governance in the region, identifying top priorities and establishing proposals to serve as a basis for a regional program on this topic. The participants represented diverse backgrounds, with a variety of regional and professional perspectives, political experience and academic excellence. Discussion was based on a free and open exchange of opinions and ideas. WBI participated in the introductory plenary session on the Current Challenges to Democratic Governance. It is also expected that the meeting will produce a report reflecting the main discussion points and recommendations.
For more information on this event, please see
Judicial Reform for Improving Governance in Anglophone Africa
Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, October—November 11
The sixth and final session of Judicial Reform Learning Program was delivered with the presentation of concrete action plans from participant countries, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda on Thursday, November 11. Proposals for Judicial Reform included among others the strengthening of mechanisms to assure judicial independence and accountability; review of transfer system of judicial officers; ensuring that performance appraisals of judicial officers are on a regular basis and; equal access to training opportunities.
For further information please visit or contact María González de Asís (); Navine Karim () or Jairo Acuña-Alfaro ().
CSR EconCrime Conference
November 6–7
On November 6, Djordjija Petkoski of the Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility program delivered a keynote speech on behalf of WBI at the EconCrime conference (November 6-7). Organized by Swiss Re: Center for Global Dialogue, the conference explored the complexity of crime as a corporate risk, identifying areas of vulnerability and highlighting practical solutions. Other speakers included the Officer in Charge of the Global Program Against Money Laundering at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce. WBI's plenary presentation was delivered before over 80 representatives from leading European companies, consulting firms, and universities. This event follows up on participation this fall in the Working Group on Corporate Crime and Corporate Governance organized with the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics at the Wharton School.
Access the Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Program website at learn more about the EconCrime Conference at and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics at
The Use of Anti-Corruption Indicators to Design an Anti-Corruption Plan
Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda—November 4–6
The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) held a learning activity entitled "The Use of Anti-corruption Indicators to Design an Anti-Corruption Plan," on November 4–-6, 2003. The seminar is designed for senior government officials with responsibility for developing ethics programs for the public sector, devising and overseeing systems for control of corruption in public administration, procurement, licensing and public service provision, and professionals in bodies charged with enforcing anti-corruption laws and regulations. Francesca Recanatini delivered two modules for the training program on "The Use of Anti-corruption Indicators to Design an Anti-corruption Plan," and "Governance and Anti-Corruption Diagnostic Assessments: The Experience of Mozambique and Sierra Leone."
For more information on this event, visit recent events on our calendar of events at
Fifth Global Forum on Reinventing Governance
Mexico City, Mexico—November 3–6
WBI participated in the Fifth Global Forum on Reinventing Government held in Mexico City. Ronald Maclean presented on a panel on anticorruption before an audience of more than seven thousand delegates in Mexico's National Auditorium. Maria Gonzalez was the keynote presenter in Mexico's inter-ministerial conference on anticorruption and also reviewed progress made by the commission on the implementation of governance reforms. Lastly, in collaboration with UNDP and UNCDF, Victor Vergara organized a two-day workshop on Innovations Linking Decentralized Governance and Human Development, including his presentation on the nexus of technology and municipal capacity building.
For further information, visit our calendar of events at or contact María González de Asís (), Ronald MacLean-Abaroa (), or Victor Vergara ().
Sierra Leone: National Workshop and Workshop on Access to Information to Improve Governance
October 28–29 and October 30–31
On October 28–29, 2003 the Governance Reform Secretariat (GRS) of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with WBI, organized a National Action Planning Workshop. The main objectives were to present the findings of the governance and anti-corruption report and draft an action plan based on the results of the diagnostic survey. After a plenary discussion on the key problem areas, the 130 participants broke into working groups to draft specific actions. These will be compiled by GRS into a draft National Governance Strategy and to be discussed in four Regional Workshops planned for next year. WBI participated in a second workshop, on the Role of Access to Information in Improving Governance and Financial Management in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, which brought key stakeholders and senior policy makers together with the aim of seeking the enactment of Freedom of Information (FOI) laws. Discussions highlighted analytical and empirical data and the critical role of access to information in improving governance and service delivery.