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29 Aug, 2015

World’s largest anti-corruption conference to be held in Malaysia, 2 – 4 September

All too often, those in power who steal from the public purse are able to escape justice. The IACC will bring together 1,000 anti-corruption fighters from more than 130 countries to forge solutions to this outrage.

A diverse range of leading experts, innovators and activists from civil society, government, the private sector and beyond will lead debate on how best to tackle the increasingly sophisticated challenges posed by corruption. International speakers during the three-day event will include:

  • José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International
  • Patrick Alley, co-founder, Global Witness
  • Sarah Chayes, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for Peace
  • Kevin Jenkins, President and CEO, World Vision International
  • Daniel Kaufman, President, Natural Resource Governance Institute
  • Pascal Lamy, former General Director, World Trade Organisation
  • Thuli Madonsela, Public Protector, South Africa
  • Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director, Greenpeace
  • Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International

The Plenary Agenda

Opening Plenary I

Ending Impunity: People, Integrity, Action

Bangladeshi people raise their hands against all the corruptions at a commitment program in Dhaka, Bangladsh.

How to trigger change against impunity for corruption?

To win the fight against corruption and promote social justice we must join forces and ensure that those who abuse their power do not get away with it. People pressure, political will and collective action have proven to be decisive factors for positive change – we see that across continents – but risks and challenges for those taking a stand against the corrupt remain immense.

The opening plenary will discuss how the global community can promote greater people engagement to understand the effects of impunity on people, and to ensure security and justice for all, especially for those who stand up and take action against impunity for corruption. It will look at how to hold the corrupt to account when too often it is the corrupt that wield the power, both economic and political.

Plenary II

Peace, Equality and Social Justice: Fighting Corruption in Development and Investment beyond 2015

© Maria Francesca Avila. A bridge is meant to provide fast and safe connections for people. Not so for this bridge in southern Luzon, Philippines. Public works and highway departments are allocated a budget to build a bridge. But what if the funds go missing?

 How to root out corruption in our quest to end extreme poverty?

Corruption only makes the rich richer and the poor poorer; it fuels conflict and violence, destroys nature and ultimately hurts those who are in most need.

Despite the benefits that foreign direct investment can bring and the progress made by many countries in a number of MDGs, grand scale corruption, natural resources depletion, illicit financial flows and tax evasion are impeding significant progress in our quest for peace, equality and social justice. But how can we ensure that anti-corruption and transparency take the central stage in foreign aid and direct investment?

The panel will discuss why transparency, accountability and integrity are at the core of human security. The session will design key recommendations for fair and transparent foreign direct investment and for the post 2015 Development Goals.

Plenary III

Keeping Business Clean and Stopping Illicit Financial Flows

© Balázs Vékony

How can companies and their leaders contribute to the fight against corruption?

Increasingly, international organisations and governments are recognising the real cost of dirty money in the financial system: illicit financial outflows from poor countries dwarf aid and investment, ever-powerful criminal networks launder money through offshore havens, shell companies and secrecy jurisdictions facilitate massive tax evasion to the detriment of cash-strapped national budgets, to name a few. Each a driving force behind the global financial crisis.

This session will engage a multi-sector expert panel to critically reflect upon the current state of affairs in the world of money. Acknowledging the steps that banks, businesses, civil society and governments are taking to stem illicit flows, it will highlight what needs to be done to ensure that dirty money is rooted out from the global financial system.

Plenary IV

Don’t Let Them Get Away with It: Investigating and Exposing the Truth

15IACC_AA_MG_0009

Now more than ever ordinary citizens, journalists and advocates from all fields have the necessary tools to blow the whistle on corruption. A few clicks can enable anyone to expose corruption globally; an emerging culture of collaboration allows investigative journalists to uncover systemic international corruption cases while advocates from around the world increasingly use journalism style investigations to strengthen their advocacy work. But despite this progress, or perhaps because of this progress, the risks for those who speak out are bigger than ever. Effective collaboration between these groups remains weak.

The purpose of this session is twofold: By identifying the main barriers that prevent citizens, journalists and advocates from working together more effectively this session aims to produce concrete recommendations for the global community at large to take on. In looking at supporting those who speak out against corruption the session will identify concrete actions the global community needs to embrace in order to reverse an increasingly dangerous national and international environment.

Closing Plenary V

Grand Corruption: How to Stop the Corrupt Stealing from You and Me

High level Bangkok

To end impunity for corruption what international structural changes need to take place? What kind of collaboration between sectors and countries is still needed? How can we ensure a safe environment for people of integrity to take action against impunity for corruption?

The closing plenary session will take stock of the outcomes from the previous plenary sessions and outline what needs to change in order to address the greatest global challenge of all: Impunity for corruption.

For more details about the event and for media accreditation, please go to www.16iacc.org.