By Jude Al-Hajeri

On the 13th of December 2021, the 9th session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) officially commenced in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The CoSP is set to take place over the course of five days from the 13 of December 2021 to the 17 of December 2021. The CoSP was established as per Article 63 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and was hosted over the years in different cities like Amman (Jordan), Nusa Dua (Indonesia), Doha (Qatar), Marrakech (Morocco), Panama City (Panama), St Petersburg (Russia), and Vienna (Austria).

The CoSP acts as the main policymaking body of the UNCAC. Its main objective is to develop policies aimed at combating corruption in States Parties to the UNCAC. The CoSP is also mandated to support States Parties and other signatories in their implementation of anti-corruption policies and guidelines. In addition, the CoSP was established to accomplish the following goals and objectives:

To improve States Parties capacity to implement the UNCAC; To strengthen cooperation among States Parties and signatories in achieving UNCAC's objectives; and to promote and review the successful implementation of the UNCAC. The CoSP is held every two years and brings together States Parties as well as other signatories to discuss corruption issues and the measures taken in combating them. As a State Party, the State of Kuwait-represented by Kuwait's Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) - will be attending the upcoming ninth session of the CoSP with a delegation headed by its President, Abdulaziz Alebraheem.

The agenda for this session will discuss a variety of issues, including the review of the implementation of the UNCAC by States Parties, technical assistance, prevention, asset recovery, and international cooperation. Furthermore, several resolutions are expected to be adopted in this CoSP. Such resolutions are important because once they are adopted by the States Parties, they can direct anti-corruption efforts following the CoSP.

A number of States Parties have already brought forward their proposed draft resolutions and were being discussed in the past few weeks amongst other States Parties through the informal consultations hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) prior to the CoSP on a virtual level mostly. This year, the CoSP will be considering several resolutions in areas such as anti-corruption law enforcement, raising awareness, education, building capacity, and strengthening the implementation of the UNCAC on a regional level.

Some of these informal consultations will continue throughout the upcoming CoSP before reaching consensus on the resolutions. Nazaha has a dedicated team that already participated in these informal consultations prior to the CoSP and shall continue to attend the CoSP sessions virtually as well as the other dedicated team of experts from Nazaha that is currently attending in person in Sharm El-Sheikh.

To conclude, the CoSP plays a crucial role in directing the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. It is vital that States Parties and other signatories continue to cooperate in implementing the UNCAC, its resolutions, and decisions to end corruption worldwide and sustain development and prosperity of nations. Jude Al-Hajeri is a Specialist Professional at the International Cooperation Department of Kuwait's Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha)