Montenegro

The fight against corruption

It was at Montenegro’s first National Anti-corruption Conference in 2005 (which was organized by UNDP Montenegro, in partnership with the Council of Europe, the Government of Montenegro and the NGO MANS) that corruption was connected to issues of economic development, EU integration and poverty reduction for the first time.

In 2006 UNDP initiated a project to build the capacities of NGOs and government departments working to end corruption in Montenegro.

The first component of the project was to increase demand for accountability and transparency and was carried out by selected NGOs that have received support from UNDP. Citizen watchdog organizations are new to Montenegro. The public is not accustomed to holding political office holders accountable to the law. Watchdog organizations have been successful in making the public aware of corrupt practices via the media and direct public relations campaigns. This has allowed NGOs to advocate for zero tolerance of corruption before it becomes endemic in Montenegro.

The second aspect has addressed the weaknesses in government institutions that have mandates to fight corruption, particularly the Directorate on Anti-Corruption Initiatives (DACI), as well as the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice, which are responsible for implementing the National Programme Against Corruption  and its corresponding Action Plan (NAP). NAP is comprised of 280 concrete measures to be taken by all government agencies directly involved with the fight against corruption, including the judiciary.

During communism, the public sector was neither accountable, transparent, nor responsive to the populace. This situation, followed by the wars in the former Yugoslavia, created structural and capacity weaknesses in the public sector which make it very difficult to meet international obligations to fight corruption.

These weaknesses in both the public and civil society sectors have been addressed with a technical assistance project that builds capacity in both sectors through policy advice, training, research, harmonization of anti-corruption initiatives, public campaigns and access to information.

UNDP’s anti corruption work has focused on the alignment of key anti corruption legislation with the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Experts from UNODC, UNCITRAL, OECD/SIGMA and Transparency International have been engaged to produce expert commentary and analysis of the gaps between relevant national legislation and UNCAC. Privacy International is aiding the cause by guiding the development of whistle blower legislation. Important legislative and institutional changes have been implemented, although they still have deficiencies. The gap between policy and practice has become a major focus.

The provision of technical support to carry out surveys that qualify and quantify corruption assessments has been essential because without data from such surveys it is impossible to develop informed strategies to fight corrupt practices.

The effort has been implemented in consultation with other international organizations, such as the Council of Europe and OSCE, in order to maximize resources, reduce duplication, draw from the competitive advantages of each organization and sharing of best practices.

In 2008 UNDP extended the project and is providing further assistance to the Government of Montenegro in implementing NAP. The project has facilitated concrete and coordinated activities, such as sharing of best practices between  government agencies that are mandated to fight corruption. The project also aims to further develop the capacities of the concerned government agencies and increase overall awareness of corruption and create an environment of total intolerance for corrupt practices.