The 12th session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Prevention of Corruption and the Implementation Review Group of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)
Under the direction of the Government Inspector General on attending meetings within the framework of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), from June 14 to 18, 2021, the Government Inspectorate’s working group participated online at the 12th Session of the Extended Intergovernmental Working Group on Prevention of Corruption (hereinafter referred to as the Prevention Working Group) and the Implementation Review Group of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (hereinafter referred to as the Implementation Review Group). 
The Implementation Review Group (IRG) and the Prevention Working Group (PWG) are open intergovernmental groups established by the Conference of the UNCAC Member States. The IRG is responsible for overseeing the review process, identifies challenges and best practices, and reviews technical assistance needs to ensure effective implementation of the UNCAC. The Prevention Working Group has the function of advising and assisting the UNCAC National Conference on preventive measures under Chapter II of the Convention.
The 12th session of the PWG and IRG took place in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact global economic, socio-political activities, especially medical issue. In that context, the Secretariat of the UNCAC Conference of Member States decided to organize the Meetings in the combination form of online and in person, whereby each country can send two representatives to the meetings at the Headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Austria, those who cannot attend in person will be take part online.
The sessions were chaired by Mr. Harib Saeed Al Amimi (United Arab Emirates), President of the 8th Conference of Member States (COSP8), with the online and in-person attendance of representatives from 103 member states, representatives of organizations and institutions in European and Latin American regions and UN agencies, and observers from associations, non-government and intergovernment organizations.
The key agenda items of these two Meetings included many important issues, specifically: (i) Responsibilities of legal entities for corrupt crimes; (ii) The effectiveness, appropriateness and deterrence of sanction measures against corrupt acts; (iii) The needs of and measures for technical assistance to countries, especially developing countries, to effectively implement the Convention; (iv) The role of the National Assembly/Parliament and other legislative bodies in strengthening the implementation of the Convention; (v) The role of the supreme audit institutions in the prevention and fight against corruption. In addition, recommendations on technical issues and other related contents as well as priorities in the coming time and the tentative agenda for the 13th Meeting of the two working groups were also discussed and approved at this meeting.
