Doha: Experts and representatives of civil society stressed that combating corruption requires the meaningful involvement of civil society in the design and implementation of anti-corruption measures, emphasizing the need to provide a safe and enabling environment that allows civil society to participate, access information, and freely express views on corruption-related issues.
According to Qatar News Agency, these remarks were made during a session on the role of civil society in long-term success against corruption, held as part of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), hosted by Doha from December 15 to 19.
In this context, Sandra Kelly, Project Director for Anti-Corruption at the National Council and Director of the Criminal Law Department at the Ministry of Justice of Finland, said that civil society needs flexible and effective strategies to combat corruption. She noted that anti-corruption strategies often overlook civil society's contribution, despite the many opportunities available to achieve long-term impact.
She explained that when Finland planned and drafted its first national anti-corruption strategy for the period 2015-2017, adopted in 2021, civil society played a key role through workshops that gathered its views and proposals. Finland, she added, has a long-standing tradition of openness and transparency, citing a public online portal that allows civil society organizations to submit comments, which are later published along with explanations of how they were considered. This, she stressed, is central to effective planning and sustained public participation in anti-corruption policies.
Kelly also highlighted Finland's national anti-corruption network, which includes joint working groups, research organizations, labor unions, and an integrity center. The network regularly updates the national action plan through workshops and follows up on implementation. She noted that one proposal submitted to the government focused on raising awareness of civil society's role through an annual anti-corruption program organized in cooperation with Transparency International, with ongoing events involving civil society and investigative journalists. In many cases, she stressed that corruption is uncovered by investigative journalists, which is critically important.
For her part, Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and Director of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, stressed the need for citizens to organize in order to confront corruption. Drawing on years of experience in the Americas and the Caribbean, she underlined the importance of an independent and effective civil society. She warned that without proper review mechanisms, anti-corruption agreements remain empty promises, emphasizing that freedoms of expression, learning, and peaceful assembly depend on open civic space, which she described as the backbone of accountability and a primary tool for citizens to confront corruption.
Romero called for strengthening effective civil society participation by ensuring full civic space, enabling consultations with civil society organizations to define practical measures, enhancing transparency through support and services at Conferences of States Parties, and facilitating and protecting public participation. She also stressed the importance of monitoring mechanisms to track responses.
She highlighted the need for safe reporting environments and regular analysis, coordination, and protection, noting that whistleblowers and activists are often attacked or criticized simply for reporting corruption. Integrating human rights protections and oversight mechanisms, she added, is essential. Concluding her remarks, Romero commented that corruption is also a human rights crisis. If we stop talking about it, it will be forgotten. Corruption thrives in silence.
She emphasized the importance of protecting freedom of expression and the right to protest, amplifying people's voices, and ensuring that power is held accountable through sustainable and just support structures.