VZCZCXRO0035
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0258/01 0311229
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311229Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1504
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0205
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA PRIORITY 0063

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000258 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/I GRANTS OFFICER MARIE MOSER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KDEM PINR IZ
SUBJECT: UN LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR IRAQ ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAM 
 
REF: A. BAGHDAD 04058 
     ¶B. BAGHDAD 00010 
     ¶C. BAGHDAD 02122 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The United Nations Development (UNDP) 
program held in January in Amman the first workshop as part 
of its 2008-2010 anti-corruption program for Iraq, which 
comes with the support of US funding.  Statisticians and 
experts in survey design from the United Nations Office on 
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held "train the trainer" exercises 
with Iraqi officials on how to conduct self-assessments of 
Iraq's compliance with the United Nations Convention Against 
Corruption, as well as levels of perceived corruption in 
Iraq.  These assessments, slated to be completed by summer, 
will contribute to the GOI's comprehensive anti-corruption 
strategy.  The Iraqis' enthusiastic participation at the 
Amman workshop augurs well for implementation of the UN 
program generally.  End Summary. 
 
CONFERENCE KICKS OFF ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAM 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  UNDP, in concert with UNODC, sponsored a 
working-level conference in Amman January 4-8 to launch its 
anti-corruption program for Iraq, which comes with the 
support of USD 8 million in reprogrammed Iraq Reconstruction 
Funds awarded in September 2008.  The first prong of the 
program (Ref A) will conduct a data-based assessment of 
corruption in Iraq with the aim of developing a comprehensive 
national anti-corruption strategy that will bring Iraq into 
compliance with the United Nations Convention Against 
Corruption (UNCAC), to which Baghdad acceded in April 2008. 
The second part of the program will develop anti-corruption 
capacities at the governate level in Iraq. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The primary audience of the Amman conference were 
Iraqi representatives from COSIT, the state-run statistics 
organization, which will spearhead data collection for the 
corruption survey.  Also in attendance were representatives 
from the BSA, Commission on Integrity (COI), the Ministry of 
Planning, and the Central Bank of Iraq.  Statisticians and 
experts in survey design from UNODC in Vienna held "train the 
trainer" exercises with Iraqi officials on how to conduct 
self-assessments.  Two specific tools taught were the Gap 
Analysis Program (GAP), which reviews institutional 
deficiencies in Iraq compared to requirements under the 
UNCAC, and an anti-corruption "self-assessment" survey, which 
will analyze perceived levels of corruption by both the Iraqi 
populace and GOI officials.  UNODC, in concert with Iraqi 
officials, aims to carry out the GAP analysis and 
anti-corruption survey by summer 2009.  UNDP will use the 
data from these assessments to work with GOI stakeholders to 
establish a national anti-corruption strategy and plug key 
deficiencies in UNCAC compliance. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Meeting with ACCO January 28, UNDP Iraq Governance 
Director Sylvia Fletcher said she was very "heartened" by the 
positive response from COSIT director Dr. Mehdi al-Alaq to 
the UN program.  (Note:  Al-Alaq is the brother of Secretary 
General of the Council of Ministers, Ali Alaq.  End Note.) 
Fletcher said she was "pleasantly satisfied" that the Iraqis 
had embraced the idea of being custodians for the country's 
anti-corruption data, which she underscored was critical for 
the long-term viability of the country's anti-corruption 
efforts. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  With the support of the US funding, the UN intends 
to hire three full-time staff to implement its Iraq 
anti-corruption program.  UNODC completed in December its 
selection for its slot, a position which requires legal 
Qselection for its slot, a position which requires legal 
expertise regarding implementation of the UNCAC.  However, 
the top two candidates turned down the offer for other 
positions, necessitating another round of hiring.  UNODC has 
re-advertised the position and, in the meantime, has pulled 
staff from its Nigeria anti-corruption program to fill in 
until the full-time position is filled.  Regarding the two 
UNDP full-time staffers, Sylvia Fletcher said UNDP was 
prepared to make offers within the next 10 days.  Once the 
offers have been accepted, Fletcher expected a 30 day gap 
until the new staff would report for duty. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  The Iraqi participants at the conference made clear 
their enthusiasm for the UN program.  They doubtless plan to 
weave elements from the program into the anti-corruption 
strategy that the GOI is currently formulating (Ref B). 
 
GAINING TRACTION: INTERNATIONALLY AND 
WITH SELECT IRAQI INSTITUTIONS 
 
BAGHDAD 00000258  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU)  UNDP's Sylvia Fletcher noted two other efforts by 
the GOI to upgrade its international commitments.  She said 
Iraq was actively involved in a global working group on UNCAC 
compliance.  During a meeting of the working group in Vienna 
in September, Iraqi officials from the COI and BSA took part 
in a familiarization tour of the various departments of UNODC 
with which it will be working as part of the UN 
anti-corruption program, to include the anti-money laundering 
and statistics departments.  Fletcher also praised Iraq's 
participation in meetings regarding the Paris Declaration on 
Aid Effectiveness. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Fletcher thought that the BSA, as Iraq's oldest 
and best-established anti-corruption body, would likely lead 
the way among the various concerned institutions (BSA, COI, 
IGs) in terms of involvement in the UN program.  She 
stressed that BSA chief Dr. Abdulbasit al-Turki was "on 
board" with their program and that the BSA's current 
cooperation with entities in the Kurdistan region were a 
"good test" for expanding national anti-corruption efforts to 
northern Iraq.  Similarly, Fletcher praised the institutional 
framework present in the Iraqi courts.  The reason for the 
dearth of anti-corruption cases, she opined, was the lack of 
coordination among institutions (reported Ref C) that lead 
few anti-corruption cases to make their way to an 
investigative judge in the first place.  Fletcher underscored 
that bottlenecks at the COI were not the specific fault of 
COI Commissioner Judge Rahim al-Ugaili; rather, it was the 
overall structure of the system and discombobulated 
coordination therein that prevented more cases from being 
tried.  Noting that contacts at the Central Criminal Court of 
Iraq (CCC-I) had accused COI staff of being incompetent and 
corrupt themselves, Fletcher said she had not been able come 
to a conclusion whether this was true or whether the problem 
was the structure of the overall system. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU)  The Iraqis' participation at the Amman gathering 
suggests their genuine interest in benefiting from the UN 
program.  Our sense is that, as the GOI develops its 
anti-corruption strategy, it will be receptive to modifying 
it in light of the UN program as it unfolds. 
CROCKER