National Action Plan for Combating Corruption (MN0027)

Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment: Since the completion of the National Programme for Combating Corruption for 2002-2010, there hasn’t been any strategy or programme developed for combating corruption at the national level. Therefore it is necessary to define a comprehensive government policy against corruption and refine relevant legislations and actions and improve coordination between different agencies. Main Objective: Actively engage in and partner with the National Programme against Combating Corruption after it is approved. Brief Description of commitment (Within 140 characters): Ensure multilateral engagement of the OGP to implement the National Programme against Corruption.

6. National Program for Combating Corruption

Commitment Text:

Ensure multilateral engagement of the OGP to implement the National Programme against Corruption.

Status quo or problem addressed:

Since the completion of the National Programme for Combating Corruption for 2002-10, there hasn’t been any strategy or program developed for combating corruption at the national level. Therefore it is necessary to define a comprehensive government policy against corruption and refine relevant legislations and actions to improve coordination between different agencies.

Main Objective:

Actively engage in and partner with the National Programme against Combating Corruption after it’s approval.

Milestones:

6.1. Organize a meeting with the engagement of all stakeholders of the OGP to make implementation plans if the 'NAP' is approved.

6.2. Deliver proposals of the OGP stakeholders on engaging and cooperating in the actions to implement NAP.

Responsible institution: Central Government Authority responsible for Justice and other relevant organizations

Supporting institutions: Independent Agency against Corruption, other relevant government organizations, MNCCI, NGOs working on governance and transparency, MNB and 'Mongolian News' Channel

Start date: 30 June 2016

End date: 30 June 2018

Context and Objectives

Mongolia has committed to reducing corruption through a number of initiatives. Chapter 4 of the 2006 Law on Anti-Corruption established the Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) to conduct corruption prevention, corruption studies, public awareness raising and education, and to investigate corruption offenses and review asset and income declarations of public officials.[Note81: Law of Mongolia on Anti-Corruption, available here: http://lehmanlaw.mn/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Anti-corruption2006.pdf.] Mongolia became a party to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in 2006,[Note82: Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, Fourth session, 3 October 2011, https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/COSP/session4/V1186007e.pdf.] and joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Istanbul Anti-corruption Action Network in 2012, which published its first and second monitoring reports in 2015.[Note83: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Anti-corruption Reforms in Mongolia, Joint First and Second Rounds of Monitoring of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan, 9 October 2015, http://www.oecd.org/corruption/acn/Mongolia-Round-3-Monitoring-Report-ENG.pdf.] Despite recent anticorruption measures, public perceptions of corruption remain high in Mongolia, as evidenced by a 2017 recent survey by the Asia Foundation and Sant Maral Foundation,[Note84: The Asia Foundation and Sant Maral Foundation, Survey on Perceptions and Knowledge of Corruption, 2017, https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MG-SPEAK2017_ENG.pdf.] as well as Mongolia’s rank of 103 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perception Index.[Note85: Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2017, available at: https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017.]

Mongolia completed its first National Program for Combating Corruption between 2002 and 2010,[Note86: The National Anti-Corruption Programme 2002-2010, available (in Mongolian) at: http://www.legalinfo.mn/annex/details/3192?lawid=7014.] and parliament approved a new national anticorruption strategy in November 2016 that was developed by the then-President Ts. Elbegdorj in November 2015.[Note87: Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC), Comments to the Action Plan to implement the National Program for Combating Corruption submitted by government agencies and CSOs, 2016-2023, available here (in Mongolian): https://www.iaac.mn/page/92?menu=217&lang=en.] This commitment calls for the active engagement of OGP stakeholders in implementing the new National Program for Combatting Corruption. The involvement of stakeholders in implementing the anticorruption program is relevant to the OGP value of civic participation. The commitment provides few details on how exactly stakeholders priorities and proposals will influence the anticorruption program. While the anticorruption program is an important initiative to improve governance in Mongolia, it is unlikely that the activities outlined in this commitment will have any measurable impact on open government in Mongolia.

Completion

In January 2017, the government held the National Anti-Corruption Forum, where participating CSOs and government ministries and agencies submitted feedback on the development of the action plan to implement the new National Program for Combatting Corruption.[Note88: See (in Mongolian): http://www.iaac.mn/files/6e396b8e-a4cd-41d6-8a42-535892425542/ATUH.tusuld.sanal.pdf.] By March 2017, the government had developed an action plan to implement the new National Program for Combatting Corruption, with the first phase to be implemented between 2016–19, and the second phase to be implemented between 2020-2023.[Note89: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action plan Joint First and Second Rounds of Monitoring: Mongolia Progress Update, 13 September 2017, pg. 10, https://www.oecd.org/corruption/acn/OECD-ACN-Mongolia-Progress-Update-September-2017-ENG.pdf.] The IRM inquired with the Cabinet Secretariat regarding who was involved in drafting the anticorruption program. The IRM also asked about any plans to actively engage OGP stakeholders during the implementation of the program, but did not receive a response to either inquiry. For more information, see Section IV: Methodology and Sources. Based on the lack of additional information, the commitment is assessed as having limited implementation at the end of the first year of the action plan.

Next Steps

Given that the National Program for Combating Corruption has been approved, this commitment does not need to be carried forward to future action plans. However, the implementation the anticorruption program could serve as commitments in future action plans, if they are clearly relevant to OGP values.

6. National Programme for Combating Corruption

Commitment Text:

Ensure multilateral engagement of the OGP to implement the National Programme against Corruption.

Status quo or problem addressed:

Since the completion of the National Programme for Combating Corruption for 2002-10, there hasn’t been any strategy or program developed for combating corruption at the national level. Therefore it is necessary to define a comprehensive government policy against corruption and refine relevant legislations and actions to improve coordination between different agencies.

Milestones:

6.1. Organize a meeting with the engagement of all stakeholders of the OGP to make implementation plans if the “NAP” is approved.

6.2. Deliver proposals of the OGP stakeholders on engaging and cooperating in the actions to implement NAP.

Responsible institution: Central Government Authority responsible for Justice and other relevant organizations

Supporting institutions: Independent Agency against Corruption, other relevant government organizations, MNCCI, NGOs working on governance and transparency, MNB and “Mongolian News” Channel

Start date: 30 June 2016

End date: 30 June 2018

Editorial Note: This is an abridged version of the commitment text. For the full commitment text from the Mongolian National Action Plan, see: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mongolia-NAP2-Final-Eng_0.pdf

Commitment Aim

This commitment aimed to engage OGP stakeholders in the implementation of the anticipated National Programme for Combatting Corruption, which was to be premised on the anti-corruption strategy, approved by parliament in November 2016.

Status

Midterm: Limited

During the National Anti-Corruption Forum, held in January 2017, government ministries, agencies, and CSOs submitted feedback on the development of the action plan for implementation of the new National Programme for Combatting Corruption (Milestone 6.1). [39] In April 2017, the government adopted the action plan with 216 action items to be implemented in two phases between 2016 and 2023. [40] The action plan included feedback from the different stakeholders.

For more information, please see the IRM 2016-2017 Progress Report. [41]

End of term: Substantial

Parliament allocated MNT 499.6 million to implement the program in 2017. [42] The Anti-Corruption Authority is responsible for coordinating and collecting reports on implementation from government organizations and submitting a composite report to a Standing Committee of the Parliament. The government published the implementation report of the National Programme for Combatting Corruption for 2017 in August 2018. [43]

A number of initiatives advanced progress on Milestone 6.2. Following the approval of the methodology of the corruption risk assessment in December 2017, the Anti-Corruption Authority selected NGOs to conduct risk assessments in 10 government ministries and 14 agencies. Based on these assessments, the Anti-Corruption Authority has taken measures to identify the causes of corruption in high-risk sectors such as in mining, education, health, and customs. The Anti-Corruption Authority also established a ‘Public Center’ to conduct trainings, disseminate information, and receive complaints and feedback from the public. The Public Center organized nine training workshops for citizens and the private sector, where 309 people attended. [44]

As the the Anti-Corruption Authority did not have regional offices, it set up Citizen Monitoring Committees to Prevent Corruption in government ministries and agencies, across all 21 provinces, Ulaanbaatar City and its districts. [45] At the end of term, these oversight councils comprised 152 members. These councils were tasked with monitoring the implementation of institutional action plans, and ensuring transparency, integrity, and financial accountability. In December 2017, the Anti-Corruption Authority facilitated the training of 142 members of these councils on public monitoring.

The Anti-Corruption Authority continued to collaborate with civil society to conduct training workshops, develop brochures, and provide information on the campaign against corruption throughout the implementation period. Globe International, Open Society Forum, Transparency International Mongolia, and other NGOs were involved in these activities. [46]

Did It Open Government?

Civic Participation: Marginal

According to representatives of civil society, the approval of the National Programme for Combatting Corruption was itself an important achievement and outcome of the long-term efforts of civil society. ^[47] Civil society also recognized that the participation of different stakeholders in the National Anti-Corruption Forum, and the subsequent incorporation of civil society feedback in the final action plan, was another positive achievement. In addition, citizens and civil society were involved in different aspects of activities to implement the program, including the establishment of citizen oversight councils at government agencies across the country.

However, while these activities represent a marginal improvement in civic participation, continued citizen perception of high levels of public corruption in Mongolia, [48] and its rank of 103 out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perception Index, [49] suggest that there is still a long way to go.

Carried Forward?

The commitment is not included in Mongolia’s third action plan.