PRESS RELEASE: Breakthroughs on open government at UK Anti-Corruption Summit

OGP recognized by global leaders for its value in advancing anti-corruption reform

OGP highlights from the Summit:

• Strong endorsement for Open Government Partnership (OGP) in the Anti-Corruption Summit Communique, signed by 40 attending governments, including role of civil society and accountability for implementation of commitments.
• Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced his country’s intention to join OGP, adding to the 69 governments who are currently participating.
• Prime Minister David Cameron launched several commitments in the UK’s new OGP National Action Plan.
• OGP CEO Sanjay Pradhan announces a special session at OGP’s Global Summit in Paris, December 7-9, 2016 for follow-up on anti-corruption commitments made today.

May 12, 2016, London   – The Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) welcomed the announcement by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s that Nigeria is joining OGP. “A main component of this anti-corruption partnership is that governments must demonstrate unquestionable political will and commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to the fight. The private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... must come clean and be transparent, and civil society, while keeping a watch on all stakeholders, must act and report with a sense of responsibility and objectivity. For our part, Nigeria is committed to signing the Open Government Partnership.” said Buhari. Buhari was addressing a gathering of over 300 government, civil society, and business leaders at the Tackling Corruption Conference, organized at Marlborough House, in advance of the UK Government’s Anti-Corruption Summit.

“We welcome Nigeria to a partnership of 69 governments and thousands of civil society organizations committed to improving accountability and transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More in government,” OGP CEO Sanjay Pradhan said. “Through OGP, collective ambitions are raised, ideas and innovations are shared, and lasting policy response can be secured. Nigeria has taken a huge step forward in signalling its intention to put tackling corruption at the heart of its reform agenda.”

One of OGP’s eight founding countries, the United Kingdom today launched its third National Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen.... The new plan was developed with civil society organizations, and includes a commitment to implement the Open ContractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... Data Standard, meaning open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... will be available across the full contracting cycle, including for major infrastructure projects. The UK will also establish a public register of company beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... information for foreign companies who already own or buy property in the UK, or who bid on UK central government contracts.

The Summit Communique, negotiated by 40 governments, recognizes the role that OGP can play in catalyzing anti-corruption reform and accountability. It states:

“We recognise the value of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in advancing transparency and good governance reform through national commitments made together with civil society, and the value of the OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism in providing accountability. OGP participating governmentsOGP participating countries and locals – often referred to as OGP members – are committed to working with civil society to strengthen their adherence to open government values. To join OGP as a pa... among us will work with civil society to embed our Summit commitments into National Action Plans where appropriate.”

In addition to the Summit Communique, the attending countries published individual country statements, highlighting the measures they were undertaking to tackle corruption. 11 countries, including, Afghanistan, Australia, France, Germany, Georgia, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, and the United States, explicitly stated that they will be engaging with OGP in furthering their anti-corruption agenda.

Pradhan invited heads of state and other international leaders at the historic event to continue using OGP to facilitate the implementation of anti-corruption commitments, and announced a special session at OGP’s Global Summit in Paris, December 7-9, 2016 dedicated to follow-up on the commitments made  today.