Another speech by the Attorney GeneralOffice of the Attorney-General, Kenya a ajout 3 nouvelles photos. 3 h .. OPENING ADDRESS by Prof. Githu MUIGAI, EGH,SC, Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya at the Workshop on the United Nations Convention against Corruption Review Follow-Up 16-18 March, 2016 held at The Sarova Stanley Hotel, NAIROBI. Wednesday, 16 March, 2016. Ladies and Gentlemen. Like others before me, let me at the outset, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kenya, extend a warm welcome to you all to this workshop, more so to our visitors from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as some of our Development Partners, who have graced this occasion. The core objective of this workshop is to appreciate how Kenya has performed in terms of implementing some of its UNCAC obligations. Granted that issues of corruption and anti-corruption are the centerpiece of everyday conversation in Kenya nowadays, many of us have a deep interest in knowing the outcome of the review of Kenyas implementation of UNCAC, which was undertaken by Cabo Verde and Papua New Guinea from 2013 to 2015, with technical support from UNODC. As we have observed a number of times before, Kenya was the first country to sign and ratify UNCAC when the Convention was opened up for signature on 9th December, 2003. As such, we are under an extra-juridical obligation to pave the way in terms of its implementation. For that reason, we are happy to have successfully undergone the review of the implementation of Chapter III (Criminalisation and Law Enforcement) and Chapter IV (International Co-operation). This was the first time Kenya was undergoing its review of implementation of UNCAC. I must commend our National Steering Committee on UNCAC Review, and our Focal Point, for delivering this major feat on behalf of Kenya. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an obligation for every State Party to UNCAC to undergo a review of its implementation of the Convention at least once every review cycle of five years. However, the Government of Kenya is particularly keen to undergo such reviews so that we may not only discharge our UNCAC obligations, but also seek to entrench best practices in the implementation of interventions to tackle the bane of corruption that continues to mock the developmental gains of our young democracy. Now that we are done with the first cycle, we intend to embark on early preparations for the second review cycle, focusing on Prevention (Chapter 2) and Asset Recovery (Chapter 5). These two areas are particularly critical to our current anti-corruption interventions as they seek to instill a deterrence effect to all who participate or are likely to participate in corrupt activities. I am happy to note that through the work of our National Steering Committee on UNCAC Review, extensive consultations have been held with various stakeholders as part of the review process. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the support we received from: the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; the Speaker of the National Assembly, especially Members of the African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption (APNAC); civil society organizations such as Transparency International (Kenya Chapter) and the Centre for Law and Research International (CLARION), and lastly, all the member institutions of the National Steering Committee on UNCAC Review. I am reliably informed that Kenyas review is cited as one of the best case-studies for an inclusive UNCAC review, owing to our involvement of various stakeholders, including civil society organizations in the National Steering Committee. I do believe the goodwill cultivated by this participatory approach to dealing with national issues will not only enhance the legitimacy of our report but also translate into strong co-operation at the implementation phase of the Review Report. As some of us have already appreciated, our review process has taught us some invaluable lessons, one of which is that when it comes to fighting a common enemy, such as corruption, we should have a common agenda as a people, regardless of whether we are in the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary arms of Government. This review has shown us that in as much as we may have different powers, privileges, mandates and functions under the Constitution and various legislative instruments and may even subscribe to diverse religious, social and political persuasions, at the end of the day, we are serving one people and one country and operating under the aegis of one Constitution of Kenya. Thus, there is a dire need for synergy in the fight and common purpose to rid the country of the corruption stigma once and for all. Ladies and Gentlemen; Over the last 12 years, the Government has initiated diverse legal and institutional reforms geared towards combating corruption. This has involved the enactment of various anti-corruption laws and establishment of various watchdog and anti-corruption bodies. The Government is currently working on a number of Bills, which upon enactment will make a significant contribution to our anti-corruption arsenal. These include the Bribery Bill; the Access to Information Bill, and the Whistleblower Protection Bill. The Bribery Bill in particular has adopted the recommendations of the UNCAC review team, regarding the criminalization of corruption in the private sector as well as the bribery of foreign public officials. We have even gone a step further, by requiring private entities, to put in place appropriate anti-bribery measures, akin to those of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the UK Bribery Act. Besides distinct legislation, we have also facilitated the development of a National Values and Principles of Good Governance Policy. Through the Kenya Leadership and Integrity Forum, we validated the Kenya Integrity Plan (KIP) in August, 2015. KIP seeks to promote sectoral planning and implementation of anti-corruption targets in 15 sectors in Kenya, including but not limited to religious bodies, media, civil society and counties. In terms of the institutional framework, we have the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and the National Anti-Corruption Campaign Steering Committee (NACCSC) to spearhead the fight against corruption. But more importantly, we have established a multi-agency framework that brings together relevant law enforcement agencies including the Asset Recovery Agency, Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Central Bank of Kenya, Financial Reporting Center, Kenya Revenue Authority, Directorate of Public Prosecution and Office of Attorney General. The multi-agency approach has strategically used the strengths of the various institutional mandates to jointly trace and freeze assets, investigate corruption incidences and bring to prosecution the perpetrators of corruption including cases involving senior government officials at both National and County Governments. Internationally, Kenya has been at the forefront of spearheading a global campaign against corruption. Kenya has been particularly active in consultations regarding the implementation of UNCAC, either under the auspices of the UNCAC Conference of States Parties (COSP) or under the UNCAC Implementation Review Group (IRG). Kenya is also one of the Founder Members of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), which is dedicated towards building competent human resource capacity for effective onslaught against corruption. We are currently working on the ratification of the Instrument establishing the IACA which ratification will pave way for advanced training of our anti-corruption officers, judges, magistrates and prosecutors to effectively deal with the vice of corruption. In the African region, Kenya is a State party to the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, adopted in Maputo, Mozambique in July, 2003. And at the East African Community (EAC) level, Kenya is working closely with other EAC Partner States towards the conclusion of an EAC Protocol on Preventing and Combating Corruption. Kenyas membership to the aforementioned international and regional instruments has further granted our country an opportunity to embrace international best practices in the development of an effective anti-corruption architecture for preventing and combating corruption. Ladies and Gentlemen; As we welcome the dissemination of our UNCAC Review Report, I would like to reiterate that the UNCAC review process is an objective and transparent peer-review process principally aimed at assisting the country implement its UNCAC obligations and also embrace best practices in the fight against corruption. It is our intention to align the UNCAC Review recommendations to the strategies of the Taskforce on Corruption, Kenya Integrity Programme priorities and other good governance interventions already under implementation in order to provide a coherent implementation of the single vision to curb corruption and its ills. However, our engagement in international, regional platforms on anti-corruption, or the enactment of more stringent law on their own will not serve to slay the corruption dragon. The need for deliberate and decisive action from all actors in the justice chain is critical to success. I would therefore like to reiterate the importance of collaboration between various actors in the fight against corruption, especially the National Assembly and the Judiciary. The appreciation of all partners in facilitating prevention, investigation, asset tracing and recovery, prosecution and conviction should not be so easily sacrificed on the altar of expediency. As public officers and institutions, we should all be prepared, when national duty calls, to rise up above imaginary barriers that divide us, so as to deal with the enemies of our development, one of which is corruption. As we strive for a better Kenya in our own diverse ways, let us cogitate upon and actualize the immortal words of the late US President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who at his inaugural address called upon his fellow countrymen and women, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. It is only through such a positive attitude that we will have the Kenya we want. And with those few remarks, it is now my singular honour and duty to declare the Workshop on the United Nations Convention against Corruption Review Follow-Up, being held at the Sarova Stanley Hotel, Nairobi, 16-18 March, 2016, officially open. I wish you all fruitful deliberations and look forward to working with you towards the implementation of the UNCAC Review Report on Kenya. Thank you and God bless you.