Regional Conference on Civil Society "Empowering Civil Society in the Fight
against Corruption in South East Europe"
On September 17 to 19, 2001, the first Stability Pact Anti-corruption Initiative (SPAI) Regional Conference on Civil Society "Empowering Civil Society in the Fight against Corruption in South East Europe" was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The conference was chaired by the Chairman of the SPAI Steering Group Mr. Giuseppe Di Gennaro with the assistance of Mr. Frederic Wehrle, Co-ordinator for Outreach Activities in the Anti-Corruption Division.
Aimed at reviewing the existing legal and institutional framework in the SEE countries for a pro-active involvement of civil society in the fight against corruption, the conference delivered the following outcomes:
- Diagnosis of the conditions for civil society's involvement in the fight against corruption in the SEE countries,
- Policy dialogue between SPAI representatives and civil society organizations, and
- Discussion of technical assistance needs and institutional donor community support.
The two and a half-day conference included a thorough review of the conditions for civil society's further involvement in the fight against corruption, followed by round-table discussions. The event became a forum for discussion on specific key civil society issues under the general framework of the SPAI and featured a special informal dialogue between SPAI Senior Representatives and representatives of civil society, which facilitated an exchange of views on strengthening and developing a collaborative partnership to combat corruption. The meeting provided opportunities for strengthening bilateral contacts with the donor community and allowed SPAI governments and civil society participants to discuss their specific technical assistance needs.
Participants included SPAI senior representatives and experts, representatives of all SPAI member states, representatives of some South East European business associations and trade unions, media and NGOs as well as representatives of international organizations (Council of Europe, OECD, UNDP, ABA CEELI, etc.), bilateral agencies, Stability Pact donor countries (Denmark, Switzerland, United Kingdom, etc) and of observer countries. Country Action Plans for the fight against corruption in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Moldova and Romania were discussed and agreed upon during the conference.
In plenary session Dr. Maria Yordanova, head of CSD Law Program, presented the Coalition 2000 and the Southeast European Legal Development Initiative (SELDI) experience.
See conference agenda (MS Word, 165 KB)
See conference conclusions (MS Word, 40KB)