The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the Anti-Corruption Reforms Report for Ukraine (hereinafter - the Report) based on the results of the fifth round of monitoring of the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan. The report shows that Ukraine has demonstrated significant progress in various areas of anti-corruption and building integrity in 2022 and the first half of 2023.
The report assesses Ukraine's anti-corruption reforms based on a set of indicators and evaluation criteria in five areas. It analyzes the efforts of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), the National Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA), prosecutors, the judiciary and others to amend legislation, build anti-corruption institutions, and take measures to detect, investigate and prosecute corruption crimes, and identified areas for improvement.
The NACP team worked throughout the year to prepare responses to the questionnaire and support the monitoring process, while NGOs and international partners provided responses to the monitoring questionnaire and comments to the draft report. After bilateral consultations, this report was presented and discussed at the OECD plenary in October 2023, where OECD experts highly evaluated Ukraine's achievements in anti-corruption policy.
"The development and implementation of anti-corruption policy is a key area of Ukraine's state policy and long-term cooperation with the OECD. The OECD's high assessment of the NACP activities is an indicator that Ukraine is strengthening its anti-corruption system even during the war and is ready for a transparent post-war recovery with the help of international partners. Despite significant delays in the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Strategy, the NACP managed to quickly and decisively establish a special unit for coordination and monitoring of anti-corruption policy, as well as launch an IT system for monitoring the implementation of the state anti-corruption policy (ISM SACP). The efforts of the NACP team are giving powerful results," said NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk.
The Report notes that the Anti-Corruption Strategy and the State Anti-Corruption Program are high-quality, evidence-based policy documents developed in an inclusive and transparent process.
Regarding the area "Asset Declaration", OECD experts noted that it is advanced, transparent and digitalized, covers a wide category of public officials and has a broad scope of use. A risk-oriented verification of declarations has been introduced, which primarily focuses on high-ranking officials.
In general, the NACP work was assessed in two of the five areas of activity.
At the same time, the OECD Report recommends that Ukraine take the necessary steps to start appointing judges as soon as possible and pay due attention to the criminal liability of legal entities.
As a reminder, in the summer of 2022, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal submitted an application for Ukraine's accession to the OECD. The NACP plays a key role in the process of Ukraine's integration into the organization. The OECD unites 37 of the world's most developed countries. The purpose of the OECD is to create the best solutions for public policies that will promote economic prosperity, equal opportunities and welfare.
