Istanbul Action Plan

• The implementation of the Istanbul Action Plan
• The first round of monitoring
• The second round of monitoring
• Meetings

The Istanbul Action Plan (IAP) is an Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Ukraine [ English / Russian ] which was endorsed in the framework of the ACN in Istanbul in September 2003. The ACN Secretariat provides support for the implementation of the Action Plan under the guidance of the ACN Steering Group (formerly an Advisory Group).  

Implementation of the Istanbul Action Plan

The implementation of the IAP involves several phases:

• review of legal and institutional framework for fighting corruption;
• implementation of the recommendations endorsed during the reviews;
• monitoring progress in implementing the recommendations.

The reviews are based on self-assessment reports prepared by the governments of the participating countries. These reports are examined by experts from ACN and OECD countries, who develop a draft of assessment and recommendations. The assessment and recommendations are then presented for the discussion and endorsement of the plenary meetings of the Istanbul Action Plan.

Reviews of all IAP countries have been completed, and recommendations were endorsed during 2004-2005 at 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Istanbul Action Plan meetings (see below). 

The first round of monitoring

The first round of the monitoring programme was launched in 2004, and involved a country examination by peers made up of a team of experts from ACN and OECD countries and participating organisations. The experts visited each country and met with official representatives, civil society, and foreign missions. On completion of the visit, the team prepared a report which rated the progress made on each recommendation, and this was then presented for endorsement at the IAP plenary meeting. The monitoring programme also involved the regular submission of progress reports by IAP country governments, including a brief written update, and the posting of these updates on the ACN website.

The full reports are published in the OECD series Fighting Corruption in Transition Economies.

The second round of monitoring

At its meeting in September 2007, the ACN Steering Group confirmed that the monitoring process under the Istanbul Action Plan should continue.  Following the Steering Group's instructions, the ACN Secretariat developed a proposal for both the procedures and the questionnaire for the second round of monitoring. In August 2008 the ACN Steering Group, through written procedure, adopted a final version of the document: 

"Procedure and Questionnaire for the Second Round of Monitoring" [in English and Russian)

Meetings

• 7th Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 26-28 September 2007
• 6th Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 11-13 December 2006
• 5th Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 12-13 June 2006
• 4th Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 20-21 October 2005
• 3rd Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 13-14 December 2004
• 2nd Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 16-18 June 2004
• 1st Istanbul Action Plan Meeting, 19-21 January 2004