In the lead up to the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC COSP) to be held in December 2023, the United States, along with France and the United Kingdom launched the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) Action Series, which is organized by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative, in collaboration with the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC) and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).
The GFAR Action Series builds on the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR), which was established as an outcome of the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit, hosted by the United Kingdom. The Global Forum was co-hosted by the United Kingdom and the United States and organized by StAR. It focused on providing support to four countries: Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Ukraine and gathered policy makers, practitioners, law enforcement agencies, academics and civil society organizations. The “GFAR Principles for Disposition and Transfer of Confiscated Stolen Assets in Corruption Cases” were adopted by the co-hosts and focus countries and are still widely referenced on the international stage.
The aim of the current GFAR Action Series is to reinvigorate a practitioner-focused approach geared toward making tangible progress in asset recovery and return by facilitating communication and negotiations among requested and requesting countries in connection with specific ongoing cases. It will also promote the use of the GFAR Principles and highlight stakeholder engagement in asset recovery and return.
Preparations for the GFAR Action Series started at the GlobE Network plenary meeting in July and continued at the UNCAC Working Group on Asset Recovery (ARWG) in September with practitioner focused discussions in bilateral and multijurisdictional case meetings for the two initial focus countries (Moldova and Zambia).
Richard Nephew, the US Department of State Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption provided opening remarks for the information briefing of the GFAR Action Series organized on the sidelines of the ARWG. The event flagged the need for consistent and strong international cooperation and the importance of using this platform to promote flexibility in the types of support offered to focus countries. The event was attended by 20 jurisdictions and elicited positive comments from Algeria, Angola and Nigeria, with Moldova and Zambia further welcoming their recent joining in the Series.
As of now, Algeria, Honduras, Iraq, Seychelles, Nigeria and Ukraine have also formally joined the GFAR Action Series as focus countries.
The co-hosts, StAR and implementing partners will support focus countries that join the Action Series to organize meetings between key officials and practitioners of requested jurisdictions, with a view to make progress at regular intervals and work towards possible asset returns or other types of steps taken to advance cases at the COSP in December 2023. The GFAR Action Series will also have a civil society component at COSP; inviting organizations from the focus countries, engaging with them on the StAR Day side events and providing a briefing to the UNCAC Coalition Working Group on Asset Recovery.