Armenia should step up its fight against corruption by ensuring an effective enforcement of laws and giving institutions the resources they need to tackle it, according to a new report by the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan (IAP).

 

Armenia’s leaders have recently taken steps to improve their country’s anti-corruption policies, legislation and institutions. However, citizens and business still consider corruption a major problem and public awareness of the damages it causes is rising.

 

A key challenge to Armenia’s anti-corruption efforts is that political declarations and laws are not properly implemented. The results in investigations and prosecutions of corruption crimes are very limited, says the report. Stronger political leadership would help and the government should give law enforcement agencies access to bank information and other financial data so they can detect and investigate corruption-related offences more effectively.

 

The report also recommends that Armenia:

• Ensure vigorous implementation of anti-corruption strategies through stronger leadership and necessary resources;
• Involve civil society in anti-corruption policies and actions;
• Continue strengthening the investigation and prosecution of corruption, in particular among high-ranking officials; and
• Ensure a transparent and effective public procurement system.

 

This report commends Armenia on progress made in the following areas:

• Adopting a well-elaborated anti-corruption strategy and establishing a mechanism for its coordination;
• Creating in 2008 a specialised body to investigate crimes committed by senior public officials;
• Adopting a new public sector ethics law, which includes measures for preventing corruption among high-ranking officials, protecting whistleblowers and requiring high-ranking officials to declare property and income.

 

The full report and recommendations on Armenia are available in English and Russian.

 

The IAP is an initiative launched in 2003 to support anti-corruption reform efforts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, as part of the OECD Working Group on Bribery outreach work in Eastern Europe and Central Asia under its regional initiative Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

 

For further information, you can contact Ms. Inese Gaika at the OECD’s Anti-Corruption Division at (33) 1 45 24 13 19 or anti-corruption.contact@oecd.org.