As part of the Club de Madrid’s mission to fight corruption, CdM is joining forces with Integrity Initiatives International (III), an organization dedicated to strengthening the enforcement of criminal laws to punish and deter leaders who are corrupt and regularly violate human rights, which is catalyzing and coordinating a campaign to establish an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC). As a result of the III’s advocacy work, Canada, Ecuador, Moldova, the Netherlands and Nigeria have publicly committed to work towards the establishment of the Court. Other countries are actively considering joining the efforts to establish the Court.
The existing international legal framework – in particular, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which is the most comprehensive, legally binding and universal instrument on corruption – remains essential to reinforce efforts to prevent and fight corruption, strengthen international cooperation and reaffirm global commitments to end impunity for corruption offenses.
Unfortunately, even such a strong international legal framework has not been able to adequately tackle corruption. The vicious cycle of corruption and kleptocracy and the lack of national capacity to address misconduct prevent societies from succeeding in their fight against this scourge. It is therefore crucial to examine this deficiency with a critical eye and consider where gaps exist and why.
Club de Madrid organized a meeting on June 26, 2023 at the Canadian Embassy in Spain where experts on the subject discussed the future and needs of this initiative.
Participants
- Danilo Türk, President of Slovenia (2007-2012) and President of Club de Madrid
- Maria Elena Agüero, Secretaria General del Club de Madrid
- Maja Groff, Co-Chair of the International Coordinating Committee for the IACC campaign
- Joaquin Gadea, Magistrate, National High Court of Spain
- Jorge Andujar, Senior Anticorruption prosecutor, Special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Crime
- Francesc Pont Casellas Advisory Member – G20 Coordination General Secretariat for Economic Affairs and G20 Cabinet of the Prime Minister’s Office
- Wendy Drukier, Ambassador of Canada to Spain
- Véronique Choquete, Senior Officer for Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, Embassy of Canada to Spain
- Eugeniu Revenco, Ambassor of Moldava to Spain
- Roel Nieuwenkamp, Ambassor of the Netherlands to Spain
- Violette Wolters, Second Secretary of Political Affairs, Embassy of the Netherlands to Spain
- Javier Cremades, lawyer and President of the World Jurist Association
- Agustina Briano, Outreach and development Coordinator
- Noemi Becerra, Senior Programme Officer, Club de Madrid
- Nuria López-Mélida, Programme Officer, Club de Madrid