Following the endorsement of the High Level Panel (HLP) Report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from Africa and the passing of a special declaration by the African Union Heads of States at the 24th African Union Summit, it was important that the next steps to be taken in stemming illicit outflows from the continent were decisive.
The Secretariat of the HLP domiciled at United Nations Economic Commission for Africa had organized an inaugural meeting of the Consortium that was established for collaboration of all stakeholders fighting IFFs in Africa. The Inaugural meeting of the Consortium took place in South Africa from 13 – 14 June 2016 and was chaired by H.E Thabo Mbeki, Former President of South Africa. The meeting was convened by the Secretariat of the High Level Panel on IFFs with a view of initiating a streamlined collaboration of global efforts for tackling IFFs in general, and, in particular, establishing a coherent approach for implementing the recommendations of the High Level Panel Report on IFFs from Africa.
At this meeting several fundamental guidelines for the consortium were established. One of the most important being that the finalization of the Terms of Reference of the Consortium and the anti-IFF Project Document is the necessary next step of the consortium.
It was agreed that there was need for the Consortium members to validate the draft Anti-IFF Project Document presented and to discuss strategies for its implementation. It was on the basis of this recommendation from the inaugural meeting of the Consortium that UNECA organized the Validation Workshop.
The main objective of the workshop was to review and certify the practicality and applicability of the Consortium’s Terms of Reference and the anti-IFF Project proposed by the Secretariat of the HLP on IFF (based in ECA).
The meeting was chaired by Ms. Aida Opoku-Mensah, O-I-C, ECA Capacity Development Unit and Special Advisor SDGs/Agenda 2030. She reiterated the need for the group to move with the HLP recommendations and action. She affirmed that the ECA is fully committed to the fight against IFFs.
Ms Opoku-Mensah presented on the draft project document starting with the project rationale whose main focus was on implementing the recommendations of the HLP. The presentation highlighted the project context, justification, proposed strategy & implementation framework based on findings & recommendations therein. She concluded the presentation by highlighting the thematic or strategic pillars under which the HLP recommendations were clustered under which the project is framed to guide the intervention of all stakeholders across the three sources of IFFs. The 4 pillars are transparency, coherence, fully integrated capacity development and legislative architecture to stem IFFs at national, regional and global levels, and the pillars constitute the blocks of an IFF reduction and eradication “engine” that, working in tandem, are essential to effectively combat IFFs.
Participants agreed that the work to fight IFFs from the continent must be driven by Africans and be in line with findings of the High Level Panel and the work of the Consortium and its programme over the next five years should be driven by African priorities.
The meeting concluded by validating the Anti-IFF project document with an action plan and way forward.
