Transparency and anticorruption

CIVIL SOCIETY FORMS ANTICORRUPTION COALITION 

Sixty representatives of civil society established the Kosovo Anticorruption Coalition during a workshop on transparency and anticorruption organized in Prizren by ATRC, the United Nations Development Program and the Kosovo Agency for Anticorruption on Dec. 1-2. 
  
The workshop aimed to gather, strengthen and support civil society in Kosovo in fighting corruption, according to organizers.
Participants also discussed a number of topics related to transparency and anticorruption issues, such as the role of civil society in increasing institutional transparency, accountability and capacity to fight corruption; the importance of building coalitions; advocacy as a tool in combating corruption; and the latest findings on people’s perceptions regarding transparency in Kosovo.

“Kosovo needs a strong and effective coalition of different civil society organizations in its fight against corruption. NGOs, united in a coalition, would play a role in the community, pressuring and serving as a ‘watchdog’ over institutional reforms,” Rreze Duli, Director of ATRC, said.
“Due to the lack of good cooperation between civil society organizations in the fight against this phenomenon that is affecting development in Kosovo, UNDP and ATRC organized the workshop which resulted in a new civil society anticorruption coalition,” Evliana Berani, the UNDP representative, said.

The new coalition elected a management council and approved the system of organizing of the Kosovo Anticorruption Coalition.
The seminar was part of UNDP’s “Kosovo Transparency Initiative,” which includes advocacy activities, research and training on anticorruption and transparency issues aiming to fight corruption in Kosovo. .