Profiles: Afghanistan
Last Updated: June 2012
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SNAPSHOT
In 2010, The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) invited the international community to form a new independent mechanism for monitoring and evaluating anti-corruption efforts in Afghanistan - the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) to offer its policy advice and monitor and evaluate progress against specific benchmarks defined by the MEC. MEC has been established by both the GIRoA and the international community for a period of at least two years, pursuant to commitments made by GIRoA at the London and Kabul Conferences (January and July 2010) and through Executive Decrees (Farmans) by President Karzai dated 18 March and 28 December 2010. The MEC consists of six committee members – three are prominent international experts and three are Afghan professionals and scholars. The MEC’s mission is to i) research and study areas prone to corruption and identify areas for improvement. ii) through consultation with different sectors identify the priorities and make practical recommendations for the institutions to implement. The Committee is responsible for identifying effective development criteria for institutions, and, with necessary monitoring and evaluation of activities conducted against corruption at the national level, and surrounding the aid from donor countries and international organizations, shall report to the President, Parliament, people and international community.
Does your government have a single or primary anticorruption strategy?
Yes, the primary anti-corruption strategy is the National Anti-corruption Strategy (aka Azimi report) drafted in 2008. There is also an anti-corruption cross-cutting strategy within the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) also published in 2008.
What are the main anticorruption laws of your country?
The Anti-Corruption Law, Annex 4 to the Penal Code, The Criminal Procedure Code, The Law on the and Campaign Against Major Crimes.
Is there one agency in charge of coordinating AC efforts across agencies?
De jure the High Office of Oversight is mandated to play this coordinating role but de facto each agency in the Government pursues its own role.
| Functions | Policy |
|---|---|
| Permanent Staff | 24 |
| Number of prosecutors(if applicable) | N/A |
| Number of investigators (if Applicable) | N/A |
Number of cases handled annually
N/A
| Budget Autonomy | Yes |
|---|---|
| Annual Budget of the Agency | US $ 2.1 Million |
| Per Capital Expenditure | $(US) 0.04 |
| Expeniture as % of the GDP | 0.004 % |
| Are employees protected by law from recrimination or other negative consequences when reporting corruption (i.e. whistle-blowing)? | Yes |
| Does your country have freedom of information legislation? | No |
| Does your country have conflict of interest legislation? | No |
| Does your country have a financial disclosure system to help prevent conflicts of interest? | Yes |
| Who appoints the head of your agency? | The Committee Members appoint the Chair and the Members themselves are nominated by the international community and approved by the President. The Secretariat Executive Director is appointed by the Committee. |
| Who has the authority to remove the head of the ACA? | The President. |
| Is there any term limit for the head of the ACA? | Yes , The terms of reference of the MEC stipulate that Committee members are appointed for 2 years and the Chairmanship of the Committee is for 6 months passing between antional and international Committee members. |
| Does your agency measure performance? | Yes Other, please specify The MEC develops its own Benchmarks. |
| Full access to Government | Yes |