Uzbekistan: Anti-Corruption Workshop Launches UN Convention

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000511

SIPDIS SIPDIS
INL FOR ANDREW BUHLER
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ROB STAPLETON
ANKARA FOR DEA CHRIS MELINK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID EFIN KCOR SOCI PHUM LG UZ
SUBJECT: Uzbekistan: Anti-Corruption Workshop Launches UN Convention
Implementation Efforts

REF: TASHKENT 257

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Summary: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC),with funding support from the Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL),conducted a workshop
on March 31 - April 1 on implementation of the UN Convention
Against Corruption. International experts, including from the U.S.
Department of Justice, presented how key concepts of the convention
are implemented elsewhere to an audience of Uzbek government
officials. Deputy Prosecutor General Alisher Sharafutdinov
highlighted Uzbekistan's 2008 decision to adopt the convention and
made frank statements about the negative impact of corruption in
Uzbekistan, the first time we have heard a high-ranking official
even acknowledge the existence of corruption. The Ambassador also
took the opportunity to point out the likely role of corruption in
the country's currency conversion and liquidity woes. Recent press
reports suggest that Uzbekistan is cracking down on egregious
examples of corruption committed by its officials and taking its
new international obligations seriously. End summary.

New Anti-Corruption Project Underway
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2. (U) On March 31-April 1 the UNODC Regional Office in Central
Asia launched a new anti-corruption project with a high-profile
workshop event involving Uzbek officials and numerous international
experts. Approximately USD 300,000 (50 percent of the budget) is
being provided by INL rule of law assistance funds, for which UNODC
regional head James Callahan thanked the U.S. Embassy in his
opening remarks. The project is designed to promote effective
implementation of the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, which
Uzbekistan adopted in July 2008. A visiting trial attorney from
the U.S. Department of Justice was among the guest speakers, and
his presentation about asset forfeiture was well received.

Strong Statement by Deputy Prosecutor General
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3. (U) Representatives of 12 key Uzbek government agencies were
represented in the audience, led by Deputy Prosecutor General
Alisher Sharafutdinov, who is known for his unusual candor but had
kept a low public profile since his promotion from Deputy Minister
of Internal Affairs last year. In his opening remarks,
Sharafutdinov acknowledged that "corruption is impeding the normal
functioning and efficiency of our national economy" and added that
it "disrupts the image" and "is a threat to the security of
Uzbekistan." Therefore, he continued, "ratification of the U.N.
Convention will help establish a legal base against corruption and
lead to improved legislation to counter this evil."
Sharafutdinov's strong public statements were important for the
Uzbek contingent to hear as they opened their notebooks to glean
experiences from other countries. The Ambassador echoed this in
his own opening remarks but also drew a link between corruption and
Uzbekistan's currency conversion delays and currency shortage,
which is a major concern of the American Chamber of Commerce.

National Action Plan Coming Soon
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4. (U) Sharafutdinov stated that all government ministries are
represented on an anti-corruption working group, which convened for
the first time on September 16, 2008 under the chairmanship of the
Office of the General Prosecutor. The main short-term goal of the
working group is to "devise a strategy for institutions in
implementing the fight against corruption," which will be guided by
a national action plan. As part of this process, Sharafutdinov
noted that the working group is interested in the experiences of
other countries, which is why this UNODC event was important.
"This will save us from reinventing the wheel," he added.
Francesco Checchi, a Bratislava-based official from the UNDP,
cautioned the Uzbeks that anti-corruption agencies tend to be
plagued by limited resources and few trained staff. Olga Zudova, a
former prosecutor and now a Senior Legal Adviser at the Tashkent
UNODC office, also warned that those who have profited from
corruption have the resources to hire excellent defense teams and
are often in a position to apply pressure to well-intentioned

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prosecutors.

Experience of Latvia Strikes a Chord
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5. (U) Anti-corruption officials and experts from Latvia, Slovenia,
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, the USA, and international organizations
delivered presentations about best practices and lessons learned.
Diana Kurpniece, Head of Public Relations at the Latvian Bureau on
Preventing and Combating Corruption struck a chord with the Uzbek
officials since Latvia was in a similar position as Uzbekistan
following the break-up of the USSR. "If you take a rotten apple
out of a bunch without changing the system, Kurpniece reported,
"then other apples will also go rotten." She cited the widening
gulf between the two former Soviet republics on Transparency
International's Corruption Perception Index, which in 2000 rated
Latvia 3.4 and Uzbekistan 2.4. Yet by 2008 Latvia had climbed to a
5.0 -- admittedly still far from a perfect assessment -- whereas
Uzbekistan sank further to a dismal 1.8. One Kyrgyz audience
member took good-natured exception to the two countries'
similarities, noting that Baltic people are more inherently rule
abiding than Central Asians "such that when the light turns red in
Riga people stop regardless of whether no one is looking. In
Central Asia we would not stop, and this mindset makes it far
easier for you to pass a law and expect most people to obey it."


6. (U) Kurpniece's advice for Uzbekistan included publishing
incomes, which she said is an effective way to promote
transparency. Kurpniece also described how Latvia's
anti-corruption entity was given a wide mandate and independence
while still being accountable to the Cabinet of Ministers. She
also highlighted the importance of a total prohibition on gifts --
even small trinkets -- as well as strict rules about moonlighting
to prevent anti-corruption officials from having vested interests
in entities that could be under their investigative purview. She
noted that the Kyrgyz anti-corruption agency had visited Latvia on
a study tour and suggested that Uzbekistan consider doing the same.

OECD Invites Uzbekistan to Join Anti-Corruption Network
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7. (SBU) Olga Savran, an anti-corruption official from the
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),told
poloff about a renewed effort to invite Uzbekistan to join the
Istanbul Plan, which provides Russian-speaking countries with
opportunities for peer review on anti-corruption measures. She
noted that Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan are all members
but that Uzbekistan has always resisted (Turkmenistan declined
based on its neutrality policy). OECD sent a letter to Foreign
Minister Norov prior to this event explaining the initiative and
encouraging Uzbekistan to join, but in typical Uzbek fashion there
was no response. Savran asked the U.S. Embassy to raise this with
our Uzbek Government interlocutors and hopefully bring them to the
table. (Note: We will indeed raise this when the time is right.
End note.)

Kyrgyz Case
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8. (U) A representative from the Kyrgyzstan Anti-corruption
Commission described his country's efforts, noting that there was a
new initiative that began in 2005 "after the revolution." Like
Uzbekistan, a national action plan was adopted to guide
implementation efforts. "We've proven there is political will" to
fight corruption, he said, but added that they want to focus more
on prevention activities than punishment. He said Kyrgyzstan
learned that "some corruption goes away with higher salaries."
Nonetheless, he expressed disappointment with the most recent
rating by Transparency International but said the President is
ready to meet with the organization to discuss it.

Notable Convictions in Uzbekistan
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9. (U) There have been encouraging indications in the
state-controlled press that Uzbekistan is taking its international
anti-corruption obligations seriously and not tolerating official
corruption. We recently reported that the Governor of Samarkand

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Province was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for corruption
(reftel). In addition, on March 23 a story was published by
Interfax News Agency reporting that a corrupt group of policemen
which extorted money from citizens through fabricated cases was
brought to justice. One accomplice had been sentenced to more than
10 years in prison in 2007, according to the article, and
authorities just arrested Abdurauf Boynazarov, a former police
investigator in Tashkent Province, who had been in hiding for
several years. On April 13 there was article from the reputable
website newsuz reporting that a former prosecutor, Fakhriddin
Nuriddinov, who led a criminal group that took USD 1,000,000 from
52 victims in Khorezm and Karakalpakstan Provinces, was convicted
and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Three accomplices received 11
year sentences and a fourth will be punished with seven years in
prison.

Comment:
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10. (SBU) We are optimistic that this new INL-supported UNODC
anti-corruption initiative will help flesh out the anti-corruption
framework and ultimately lead into greater awareness of the problem
and concrete measures to combat it. As Sharafutdinov summarized,
Uzbekistan "is no longer dancing in just one spot, but it is just
at the beginning of a long road." Corruption will not disappear
overnight, but a serious effort to implement the U.N. Convention
Against Corruption is a step in the right direction. The U.S.
financial support for the project also provides us with another
avenue for engagement on rule of law issues.
BUTCHER