Qatar fails to host UNCAC 10th session for 2023

CAIRO – 12 November 2017: Member states of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) rejected, during the UNCAC seventh session held in Vienna, Qatar’s request to host the UNCAC tenth session scheduled to be held in 2023.

During the seventh session of the world biggest anti-corruption conference held in Vienna, Austria, from November 6 to 10, which was attended by 1,600 participants, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates as well as many other countries thwarted Qatar’s intensive attempts to host the UNCAC’s tenth session.

The countries affirmed that Qatar is unqualified to host high-level international political events particularly in light of its involvement in funding terrorism.

Most of the member states have agreed that Egypt will host the ninth session of the conference scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2021.

UNCAC was adopted 14 years ago and is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument, according to the press release of the UN International Service.
The guardian of the convention is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and every two years states parties to the convention meet to review implementation of the convention and discuss how states can better tackle corruption.
At the seventh session, the conference focused on key issues regarding the review of the implementation of the convention, asset recovery, international cooperation, prevention and technical assistance.

Qatar’s relations with several Arab states have been strained since May 24 over a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad. The statement criticized Saudi's foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise.”

On 5 June, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed economic sanctions on it, accusing it of funding terrorism – a claim Qatar rejects. They also closed their airspace and seaports to Qatari vessels.