The Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in transition is an international effort launched by the G-8 at the Leaders Meeting in Deauville, France in 2011 to support countries in the Arab world engaged in transitions toward “free, democratic and tolerant societies.” The Partnership includes Canada, Egypt, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

At Camp David in May 2012, the G8 Leaders endorsed the Action Plan on Asset Recovery within the overall framework of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in transition. This Action Plan was approved by the Governance Pillar of the Deauville Partnership in April 2012.

In the plan, G8 countries commit to a comprehensive list of actions aimed to promote cooperation and case assistance, capacity building efforts and technical assistance in support of the efforts of Arab countries in transition in recovering assets diverted by past regimes. For their part, transition countries commit to pursue legal and institutional reforms and enhance domestic coordination to facilitate cooperation with the G8 on asset recovery.

Among others, all countries also agree …”to assist [and participate] in the launch of an Arab Forum on Asset Recovery, which will serve in part as a coordinating mechanism on this issue, through periodic meetings and other activities, and with the support and involvement of the regional partners”. The Regional countries invited to attend the forum will be Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Other countries invited will include Belgium, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Malta, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Yemen and the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey.

Adding to this momentum was a recent resolution of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (November 2011) calling for increased international cooperation in asset recovery and outlining the challenges faced by countries, in particular in the MENA region.

The Arab Forum on Asset Recovery will bring together the G8 as well as the Regional and Deauville Partner countries for a multi-faceted effort that raises awareness of effective measures for asset recovery, provides a forum for regional training and discussion of best practices on cases, and identifies country-specific capacity building needs.

Objectives:
The primary objective of the Forum is to start a process of collaboration on the issue of asset recovery in the region, through periodic meetings and other activities. This partnership would also provide a repository of information, contacts and good practices on asset recovery specific to the countries of the Deauville Partnership.

The objectives of this first meeting of the Forum will be to:

identify and communicate the needs for country-specific capacity building, with clear and easy to monitor commitments.

provide regional training to practitioners engaged in tracing, freezing, and recovering the proceeds of corruption.

encourage G8, Partner and Regional countries to introduce policy changes and legislative/institutional changes needed to facilitate effective asset recovery;

provide a platform for potential bilateral and multilateral side-meetings between the countries seeking asset recovery and the various G8, Partner and Regional countries;

Underpinning and informing these objectives are both (a) the progress and challenges encountered by both requesting and requested countries in pursuing the recovery of assets and (b) the progress made in the implementation of the Deauville Partnership Action Plan on Asset Recovery. Countries may further decide to utilize the platform provided by the Forum to engage in side meetings to discuss individual cases on the margins of the Forum. The Forum will provide the respective facilities and, if requested, help in facilitating such meetings.

Delegations deciding to conduct such meetings, may consider sharing the lessons coming out of such meetings, including good practices, with a view to informing the policy discussions taking place in the Forum – as well as assisting in the identification of technical assistance needs.

The StAR Initiative – a joint program of The World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – is identified as a key partner in the Asset Recovery Action Plan and provides support to the meeting and the Arab Forum initiative.

StAR has been actively engaged with assisting Arab countries in transition, including Egypt and Tunisia, in seeking the return of assets from several foreign jurisdictions, including G8 members.

StAR has assisted these countries with developing strategies, improving interagency coordination, and engaging in international cooperation. StAR is in dialogue with other countries in the Region regarding similar assistance.