The African Center for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development.
The African Center has three thematic objectives
Improving Governance and Accountability Systems of Government
We work to ensure better governance for all Africans by promoting and implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our Governance approach recognizes that citizens’, particularly women’s, access to quality education, access to justice, and economic empowerment tools are cross-cutting development issues. We aim to change harmful social norms, create economic opportunities, and design technologies that address women’s needs.
The Recovery and Return of Stolen Assets
Under the Asset Recovery theme, the African Center works with national, regional, and international organizations and professional bodies in the private and public sectors to develop clear and comprehensive legal frameworks for recovering the proceeds of all forms of crime and transparently managing the returned assets for the benefit of the victims of these crimes. Our efforts align with chapter V of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption (AUCPCC), and the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR). The Center’s core objectives are to identify the links between the return of proceeds of crime and sustainable development and to work with countries of the global South to advocate for expedited mechanisms to return stolen assets for the benefit of their citizens.
The Implementation of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The Center works with development partners and other civil society organizations to ensure the effective implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN/SDGs) and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063. We focus specifically on UN SDG Goal 16 and AU Agenda Goals 11 and 12. Our aim is to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels”. The African Center’s work in this thematic area is closely linked to the governance and asset recovery thematic areas. The UN Sustainable Development Goals can be found here – https://sdgs.un.org/goals.