IRI Marks International Anti-Corruption Day, Hosts “Controlling Corruption in Mongolia” Discussion with Dr. Larry Diamond

Washington DC – In recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day, IRI and the National Endowment for Democracy, cohosted a discussion on combating corruption in Mongolia featuring Dr. Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of the Center on Democracy and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.

The discussion, “Controlling Corruption in Mongolia: Perspectives from the Transparent Ulaanbaatar Forum,” also included remarks from H.E. Bulgaa Altangerel, Mongolia’s ambassador to the United States, and Thomas E. Garrett, IRI’s vice president for programs.

During the discussion, IRI also released its Vulnerabilities to Corruption Assessment Report, which details technical findings from a corruption assessment in Ulaanbaatar in June 2014.  The report identifies strengths of current anti-corruption efforts in Ulaanbaatar, vulnerabilities to corruption and recommendations for mitigating the risks identified by IRI.

Mongolia has struggled for years with the serious problem of corruption, often cited as a critical obstacle to the country’s development,” Garrett explained.  “Fighting corruption is a top priority for Ulanbaatar’s mayor and capital city governor, Bat-Uul Erdene, and IRI’s program has been an active supporter of Mongolia’s efforts.”

Tuesday’s discussion followed the success of IRI’s Transparent Ulaanbaatar 2014 Forum, a two-day international conference, that focused on approaches to combating municipal-level corruption in Ulaanbaatar.  The forum, which was hosted by in early October, convened more than 250 participants drawn from government, civil society, business community and academia from 16 nations.

Diamond, one of the world’s leading anti-corruption experts, noted that the Transparent Ulaanbaatar forum was an example of “the kind of international cooperation needed to advance good governance reforms in Mongolia and assist Mongolian intiatives to address the serious challenge of corruption.”

IRI has worked in Mongolia since 1992, immediately following the country’s peaceful transition to democracy, providing parliamentary development assistance, supporting the development of a multi-party political system and assisting with strengthening electoral processes.  IRI has continued to support Mongolia’s democratic development through programs that include building the skills of the next generation of political leaders and developing the capacity of local officials to govern effectively. 

For more information on the “Controlling Corruption in Mongolia” Event and Transparent Ulaanbaatar 2014 Forum, you can access our event handout here.