Corruption is threatening the economic development of nations in the Pacific. To prevent it, requires community awareness, integrity-building, action and inter-agency collaboration, said participants at a regional dialogue held in Vanuatu last week.
Four delegates from Tonga joined the dialogue that brought together actors from parliament, anti-corruption bodies, and supreme audit institutions.
Representatives from across the Pacific are working to strengthen their role in the fight against corruption, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).
Tonga was represented by Dr 'Uhilamoelangi Fasi, Chair of the Tonga Parliament Standing Committee on Anti-Corruption, and GOPAC Tonga; ‘Alisi Numia Taumoepeau, KC, the Ombudsman; Roman L. Vaihu, Director of Investigation; and Sefita Tangi, the Auditor General.
“Corruption is a complex phenomenon, cross cutting different sectors of society and posing a serious threat to countries’ economic development,” said Marie Pegie Cauchois, UNODC Pacific Officer in Charge and Regional Anti-Corruption Adviser.
The importance of interagency collaboration, as well as of national and regional alliances formed by relevant authorities along with parliamentary anti-corruption committees, was highlighted during the three-day dialogue. Participants received technical assistance from UNODC and the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), who co-organized the event.
Triangle of Integrity
In the Pacific, parliamentarians, supreme audit institutions and anti-corruption bodies have formed the Triangle of Integrity, a partnership built to boost oversight of corruption capture and prevention in the region.
Hon. 'Uhilamoelangi Fasi, welcomed genuine consultations between parliamentarians, auditors-general, ombudsmen and integrity agencies, and urged respect for the rule of law.
“GOPAC recognizes the potential for perceptions of conflict of interest as the different Pacific national frameworks give different oversight and implementation roles to the Triangle of Integrity partners. Genuine discussion and respect for the rule of law helps parliaments, governments and agencies work with their independent integrity agencies,” he said.
The dialogue focused on how each partner’s individual strengths could be combined to achieve a larger national and regional impact against corruption, in line with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), of which UNODC is a custodian, and in line with GOPAC’s role in assisting parliamentarians in working together to combat corruption, strengthen good governance, and uphold the rule of law.
The Teieniwa Vision is a regional roadmap developed in 2020 to unite Pacific Island nations against corruption. It stresses that integrity-building must be embraced as a whole-of-society issue, while respecting the separate mandates of each anti-corruption body.
The role of education, civil society, and the media was also recognized as critical in combating corruption. “Professional education campaigns can bring a cultural shift so as the community understands what corruption is and that habitual serious offenders will be dealt with,” said Margaret Quirk, Chair of GOPAC Australia. “We need to ensure the public have enough trust to know that, if they report corrupt conduct to an integrity agency, it will be taken seriously and acted upon.”
