The sixth Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption is now just under a week away and we are looking forward to welcoming our members, observers, and partners 6-8 October in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Conference speakers and moderators

have recently been announced online in the schedule. You can review their biographies online as well. Registration for the conference remains open at this time and we strongly encourage all interested participants to promptly register today.

Around the world our GOPAC members are fighting tirelessly towards a corruption-free world. But among these many dedicated fighters are individuals or groups that exemplify to the highest degree what it means to be a GOPAC member. They carry GOPAC’s core values of INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, COLLABORATION, and DIVERSITY into every aspect of their lives. Their commitment to the fight against corruption is demonstrated through past or current initiatives.

We can and should all learn from these members. Sharing their stories is integral to strengthening our global fight against corruption.

Please send your nominations for the annual GOPAC International Anti-Corruption Award today!

Call for nominations closes 31 October 2015 at 11:59 pm EDT.

For more information, visit the GOPAC International Anti-Corruption Award web page.

GOPAC was pleased to once again be invited to participate in the 16^th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), held in Putrajaya, Malaysia 2-4 September. As part of the conference, GOPAC hosted a panel of experts titled Behind Bars: bringing perpetrators of corruption to justice. GOPAC’s Chief Executive Officer Akaash Maharaj was joined on the panel by José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International, and Patrick Alley, Director and Co-Founder of Global Witness. John Hyde, Chair of GOPAC Oceania moderated the event.

The session brought together leading figures from governments, diplomatic corps, and citizen organisations from

around the world and helped create significant momentum in GOPAC’s efforts to prosecute perpetrators of grand corruption. In particular, it provided a venue for us to strengthen collaborations with distinguished international organizations which will help move our flagship project to its next stage.

You can view the complete 16^th IACC panel session here available for viewing on YouTube

On 15 September, GOPAC’s Chief Executive Officer Akaash Maharaj participated in a panel session titled No Impunity in Grand Corruption at the third annual C20 Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. The C20 Summit gathers hundreds of representatives from civil society organisations from around the world seeking to engage G20 leaders on some of the most important issues of the present day. Mr Maharaj participated alongside fellow speaker Casey Kelso, Director of Advocacy at Transparency International (TI) and moderator E. Oya Özarslan, Chair of TI Turkey.

The session informed members of civil society on the devastating impact of crimes of grand corruption, specific examples of the most damaging cases of impunity, and the legal instruments and tools that need to be developed to

bring kleptocrats to justice. Mr Maharaj reaffirmed GOPAC’s commitment to establish grand corruption as a crime of international law and explained that fighting such a scourge is one of if not the most important priority the international community must tackle at full speed. “People from all walks of life have had enough of kleptocracy. If there were ever a time to succeed in this fight, it is now,” said Mr Maharaj.

We invite you to watch the full panel on YouTube and read the C20 communiqué endorsed by the participants of this year’s C20 Summit, which includes a recommendation brought forth by GOPAC to “establish specialised independent anti-corruption mechanisms to investigate and prosecute high level corruption”.

On 14 September, GOPAC Oceania Chair John Hyde participated as a panelist at a conference organised by the Open Government Partnership’s Legislative Openness Working Group and held at the Parliament of Georgia in Tbilisi, Georgia. Mr Hyde presented at the session titled Building International Standards on Parliamentary Ethics alongside speakers from the United Nations Development Programme, the National Democratic Institute, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Mr Hyde remarked on the necessity for parliamentarians in every country to keep pursuing the implementation and enhancement of parliamentary ethics and conduct (PEC) mechanisms to earn and build the trust of their constituents.

He spoke about efforts brought forward by GOPAC members to strengthen their national legislatures’ PEC regimes, Vanuatu’s success in charging MPs for unethical conduct following the passing of PEC legislation, and the importance of civil society engagement in aiding parliamentarians in the development of PEC mechanisms.

“If the community can see parliamentarians operating within the highest code of ethical conduct, people are more willing to participate in and support community and economic development as part of nation building,” said Mr Hyde.

Mr Hyde’s session is available for viewing on YouTube.
 

On 5 September, GOPAC Chair Ricardo García Cervantes moderated a session at the first Global Conference on Money and Politics, co-hosted by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary of Mexico and held in Mexico City, Mexico. The international conference sought to address challenges of today’s political systems, most notably the role of money in politics, and discuss and share best 

practices for political financing. In addition to five high-level debates, the conference included twelve working sessions focusing on four themes: protecting democratic politics from money-based influence; a fair and leveled playing field for political competition; financial accountability of political actors to citizens; and effective enforcement of political finance regulations.