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GOPAC MPs Renew Push for Stronger Partnerships
Denmark, Copenhagen (24 October 2018) – GOPAC is working to encourage Open Government and Open Parliaments and the need to be more inclusive and transparent, GOPAC Chair Dr. Fadli Zon told the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC).
“Collaborative engagement recognising that Parliamentarians must partner with Government and members of civil society is needed to combat corruption,” said Dr. Zon.
Speaking in the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) session Parliamentarians Acting Now in Partnerships, Dr. Zon was joined by panelists Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed (APNAC Kenya), Margaret Quirk MLA (GOPAC Australia), Taefu Lemi Taefu (GOPAC Samoa), Danish MP Michael Aastrup Jensen and Vanuatu National Youth Council media officer Deffnie Thompson. The session was moderated by GOPAC secretary John Hyde and UNDP’s Regional Anti-Corruption Specialist (Pacific), Mihaela Stojkoska.
“Corruption is a threat to democracy, it violates social justice, and destroys trust in state institutions,” said Dr. Zon.
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Moderators and panelists (right-to-left): John Hyde (GOPAC Secretary), Shakeel Shabbir (APNAC Kenya), Dr. Fadli Zon (GOPAC Chair), Margaret Quirk MLA (GOPAC Australia), Michael Aastrup Jensen (Danish Parliament), Deffnie Thompson (Vanuatu National Youth Council), Hon. Taefu Lemi (GOPAC Samoa), and Mihaela Stojkoska (UNDP) during GOPAC Session "Parliamentarians Acting Now in Partnership"
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“Parliamentarians, youth and civil society need to work more in effective partnerships to benefit integrity in the Pacific,” GOPAC Samoa MP Taefu Lemi told the workshop.
“The fight against corruption is a fight by all of us, for all of us, and can only succeed when we work together,” said Hon. Taefu.
Danish MP Michael Aastrup Jensen said Denmark’s parliamentarians recognised that transparency was the key, with citizen access to every speech, voting record, positions and gifts received.
GOPAC Australia chair, Margaret Quirk MLA noted that there was strong community and expert support for a national anti-corruption agency building, along with commitments to the Open Government Partnership and recognising the important role that civil society plays in that process.
Vanuatu youth representative Deffnie Thompson said strong Right to Information legislation was promoting transparency. “Young people are mobilising their local youth council and networks to promote the demand for accountability from Parliamentarians,” said Ms Thompson.
“Our role as a young citizen doesn’t start and end on election day – we need to be communicating with decision-makers through the year on legislation, policies and better procurement and services,” said Ms Thompson.
GOPAC Kenya chair Hon Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed detailed how Kenya put in place a legal framework that supports whistle blower protection.
The GOPAC session at IACC was supported by the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) programme. The UN-PRAC Project Phase II is a four-year initiative jointly implemented by UNDP and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with funding from the Australian Government. UN-PRAC aims to support Pacific Island countries to strengthen their national integrity systems to promote ‘clean’ governments and create an enabling environment for trade, business, investment and sustainable development to increase in the region.
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