GOPAC Executive Committee Meets in Mexico City
Mexico City, Mexico – June 16-17, 2009 – Members of GOPAC’s (Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption) Executive Committee came to Mexico City, Mexico (June 16-17th, 2009) to conduct its annual meeting.
The meeting was hosted by Diputado César Camacho, Member of the Mexican Camara de Diputados, Chair of GOPAC’s Latin American Chapter and Vice Chair of GOPAC. The event was opened by Diputado César Duarte Jaquez, President of the Mexican Congress.
The GOPAC Executive Committee discussed a number of important programming and administrative items which will be guiding the work of the organization in the coming years. Included was a detailed discussion on the work of GOPAC’s Global Task Forces, composed of parliamentarians and partners from international agencies, to address specific issues in preventing corruption through good governance, as follows:
- UN Convention Against Corruption
- Parliamentary Codes of Conduct and Parliamentary Ethics
- Anti Money Laundering and Recovery of Assets
- Participation of Society
- Parliamentary Oversight
GOPAC Chair, Dr. Naser J. Al Sane, thanked the Mexican parliament for their generosity and kindness in hosting the Executive Committee. Dr. Al Sane further applauded the Mexican government on their commitment to fighting corruption – from the UNCAC launch in Merida, Mexico in 2003 through to UNCAC ratification and implementation.
For more information, please contact Meaghan Campbell at Campbell.meaghan@gopacnetwork.org
Good News in Mexican Politics
(Cosas buenas de la política mexicana. Article published in the newspaper El Economista)
Mexico City, Thursday 18 June 2009.
Passed over for scandals, relegated to the inside pages of newspapers and trailing behind the main news on radio and television, it turns out that good news stop being news. Outstanding events go unnoticed. This is the case of the Executive Session of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption. (GOPAC) held this week in our country.
If, as many sense and the majority assert, even though few can prove it, the root of many of the problems that we face can be traced back to corruption and impunity. Anything and everything that can be done to overcome both social scourges is good and merits the attention of citizens because these are the types of things that will allow us to get rid of a large measure of the ills that besiege us.
The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is an international network dedicated to gathering legislators from all over the world to combat corruption and to promote transparency and accountability so as to ensure meeting high standards of integrity in public administration. It is the only parliamentarian network devoted exclusively to combating corruption and has more than 900 members representing almost one hundred countries. GOPAC, through its 13 regional chapters, provides information services and sets up alliances between countries to promote analysis and to help effect legislative changes and innovations in areas such as access to public information, the fight against money laundering, international conventions against corruption and codes of conduct for parliamentarians. In turn, the group Parlamentarios Latinoamericanos Contra la Corrupción – PLACC (Latin American Parliamentarians against Corruption) is the GOPAC chapter in the region with Mexico at the presidency.
During the session, the legislators who represented our country gave an account of two important constitutional reforms passed in recent months: that of the criminal justice system and that of Article VI of the Magna Carta in terms of transparency, accountability and protection of personal information. Inspired by the most advanced visions of contemporary law: guarantism, both reforms are based on the bonafide need for Mexicans to have their civil rights guaranteed.
Without being complacent or without crying victory, we do recognize that even though these reforms are an important step forward, legislators committed to these causes are clearly aware that there are still things to be done; that we need to implement recent provisions in the Constitution besides moving forward on a range of subjects such as the professionalization of legislators so that in the future the Legislative Power is in an even better position to carry out its inherent political function: balance between the powers of the Union and vigilance for the proper functioning of public institutions.
As politicians engaged in these types of civic concerns, currently from the legislative platform and in our corresponding future endeavors, we will continue fighting for these types of social causes and noble, edifying and positive policies.
ccq@cesarcamacho.org
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