 Broad-based international anti-corruption conventions (such as that of the UNCAC, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption ) are particularly useful for parliamentarians. They provide for comparison of country legislation, institutions and practices with international benchmarks. If broadly ratified and supported by the sponsoring organizations, such conventions provide momentum for reform and monitoring performance. While the current conventions do not focus specifically on the functions of parliamentarians, they provide a basis for them to identify complementary steps to improve the performance of their roles in governance.
While GOPAC and its regional chapters have supported several international anti-corruption conventions, GOPAC globally focuses on the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). It supported the UNCAC at the signing ceremony in Merida, Mexico, invited the UNODC to brief parliamentarians at several regional GOPAC Chapter events, created a Global Task Force to look into effective implementation, and helped host at Parliamentary Forum at the first Conference of State Parties on the UNCAC held in Jordan in December 2006.
The UNCAC represents an international consensus about what states should do in the areas of corruption prevention, criminalization, combating money laundering, asset recovery and international cooperation on investigation and prosecution.
GOPAC Global Task Force
A resolution of the GOPAC Global Conference in Arusha, Tanzania in September, 2006 outlined the commitment to form a task force to promote the effective implementation of the UNCAC and also identify complementary improvements in the governance roles of parliamentarians. The Jordan Parliamentary Forum took the further step of identifying specific actions parliamentarians can take. A number of these actions were steps best handled by the other GOPAC global task forces, particularly the task forces mandated to improve the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight and that to improve the conduct of parliamentarians in carrying out their representation, legislation and oversight roles.
 Dr Naser Al Sane, a Kuwaiti MP and GOPAC Vice Chair leads this global task force. It also will include César Jauregui, former Senator ( Mexico - the lead of the Parliamentary Oversight Task Force) and Ghassan Moukheiber (MP, Lebanon and the lead of the Parliamentary Code of Conduct Task Force). This core group is develop an initial work plan that is consistent with the Arusha resolution and Jordan Declaration and Plan, in consultation with the UNODC (UN Office of Drugs and Crime and UNDP.
Useful Links:
Council of Europe Anti-Corruption Legal Instruments:
Recommendations and Resolutions from the Committee of Ministers
http://www.coe.int/t/dg1/greco/documents/instruments_en.asp
- Resolution (97) 24 on the twenty Guiding Principles for the fight against Corruption
- Recommendation No. R (2000) 10 of the Committee of Ministers to Member states on codes of conduct for public officials (including a model code)
- Recommendation No. R (2003) 4 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on common rules against corruption in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns.
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