A Pakistan-sponsored resolution on strengthening the role of parliaments in preventing and combating corruption has been adopted unanimously by the Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) of the UN Convention Against Corruption, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from 16-20 December 2019.

Pakistan’s initiative isin line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to eliminate corruption, and his focus on the issue in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2019.

Unanimous adoption of the resolution is a manifestation of the trust reposed by the international community in Pakistan’s leading role in the fight against corruption.

The resolution,inter alia,calls upon States parties to enhance exchanges among parliamentary institutions for promoting good practices to strengthen the role of parliaments in their respective countries in enacting legislation and ensuring effective oversight. In this regard, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been mandated to organize a thematic dialogue in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on strengthening the role of parliaments in combating corruption in all its forms. The UNODC will also develop a compendium of good practices on the role of parliaments in combating corruption.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan Mission in Vienna steered the process of consultations to achieve consensus on the Resolution. A wide range of developing and developed countries from all geographical regions co-sponsored the resolution, includingAzerbaijan,Brazil,Canada,China,Indonesia,Morocco, Nigeria, Peru,thePhilippines, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland.

Pakistan’s initiative has brought focus of the international community on the important role parliaments can play in the campaign against corruption,and would be useful in pushing for concerted action worldwide.

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption is the only universal legal framework at the international level to prevent and combat corruption in all its forms. There are 186 States Parties to the Convention, including Pakistan, which joined the Convention in 2007.