The Teieniwa Vision
Gathering in Tarawa, Kiribati from 4 to 5 February 2020 with the President of Kiribati as the Chair, we, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Vice President of Kiribati, Ministers from the Kingdom of Tonga and the Solomon Islands, Ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, High Commissioners of Australia and New Zealand and the representative of Fiji,
Commit to Pacific Unity Against Corruption, recognising that all of our progress and aspirations for a peaceful, harmonious and prosperous Pacific cannot be realised unless we address corruption;
– As the Blue Pacific, and noting the different contexts in defining corruption, reaffirm global anti-corruption efforts and frameworks as captured in the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), acceded to by all 14 Pacific Island Countries, noting Tonga’s announcement of accession at this Conference, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16;
-Recall our collective aspirations captured in the Framework for Pacific Regionalism, the Blue Pacific narrative and the Boe Declaration on Regional Security;
-Encourage all Pacific States to unite against corruption, recognising that implementation should be substantiated through well-resourced national efforts that emphasise transparency and accountability, the rule of law and reinforce good governance; and
-Recognise the importance of political will and leadership at all levels in addressing corruption.
We call on all Pacific Leaders to champion integrity and advocate and implement anti-corruption practices in their Parliaments, public services, private sectors and entire communities through commitment to criminalisation of corruption and prompt, impartial investigation and prosecution;
-We commend Pacific countries that have advanced their anti-corruption agenda through global and national commitments;
-We acknowledge that corruption disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, specially women, persons with disabilities, youth and the elderly;
-We encourage integrity-building to be embraced as a whole-of-society issue, with a strong focus on corruption prevention, strengthening public awareness, integrity learning through education and enhanced transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors, and in civil society;
-We commit to governing in an accountable manner wherein all Leaders, persons with authority, Cabinets, Parliamentarians and public servants adhere to their Leadership Codes and/or codes of conduct;
-We commit to developing and maintaining independent integrity bodies or appropriate coordination mechanisms that prevent and fight corruption;
-We recognise and support the right to information, the need to protect genuine whistle-blowers and for an independent civil society and responsible media to be involved in national and regional anti-corruption efforts;
-We reaffirm our commitment to combat money-laundering and its facilitators and the enabling environment in our region;
-We commit to further strengthen good practices in public finance management and to conduct corruption risk assessments in vulnerable sectors;
-We will partner with non-State actors through a Pacific network of anti-corruption champions to elevate and strengthen our shared vision of Pacific Unity Against Corruption;
-We urge States to draw on regional mechanisms to further this Teieniwa Vision, including greater collaboration through regional architecture and development partners;
-We resolve to develop and review our National Anti-Corruption Strategies and policies and implementation arrangements, including within our national plans, through a participatory process which includes our civil society, youth, private sector, Parliamentarians, media and other stakeholders;
-We resolve to document anti-corruption impact by developing and maintaining anti-corruption measurement tools and data within our SDG and national plan reporting and address implementation gaps in relation to SDG16 on peace, justice and strong institutions;
-We will endeavour to unite our voice as a Blue Pacific to ensure that regional anti-corruption priorities are being presented, where possible, as a collective;
-We commit to promoting the Blue Pacific as a recognised, distinct region within the international framework, including the Conference of States Parties to UNCAC, to support the drive for a unified regional anti-corruption voice; and
-We support a strong Pacific engagement with the UN General Assembly Special Session on Corruption and its implementation.
(Teieniwaa is the Kiribati word for sail (ie) and canoe (waa), reflected in both the shape of the reclaimed land where the Kiribati Parliament venue for the Pacific Unity Against Corruption Conference is built and the symbol in the Conference logo for this Conference. A sailing canoe is a common form of transport in the Pacific. It was adopted as the Conference logo to symbolize a sailing canoe in the vast Pacific Ocean that separates and makes our individual countries isolated, as the only traditional means to unite the Blue Pacific in the fight against corruption. It also symbolises that a long journey of a sailing canoe in open waters will encounter both tranquility and stormy weather at times, and that is what is expected to happen in the fight against corruption; it is not easy nor short-term, but it is a journey that requires collaborative efforts of all sectors of society.) .
SOURCE: ISLANDS BUSINESS/PACNEWS
