The fight against corruption is a security priority in the OSCE pledged Margareta Cederfelt, President of the OSCE PA during the opening remarks of a conference in Nicosia hosted by the House of Representatives.
Addressing the international conference on Combating Corruption, Defending Democracy: The Role of National Parliaments, with the support of the OSCE PA International Secretariat, the first such physical gathering of participants since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she warned that corruption is a very serious crime and parliamentarians need to act and be responsible.
The conference comes at the initiative of OSCE PA Vice-President Irene Charalambides of Cyprus who has served as the Assembly’s Special Representative on Fighting Corruption since 2019.
In her welcoming remarks, Charalambides underlined that “political will is the key tool against corruption”.
There are too many politicians in this room who have the power to make the change, to promote the idea and ensure implementation of adequate legislation, she said.
“We need to constantly reinforce our relations with international stakeholders in the field of combatting corruption and share their knowledge. This conference serves precisely the proposed of sending a strong message of our determination as parliamentarians to be better informed, more ambitious regarding our anti-corruption agenda and more effective in order to meet our citizens’ expectations”.
On her part, the OSCE PA President said “our presence today confirms that fight in corruption is a security priority across the OSCE region as it seriously undermines state development and impacts citizens’ lives,” she said.
On the war in Ukraine, Cederfelt said the OSCE PA is supporting peacebuilding stability but we also have to continue with all the other important issues. “If we forget them we will have a bigger problem when the war ends”, she added.
She congratulated the steadfast commitment of Charalambides who “has taken very important initiative that will put OSCE PA in the forefront when it comes to conquering corruption, to adopt a code of conduct”, expressing the hope that it will soon be ready to be adopted as it is a very important step forward”.
“Corruption is a very serious threat to the rule of law and stability of our societies, it affects all states in the world, undermining fundamental democratic values, institutions and also has an impact on social, economic as well as the political development”, said Cederfelt, as it diverts critical resources from addressing the citizens’ needs and alienates us from our democratic process.
When it comes to ending serious crimes, she added, “we as parliamentarians need to act, to be responsible, that’s why we are elected, that’s the trust our citizens have shown us when we were elected. Our duty to show this respect to our democratic institutions.”
In the fight against corruption the role of parliamentarians is pivotal. This gives us the possibility to act internationally and also make the law to scrutinise the government, see that the laws are implemented and develop the legislation. Now its time to come for a new proposal as there are new threats as corruption has found new ways.
Cederfelt said organisations like the OSCE PA, facilitate the dynamic interaction of parliamentarians. From 57 countries, “we have a fantastic way and opportunity to have impact on an international level and bring experience from others’ success”.
She also called on all parliamentarians to share relevant expertise and consider effective policies in the fight against corruption. “Fighting corruption has to remain a top priority for all OSCE member countries and a question for all parliamentarians and governments. And this is key to defend our democracy and stay true to our values and those who have elected us”, she concluded.
Ambassador Artur Dmochowski, Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office said theparliamentary dimension of the OSCE and the assembly itself is strengthening multilateralism and promoting conflict prevention through dialogue. “And today this task might have more meaning than ever. The OSCE has been designed to prevent another war on the continent and help to protect security and stability of the continent”, he said.
Referring to the war in the Ukraine, Dmochowski said in the face of such an unprecedented breach of the international order like the current Russian unprovoked brutal aggression against Ukraine, “we realise that the scale of violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights is enormous.”
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, he added, Poland, as the chair of the OSCE, has taken a firm stance in defence of the organisation’s values and principles which stand fundamental norms such as sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and freedom to choose alliances. The international community has repeatedly called on Russia to stop the atrocities and allow the humanitarian effort to be stepped up. He said the strength of the OSCE lies in its comprehensive approach to the concept of security.
The Polish OSCE chairmanship, he added, “regards the fight against corruption as a cornerstone of a modern democratic society, it is one of key priorities in the economic and environmental dimension, therefore we decided to include a thematic focus on anti-corruption efforts to increase transparency, good governance in all meetings of the 2022 economic and environmental fall cycle”.
As he noted that corruption is a phenomenon occurring in all regions of the world, Dmochowski said it causes not only social, economic and political implications and can undermine the basic fabric of our societies and by enhancing good governance, state authorities increase their democratic legitimacy, boost the economy, prevent social injustice and ultimately promote greater security.
The fight against corruption at all levels, he added, plays an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights and in the process of creating sustaining, accountable and transparent institutions to achieve the full implementation of human rights.
It is crucial, he added, that all violations and abuses of human rights and democratic institutions in the OSCE area including in particular those stemming from the Russian aggression against Ukraine are discussed and brought to the attention of public opinion.
“I strongly believe that national parliaments as the pillars of democracy can play a crucial role in the field of combatting corruption” he concluded.
Roberto Montella, Secretary General of the OSCE PA said it was good to focus on other issues except Ukraine and underlined the work of Charalambides and her colleagues to press the importance in fighting corruption.
“Corruption is a threat to the very foundation of our societies and involves the very principles of the OSCE which are to protect the democratic institutions, general and transparent elections, the respect of human rights, media freedom, rule of law, minorities,” the OSCE SG said.
He noted that the citizens are the victims of corrupt societies and for this reason, “it is very important that parliamentarians engage and try to change legislation and bring national legislation very stringent to fight corruption. We owe it to our citizens,” he added.
Source: Cyprus News Agency