16th Secretariat Meeting of the ASEAN Parties Against Corruption (ASEAN-PAC) Successfully Concluded via Video Conference
Bangkok, 24 August 2020 – The National Anti-Corruption Commission of Thailand (NACC) hosts the 16th ASEAN Parties Against Corruption (ASEAN-PAC) Secretariat Meeting on 24 August 2020 via Video Conference. Operational-level officers from the ten Southeast Asian anti-corruption agencies gathered online to exchange experience and discuss their progress on anti-corruption efforts.
The 16th ASEAN-PAC Secretariat Meeting commenced with welcoming speech from the Secretary-General of the NACC Mr. Warawit Sukboon who expressed commitment of ASEAN-PAC to the ASEAN Community building process and underlined the importance of international cooperation to “ensure robust response and coordinated efforts” to overcome the challenges posed by the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The NACC Secretary-General highlighted that the Meeting was the first time for the ten anti-corruption agencies to convene under the new identification of ASEAN-PAC in lieu of the former name Southeast Asian Parties Against Corruption or SEA-PAC and also the first virtual gathering.
Delegations then discussed and agreed on administrative amendments of ASEAN-PAC Action Plan for 2020-2022, Term of Reference and logo so as to be in line with the Group’s new name and to reflect the Group’s status as an entity associated with ASEAN before proceeding to the special session “Anti-corruption efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic: Sharing of Experiences and Best Practices”. The session was specifically held as the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for governments and anti-corruption authorities to maintain integrity and transparency in state operations, beginning with presentation from Ms. Cholpon Mambetova, Integrity Specialist of the Office of Anti-Corruption and Integrity, Asian Development Bank on behalf of the Secretariat of the Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific. Ms. Mambetova proposed short-term and long-term responses to public procurement projects, maintenance of accountability, control and oversight of economic stimulus packages as well as increased risks of integrity violations. To avoid corruption and bribery in the COVID-19 response and recovery, not only must the rule of law and enforcement of anti-bribery obligations be respected, but the use of business intermediaries must also be carefully considered in parallel with maintaining corporate governance and internal controls within the private sector. In this session, ASEAN-PAC members shared their experience and best practices on countering corruption risks during the pandemic. NACC presented the report on the Scenarios for Corruption Prevention in the Crisis Situation: A Case Study of COVID-19 which studied and analysed corruption risks resulting from COVID-19 in several categories including public procurement, conflict of interest and award of government contracts, and proposed possible solutions.
ASEAN-PAC is the platform for members of the ten anti-corruption agencies in the ASEAN region to present their anti-corruption implementation and discuss ways forward to enhance the effectiveness of ASEAN anti-corruption agencies as well as to contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the region by tackling corruption. Each year members take turn to host Principals and Secretariat Meetings. Prior to today’s event, the NACC had the honour to host the 15th Principals Meeting and related workshops in Bangkok during 8-10 October 2019 where the topics of Denying Safe Haven to Corruption Officials and Stolen Assets and Effective Anti-Bribery Measures for the Private Sector to Prevent Bribery of Public Officials were discussed. The next Principals Meeting will be host also via video conference platform at the end of December under the Chairmanship of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam.
