Parliaments have the key responsibility to address the issue of corruption, as they are the first line to oversee the implementation of the UN Convention against corruption, providing or improving the legal frameworks needed to enable the other national actors to do their part.
Within this framework Hon. Yana Chiara Ehm, Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), and Ambassador Peter Schatzer, PAM Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Vienna, participated in the 10th Session of the Implementation Review Group of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which took place at the United Nations Office in Vienna, from 27 to 29 May 2019.
The meeting focused on the successes, good practices, challenges, observations and the technical assistance needs emanating from the country reviews of chapter V (Asset Recovery) of the Convention.
The fight against corruption is one of the key challenges towards stable, secure, just, and prosperous societies. Corruption is considered to be particularly prevalent in the Mediterranean region, and PAM has always given special consideration to this issue. In recent years, the Assembly has adopted a Report and a Resolution on «Strategies to Combat Public Sector Corruption in the Mediterranean», as well as, to complement this, dedicated resolutions on transnational organized crime.
The exchange of views between the United Nations, governments, national and international parliaments on this subject is very important, and the excellent relationship that PAM has with the United Nations helps to facilitate this dialogue.