Speaking at a seminar held remotely by the National Authority for probity, prevention and fight against corruption (INPPLC), in its capacity as chair of the third session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption, the experts insisted on the need to achieve a balance between efficiency in the fight against the health crisis, on the one hand, and prevention and vigilance against the spread of corruption, on the other hand.

On this occasion, INPPLC president Mohammed Bachir Rachdi stressed the need for capacity-building and for a deeper reflection on the most effective ways to conciliate between emergency measures and measures adopted to stem the crisis and its repercussions.

The current crisis and its effects can lead to the emergence of cases of corruption, he warned. The observed upsurge in the phenomenon of corruption cannot be explained by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is certain that the crisis has weighed heavily on the most vulnerable categories, Rachdi said.

For her part, Deputy Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for North Africa and the Middle East, Mirna Bouhabib confirmed the need for a coordinated approach to fight corruption at the global level.

UNODC recognizes that the elimination of corruption is the keystone to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urges States Parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption to develop effective risk management and internal control systems as a means of improving transparency and accountability in the management of public funds, she said.

The seminar is part of the implementation of the action plan of the third session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption, particularly the decision to hold regular workshops to capitalize on experiences and exchange best practices on the implementation of this instrument.