Qatar Hosts OIC Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Meeting
Doha(Una/Qna)-Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the State of Qatar will host the Second Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies in the OIC Member States, organized by the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority on 26-27 November 2024.
The announcement of hosting the second ministerial meeting came during a press conference held today at the Fairmont Doha Hotel, in the presence of a number of officials from the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority, specialists in the field of anti-corruption and various media outlets.
In his speech, Mr. Abdulwahab Saleh Al-Kuwari , Spokesperson of the Second Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies in the OIC Member States, said: “Combating corruption is no longer just a procedural task, but a responsibility that requires everyone to cooperate and join hands, whether they are government officials, media representatives or members of civil society. Our institutions and communities.
Al-Kuwari expressed his hope that the upcoming press conference and ministerial meeting will be an effective step towards achieving common goals, and exchanging experiences and practices that will push forward anti-corruption efforts in Islamic countries, for the benefit of peoples and nations.
He explained that the meeting is held every two years with the aim of promoting the efficient and expeditious exchange of information and investigations between law enforcement authorities, with a view to facilitating the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes covered by the Makkah Convention, thus contributing to the recovery and return of stolen assets, as well as promoting the exchange of technical assistance, training and exchange of experiences among States parties, with a view to improving the effectiveness of their exchange of information and investigations on crimes covered by this Convention.
He added: “The OIC Conference of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies is the second global forum, as it is the second largest international gathering in this field that brings together representatives of law enforcement agencies, where heads of law enforcement agencies to combat corruption in the 56 countries and national authorities from within the country concerned with law enforcement are the Ministry of Interior, the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Justice, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
He pointed out that the conference is also attended by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Egmont Group, the International Anti-Corruption Academy, the World Bank, the League of Arab States, the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Transparency International, the African Union, the European Union and the GLOBE network.
Al-Kuwari noted that the first session of the Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies in the OIC Member States was held to approve the draft “Makkah Convention of the OIC Member States for Cooperation in the Field of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement” in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2022.The meeting was attended by the ministers concerned with anti-corruption law enforcement agencies, as well as representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and its organs, OIC institutions and regional and international organizations.
The Spokesperson said: The meeting comes within the framework of the implementation of Resolution No. 48/9 issued by the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States at its forty-eighth session, on strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Organization in the field of combating corruption, through the formation of a governmental expert group to study it in preparation for submission to the ministerial meeting of law enforcement agencies concerned with combating corruption.
He added: Most international and regional organizations have initiated the development of anti-corruption conventions, such as the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and the African Union, and pointed out that this comes from the awareness of the international community of the need to develop frameworks for an agreement on cooperation in the field of combating corruption.
In response to questions from the media participants in the conference about the preparatory steps taken by the State of Qatar to ensure the success of the Second Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies in the OIC Member States, Mr. happy holiday Al-Hajri, Director of Public Relations and Communication Department, said: The State of Qatar has taken steps to ensure the successful organization of the conference, both logistically and in terms of media, so a main committee and working groups were formed to prepare for hosting and organizing this meeting successfully, and it includes several national bodies, namely: Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lekhwiya Internal Security Force, Ministry of Public Health, Vodafone, Visitor Entry Committee (Hayya), Qatar Airways, Government Communications Office, Qatar News Agency, Qatar Tourism.
He added: Action plans and a mechanism for implementing the plans have also been prepared, and invitations have been extended to Member States since August 2024, in addition to preparing media and marketing plans to host the meeting according to three stages before, during and after the event.
Al-Hajri explained that the second ministerial meeting of anti-corruption rescue agencies in the OIC member states will be held under the patronage of His Excellency the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar on November 26 and 27, at Katara Hall at the Raffles Doha Hotel.
He pointed out that the first day of the meeting will be for senior officials to prepare for the ministerial meeting to be held on the second day, and the meeting of senior officials will include the discussion of two decisions, namely the formation of an open-ended governmental expert group to consider mechanisms and ways to implement the Makkah Convention for the OIC Member States, which is competent in the field of saving anti-corruption laws, including a mechanism for periodic review to save the Convention, and the team will determine the mechanism of work and develop a technical and legislative guide to facilitate the implementation of the Convention in Member States, and that The second decision is to hold a joint forum between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Maldives to enhance integrity in the tourism sector in the Republic of Maldives.
He noted that the ministerial meeting would include speeches by the heads of fuel at the opening session, the adoption of the draft agenda and programme of work, the adoption of the report of the senior officials meeting and the adoption of the draft resolutions.
Al-Kuwari revealed that the meeting will include the signing of the Makkah Convention by the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which indicates the respect of its member states for protecting integrity and combating corruption in all its forms and manifestations, and the importance of seeking to establish effective practices aimed at preventing corruption in all fields.
The Director of the Public Relations and Communication Department at the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority said: A memorandum of understanding will also be signed between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the field of promoting integrity and combating corruption.
He added: “During the meeting, a number of bilateral meetings and workshops will be held on “Promoting Issues of Transnational Limited Corruption through the Globe Network”, and a workshop entitled The UNDP Global Initiative to Measure Corruption Rates, which will contribute to exchanging experiences and activating areas of cooperation among member states through this international forum.
In response to a question about the most prominent recommendations expected to come out of the conference, and how to turn them into concrete action plans, Al-Kuwari added: “Through the draft resolutions that will be approved, the OIC General Secretariat will begin to coordinate with member states and hold meetings on the preparation of mechanisms and action plans for implementation, especially with regard to the implementation of the Makkah Agreement.”
He explained that the Makkah Convention aims to enhance cooperation between law enforcement authorities in an efficient and expeditious manner with regard to the crimes covered by this Convention, with a view to facilitating the prevention, detection and investigation of corruption crimes, prosecuting their perpetrators, tracing and facilitating the recovery of criminal proceeds, in addition to promoting the exchange of technical assistance, training and exchange of experiences among States parties with a view to improving the effectiveness of their fight against the crimes covered by this Convention and the recovery of criminal proceeds.
It is worth mentioning that the First Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Agencies in the OIC Member States was held in December 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the draft “Makkah Al-Mukarramah Agreement” was discussed with the participation of high-level ministers, officials and competent international organizations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Interpol, and the Financial Intelligence Unit Group (Egmont).